Wrestling Falls Short at Rider

Friday, January 11

Lawrenceville, N.J.

7 p.m.

Drexel University

Rider

1/11/2019 9:06:00 PM | Wrestling

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. – The Drexel wrestling team (3-4) fell short in a rivalry road matchup to the Rider Broncs (3-2) from Alumni Gym in Lawrenceville, N.J. on Friday night by a final of 21-13. The Dragons won bouts at 149, 174 and 285 and had their chances throughout but could not come away with the win.

Drexel fell behind 9-0 in the dual after dropping the 125, 133 and 141 bouts. Sophomore Chandler Olson lost a close bout at 133. Facing Rider's Anthony Cefolo, Olson led 3-1 after two periods after a quick takedown in the first period followed by an escape in the second. With Cefolo down in the third period to begin, Cefolo earned an early escape to get within one. Olson was nearing a minute of riding time as time winded down before Rider won with a late takedown in the final moments.

Fellow sophomore Julian Flores dropped his 141 bout in narrow fashion as well by a 4-2 decision. Rider's Travis Layton got three first-period points from a takedown and Drexel penalty which proved to be the difference as Rider led the match overall, 9-0, after three bouts.

Sophomore Parker Kropman came out with a different energy in the 149 bout for Drexel. The recent winter transfer from Binghamton University earned a 9-1 lead after the first period. He started with a quick takedown which turned into a Rider injury break. Following the break, Kropman earned an escape after choosing the down position on restart. He went up 5-0 after a second takedown before Rider's Evan Fidelibus got a point back with an escape. Kropman finished the period with a four-point swing behind a takedown with two back points to go up 9-1. In the second period, he added two escapes to go up 11-3 as he eyed the major decision. The sophomore turned in a four-point near fall and riding time to win 16-3, bringing Drexel within striking distance as Rider now led, 9-4.

At 157, Drexel sophomore Evan Barczak lost a close 5-3 decision in sudden victory to Rider's Gino Fluri as Rider went up 12-4 overall. Barczak trailed 2-1 after the first period with an escape to his credit. He tied it up after the second period with another escape. Rider led for most of the third period after starting the period with an escape. But Fluri was hit with his second stalling call in the final seconds to even the bout, 3-3, send sending it sudden victory and giving Barczak another chance. A sudden victory takedown would lead Fluri to victory though.

With Barczak's close loss at 157 and No. 14 Ebed Jarrell's loss to Rider's No. 17 Jesse Dellavecchia at 165, Drexel fell behind 15-7 with 174, 184, 197 and 285 remaining.

Redshirt freshman Bryan McLaughlin earned the nod at 174 as he faced Rider's George Walton. The duo earned very early takedowns, spending a lot of energy in the process as Drexel led 3-2 after the first period. McLaughlin kept his edge in the second with two escapes to Walton's two-point takedown, 5-4. A Rider escape in the third tied it up to send it to overtime. The first sudden victory period was not enough as it went into two 30-second periods. A second one minute-long followed before two more 30-second riding periods. In the penultimate period, McLaughlin rode Walton for the majority to gain an edge. Rider conceded the escape in the final period but it did not matter as McLaughlin converted a takedown to win 9-6 for Drexel. Rider now led 15-7 in the match.

Anthony Walters squared off against Rider's Michale Fagg-Daves at 184 and fell behind after a first period takedown. Rider added a second takedown in the second period as Walters earned two escapes. Fagg-Daves held on in the third period to eventually win by a 4-2 decision.

At 197, trailing 18-7 overall, the Dragons now needed pins in the final two bouts to win. Drexel junior Owen Brooks led early after a six-point near fall, nearly getting the first-period pin. But Rider's Ethan Laird slowly chipped his way back, early one point in the first, three points in the second and three points in the third in addition to riding time to win as Brooks dropped the 8-7 decision.

Heading into the heavyweight bout, Drexel had already lost the match with the score at 21-7, but senior Joey Goodhart came out determined nonetheless. The senior rode Rider's Ryan Cloud for most of the first period before pinning him with 1:22 left on the clock in the second to get the Dragons six points. It came as his team-best 20th win and sixth pin.

NEXT UP
Drexel now makes the short trip down 33rd Street to wrestle Penn on Sunday, Jan. 13 at the Palestra at 1 p.m. for an EIWA dual.

RESULTS
125 / Jonathan Tropea (Rider) def. Antonio Mininno (Drexel) / D, 12-6 / Rider, 3-0
133 / Anthony Cefolo (Rider) def. Chandler Olson (Drexel) / D, 4-3 / Rider, 6-0
141 / Travis Layton (Rider) def. Julian Flores (Drexel) / D, 4-2 / Rider, 9-0
149 / Parker Kropman (Drexel) def. Evan Fidelibus (Rider) / MD, 16-3 / Rider, 9-4
157 / Gino Fluri (Rider) def. Evan Barczak (Drexel) / D, 5-3 (SV) / Rider, 12-4
165 / No. 17 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) def. No. 14 Ebed Jarrell (Drexel) / D, 9-4 / Rider, 15-4
174 / Bryan McLaughlin (Drexel) def. George Walton (Rider) / D, 9-6 (2OT) / Rider, 15-7
184 / Michale Fagg-Daves (Rider) def. Anthony Walters (Drexel) / D, 4-2 / Rider 18-7
197 / Ethan Laird (Rider) def. Owen Brooks (Drexel) / D, 8-7 / Rider, 21-7
285 / No. 16 Joey Goodhart (Drexel) def. Ryan Cloud (Rider) / P, 3:38 / Rider, 21-13