BALTIMORE, MD. – The Ursinus College men's wrestling team jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in route to a 30-13 victory over Johns Hopkins in Centennial Conference action on Friday night.
 


With the win, the Bears improved to 6-3 on the season in dual meets and 1-0 in conference play, meanwhile the Blue Jays fall to 4-6 overall and 0-1 in conference action.
 


Ursinus jumped out to a 21-0 lead through four matches behind two pinfalls, a forfeit, and a decision from the top of the lineup. Senior Terry Adams was awarded a forfeit at 125lbs setting up a return to the mat for junior Jagger Clapsadle at 133lbs. Clapsadle looked to be in mid-season form earning a quick takedown just five seconds into the opening period. After collecting four back points behind a tilt, Clapsadle collected the pinfall at the 1:27-mark after running a deep half to give the Bears a 12-0 lead through two matches.
 


At 141lbs, Johns Hopkins' Alex Tinana was aggressive early but senior Romeo Rodriguez countered a shot attempt for a takedown at the 2:04 mark of the first period. Rodriguez was strong on top and collected four near-fall points before running an arm bar and readjusting for a fall at the 2:22-mark of the first period. The Bears kept the momentum going as junior Dante Monaco recorded a hard-fought 10-7 decision over Connor Powell at 149lbs to stretch the Bears lead to 21. Monaco fell behind 2-1 at the end of the first period, and after an escape and a takedown he trailed 5-1 heading into the third. Trailing 7-3 with 40 seconds remaining in the match, Monaco converted on a headlock throwing Powell to his back on the far edge of the mat for a six-point move and the 10-7 victory.
 


The Blue Jays responded with a fall at 157lbs as senior Scott Weinkowitz fell to Fritz Maurath at the 2:11 mark making the match score 21-6 halfway through the dual. Johns Hopkins would cut their deficit to 11 as Jake Hoffman earned a 13-2 major decision over senior Shawn Marchesano at 165lbs.
 


Ursinus bounced back at 174lbs as first-year Anthony Cerulli earned a come from behind 4-2 decision in overtime to give the Bears a 24-10 match lead. Tied 2-2 heading overtime, Cerulli was locked into a scramble before untucking his head and spinning behind the Hopkins wrestler for the takedown and the 4-2 decision.
 


The 184lb bout featured reigning Centennial Conference Champions from a year ago as Johns Hopkins graduate student Joe Paul (2022 174lb CC Champion) and senior Gary Nagle (2022 184lb CC Champion) battled throughout an instant classic match. Nagle earned the first points of the match in the second period behind a sweep single for a takedown and a 2-0 advantage. He earned a 2-1 decision and secured the match victory for Ursinus as Paul was unsuccessful in securing any points on top in the third period. At 197lbs, senior Kyle Schaffer earned a 2-0 decision over Johns Hopkins' John Libby while senior Jake Ahmad nearly completed a comeback at 285lbs but fell via a 4-3 decision to Jacob Pomykata.  
 
 

"Good win tonight to start off our conference run", Director of Wrestling Joe Jamison said. "We had a lot of gutsy performances with a few come from behind close wins. We capitalized on some critical situations to score at the end of periods which was key tonight. The coaching staff always stresses that short-time takedowns win matches and bonus points wins duals. That was certainly the case tonight. We have a tough opponent tomorrow in McDaniel and we're looking forward to a good scrap."
 
 

The Bears will return to action tomorrow as they travel to McDaniel College for a Centennial Conference matchup starting at 12pm.