Squad takes 18th place overall
Third-year exercise science student Mike Ahearn took fifth in his weight class, and first-year biomedical engineering student Ben Brummel took seventh in his category to help the team to an 18th place finish overall.
"Team points are awarded to wrestlers based on their margins of victory," Brummel said. "A pin provides the most team points. For us to finish that well with only three wrestlers competing was a huge accomplishment for our team."
On the first day of competition, Brummel, Ahearn and third-year sociology student Ike Okoli each won their two matches, but all three took tough losses in their quarterfinal matches on the second day.
A standard wrestling match is seven minutes long and is divided into three periods, the first lasting three minutes and the second and third lasting two. Competitors score points in one of six ways.
Takedowns and reversals are worth two points apiece, while escapes are worth one. Near-falls can be worth two or three points, depending on how long the opponent takes to break a 90-degree plane.
Penalties for one or two points, including false starts and stalling, are also awarded. Finally, one point for riding time is awarded at the end of a match if one competitor dominates control in a match.
Okoli's first hard-fought quarterfinal loss came by a score of 3-1. He went on to lose his next match to a wrestler he beat at the conference meet earlier this year, which eliminated him from the tournament.
Brummel's loss came in an 8-6 overtime match. He gave up early points, then came back to take a one-point lead before his opponent escaped at the end to tie the match. Brummel's next match also went into overtime. With the score tied at one, Brummel won the match by pin in the extra period to qualify for the next round of competition with a chance for third place.
Ahearn lost to the top seeded wrestler in his bracket, Dustin Tancredi of West Chester, 10-8. Tancredi took an early lead, but Ahearn fought back to tie the match. Still, Ahearn couldn't finish it out, giving up a late escape and a riding point. He made short work of his next match, pinning his opponent in just 1:36 to qualify for the next round. Ahearn took fifth after losing a nail-biter in overtime.
In wrestle backs, Brummel took a close 3-2 loss, but with a solid win in his final match, he was able to secure seventh place.
"It was a tough tournament this year, and we can only count on it getting tougher," said Brummel, next year's club president. "We are already starting offseason training. I'm very excited about the future of USC's wrestling program. We plan to build on this successful season by working hard in the offseason and returning to nationals next year ready to dominate."