Wrestling win third straight, beat Army 24-16
January 29, 2000 | Men's Wrestling
BOSTON, -- The Boston University wrestling team spoiled the homecoming of Army head coach and former Terrier All-American Tod Giles, beating the Cadets 24-16 on January 29 at The Roof.
After Arm's Joe Hess won a 15-5 major decision over B.U.'s Chad Grant at 184 to put the Cadets ahead 4-0, Boston University took six of the next seven matches to put the meet out of reach.
Highlighting the afternoon for the Terriers was sophomore Rick Wilson, who made his Boston University debut in impressive fashion, pinning Army's Bill Baird 1:47 into the match.
Ed Strauss (197), Jose Leon (125), Mike Messina (133), and Malik Elliott (149) picked up decisions for the Terriers, and Chris Simmons led his 157-pound match 9-4 before it was cut short by a medical forfeit.
Charles Ross (141) won by decision for Army, and teammate Troy Yegge pinned B.U.'s Zak Emond in the third period of the 165-pound match.
Though the team outcome of the meet was already decided, the day's final match was perhaps the most exciting, as Army's Maurice Worthy, ranked 14th in the nation, took down Ali Abri with one second remaining to break a 4-4 tie at 174.
The win was the third straight for the Terriers, bringing them to 3-4-1 on the year, while Army drops to 1-6.
The meet also marked head coach Carl Adams' first win in four tries against Army. He avenged a 22-15 loss last season to his former standout Giles' club.
Giles, a 1999 inductee into the Boston University Athletic Hall of Fame, became the Terriers' first All-American in 1984, and graduated as the school's all-time winningest wrestler with an 86-5 career record.
Scoring summary: 184 Joe Hess (A) maj. Dec. Chad Grant (BU) 15-5 197 Ed Strauss (BU) dec. Eli Espericueta (A) 5-3 (OT) HWT Rick Wilson (BU) fall Bill Baird (A), 1:47 125 Jose Leon (BU) dec. Brett Gendron (A) 18-12 133 Mike Messina (BU) dec. Matt Magennis (A) 4-2 (OT) 141 Charlie Russ dec. Francisco Ugalde (BU) 12-8 149 Malik Elliott (BU) dec. Jeremy Singleton (A) 3-2 157 Chris Simmons med forfeit Matt Ross (A) 9-4 165 Troy Yegge (A) fall Zak Emond (BU) 6:36 174 Maurice Worthy (A) dec. Ali Abri (BU) 6-4
