It really helps a small program like ours when you can get them on the schedule. They are used to wrestling in front of crowds like this and didn’t have to do this for us. Hopefully we can do it again, although you have to respect Penn State’s schedule. It would mean a lot more if I can do this at nationals.”Įchoed Rider coach John Hangey: “Our kids work very hard and deserve to wrestle in an environment like this. “Me getting the win made it even more special, but remember this was just a regular-season match. “For a small school like us to be able to wrestle in front of a crowd like this is awesome,” said Laird. The crowd was double the size what the Broncs can fit inside their home gym and it was a great atmosphere for the Rider wrestlers to experience. In addition to the win by Laird, the other big victory for Rider wrestling was the event itself. Penn State did not use defending champion Aaron Brooks at 184, but it didn’t matter because it won that bout with a back-up. Although Dean lost, Penn State’s did get wins from two of its four defending champions when Roman Bravo-Young (133) and Carter Storacci (174) prevailed with ease. Instead, he got caught and pinned late in the match by Beau Bartlett, and Penn State was out to a quick 13-0 lead. McKenzie Bell, who scored a big win over a highly-ranked wrestler in Rider’s victory over Purdue the previous week, looked like he was in good shape with a lead in the third period. The most disappointing Rider loss came in the third bout at 141 pounds. “In overtime I was able to get behind and slick him.” “He did grab it, that was plain as day,” said Laird. The third period ended with Rider throwing in the brick in an effort to claim Laird should have been awarded a penalty point for Dean grabbing his singlet. I did this for myself and for my teammates.”ĭean forced the action for much of the bout, but Laird was able to fight off a couple of takedowns with spectacular scrambles. “Everyone on our team wrestled as hard as they could. “Not really,” replied the 12th-ranked Laird when asked if getting his team on the scoreboard made the victory even sweeter. Rider went into this match thinking it could possibly win three or four bouts, but instead ended up getting trounced by Penn State, 37-3. Laird’s victory avoided a shutout against the nation’s top-ranked Nittany Lions. Total points, criteria C, came out even as well, at 66-66, moving the decision on to. The teams split the 10 matches 5-5, nixing criteria A, and with no falls, forfeits, defaults and disqualifications, criteria B was out. Wrestling in front of an enthusiastic crowd of 3,229 fans at the Cure Insurance Arena Friday night, Rider’s Ethan Laird stunned Penn State’s defending national champion and top-ranked Max Dean by the score of 3-1 in overtime at 197 pounds. Rider eked out a 19-18 win on the fourth criteria Saturday night in Jadwin Gym to take home the MAC-Ivy Rivalry trophy. TRENTON - Just when it looked like it would be a complete Murphy’s Law type of match for the Rider University wrestling team, along came an individual victory that was one of the biggest in the history of its program.
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