The Columbia wrestling team got its first taste of mano-a-mano competition on Saturday at the Northeast Duals, and its three duals ended with three different results. After suffering a 20-13 defeat at the hands of Bloomsburg, the Lions (1-1-1) rebounded to tie North Carolina and blow out Sacred Heart.
The Light Blue raced ahead with victories at 125 pounds and 133 pounds against Bloomsburg. Sophomore Kyle Gilchrist led off with a 6-1 win over Jason Guffey and sophomore Andrew Grabfelder followed up with a 17-4 major decision over Dan Gaylord, but the Huskies buckled down and took six of the final eight bouts en route to a 2-1 finish on the day.
“We lost a close match to a very good team and the dual was well within our grasp,” head coach Brendan Buckley said in an e-mail. “We lost three one-point matches at 142, 149, and 174. A slight change in any of those bouts could have given us the W.”
Victory continued to elude the Lions as they battled the Tar Heels to a draw in the day’s second dual. The match was a true nail-biter, as neither team won more that two bouts in a row, ensuring the score remained close throughout. With the Lions trailing by three with one bout to go, sophomore heavyweight Kevin Lester came up big for Columbia with a 5-2 decision over Andrew Cekuta, pulling the Lions even for the final margin.
“They are a good team and it was a good match,” Buckley said. “We will take a tie but really wish we could have got bonus points in one more of those bouts which would have given us enough to win.”
In their final dual of the day, the Lions took advantage of an undermanned Sacred Heart squad that managed to capture just a single bout in the match. Four Columbia wrestlers won by forfeit, but many of the bouts were controlled by the Lions as they pulled away for a 41-3 win.
Gilchrist had a strong day for the Light Blue, posting three wins including one via the forfeit. Junior Eren Civan also went 3-0 at 165 pounds, as did Lester.
“All in all, a good day for us,” Buckley said. “We wrestled very hard and are continuing to improve.”
This weekend, the Lions travel out west for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Wrestling Invitational, which will be held on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4 and 5.
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