@GWUWrestling | @NCAAWrestling
NEW YORK – Boyce Cornwell picked up a win over No. 11 Sam Stoll of Iowa in his opening round match and lost a heartbreaker to another Big Ten foe in the night session to pace Gardner-Webb at the 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championships at Madison Square Garden.
Cornwell (Conyers, Ga. / Hertiage HS) will wrestle again on Friday morning in the consolation bracket.
The GWU heavyweight picked up a takedown early to move in front and led 6-1 over Stoll when the match was called due to an injury at the 3:45 mark. Those points pushed the Runnin' Bulldogs into a tie for 24th overall at the end of Thursday's first session at The World's Most Famous Arena.
He faced Illinois heavyweight Brooks Black in Thursday night's championship bracket after Black upset No. 6 seed and SoCon Wrestler of the Year Denzel Dejournette in the opening round.
Cornwell and Black locked into a low-scoring bout and were tied, 1-1, at the end of the third period. After each escaped in the first overtime, Cornwell just missed a takedown in the second overtime – as he and Black were just out of bounds.
Black earned a very slight riding time advantage of four seconds and, after each man pulled off an escape – Black was awarded the 4-3 win by virtue of his scant four seconds of riding time.
Cornwell (23-10) will wrestle Friday morning against the winner of a consolation bout between Virginia's Patrick Gillen and Rutgers' No. 12 seed Billy Smith.
Chris Vassar (New Cumberland, Pa. / Cedar Cliff HS) had a tough debut at the championships, despite scoring the first points of the tournament with an early takedown of CSU Bakersfield's Coleman Hammond. The match turned quickly after a reversal by Hammond, who went on to record a pair of quick near falls before ending the match early with an 18-2 tech fall (3:56).
Vassar faced Oklahoma grappler Davion Jeffries in a consolation prelim match to begin the second session, but was pinned in 4:58. Vassar, a redshirt sophomore, earned Gardner-Webb's first at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
Veteran Austin Trott (Kingsland, Ga. / Camden County HS) had one of Thursday's most difficult challenges to start, facing two-time defending NCAA champion Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State. An early flurry by Dieringer – who entered the match at 28-0 – led to a pin fall at the 2:23 mark.
Trott returned to the mats Thursday night, facing Columbia University's Tyrel White. A takedown by Trott late in the first period was negated after a long video review and White responded with a takedown of his own to seize an early lead.
After White took a 4-0 advantage in the second period, Trott recovered to post a two-point near fall – and almost tilted White again for points after trimming the lead to 4-2. White pulled off a reversal in the third period to go up 6-2 and held on for the decision.
It was Trott's second appearance at the NCAA Championships in the past three seasons.
Doors open to Madison Square Garden on Friday at 9:00 am – with the consolation brackets beginning at 11:00 am. Cornwell will wrestle in match #455 of the event on Friday morning.
The match will be broadcast on ESPN3 (WatchESPN.com). Visit the @GWUWrestling twitter page for exact mat number and start time Friday morning.
Individual Results
149: Chris Vassar (0-2)
Coleman Hammond (CSUB) tech. fall Chris Vassar (GWU), 18-2 (3:56)
Davion Jeffries (OKLA) pin fall Chris Vassar, (4:58)
165: Austin Trott (0-2)
#1 Alex Dieringer (OKST) pin fall Austin Trott (GWU), (2:23)
Tyrel White (COL) dec. Austin Trott (GWU), 6-2
285: Boyce Cornwell (1-1)
Boyce Cornwell (GWU) med. default #11 Sam Stoll (IOWA), 6-1 (3:45)
Brooks Black (ILL) dec. Boyce Cornwell (GWU), 4-3 (SV-2)
