Bucknell 28 Columbia 12
LEWISBURG, Pa. -
Five bonus point victories and wins in seven of the first eight bouts helped the
Bucknell wrestling team close out its home schedule with a 28-12 victory over
Columbia Sunday afternoon at Davis Gym. The Bison improved to 9-8 overall and
3-2 against EIWA competition, while the Lions fell to 2-9 and 0-3 in the EIWA.
A technical fall victory by David Marble (Harpursville, N.Y./Harpursville
Central) and back-to-back major decisions by Adam Healey (Wilkes Barre,
Pa./Wyoming Seminary) and Kevin LeValley (Hugo, Colo./Limon) helped Bucknell
extend a 3-0 lead to a commanding 15-0 advantage.
After a tight 6-5 decision by Derek Reber (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) at 125
pounds, Marble, who is ranked No. 20 nationally, posted an easy 22-7 tech fall
over Kyle Gilchrist at 133. It was his 22nd win of the season and his eighth
victory in his last 10 bouts.
Healey then broke a seven-match losing streak with is first major decision of
the year as he won 9-1 over Shane Strumwasser. Healey built an 8-1 lead thanks
to a late near fall and then earned the riding time point.
LeValley earned his major decision in a similar fashion as he led 9-2 at the
expiration of the third period and then added the riding time point for a 10-2
advantage.
Columbia got on the board when Derek Sickles defeated Tyler Riccio (Warren,
N.J./Bridgewater-Raritan Regional) 5-3. Andy Rendos (Brockway, Pa./Brockway
Area) started another Bison winning streak with the only pin of the match, tying
him with Marble for the team lead with seven. Rendos pinned Eren Civan in 1:20
and was leading 4-2 at the time. He now has 18 pins in his career, placing him
one shy of joining the Bucknell top-10 list in that category.
Shane Riccio (Warren, N.J./Watchung Hills), who was the only Bison wrestler to
post a win at No. 1 Iowa on Friday night, continued his recent success at 174
pounds with an 8-0 shutout of Mike Colfer for a major decision. It was the 10th
win in 11 matches for Riccio, who has also recorded shutouts in nine of his 25
victories this season.
David Thompson (West Liberty, Ohio/Graham Local) rounded out the list of
Bucknell winners with a 9-4 decision over Kenji Porter at 184. He led 6-2 at the
conclusion of the first period and held on to win by the five-point margin
thanks to owning riding time advantage.
Columbia's Lou Miller wrapped up the match with a 6-1 win over Rob Waltko
(Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) at 197 since the Lions' Ryan Flores, who is
ranked No. 14 nationally, earned a forfeit at heavyweight.
Bucknell, which will wrestle its final three duals on the road, will be back in
action Friday, Feb. 6, at Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks at ranked No. 7 nationally
by USA Today/Intermat/NWCA and own a 19-1 record this season.
* starting weight