Gardner-Webb University
NCAA Tournament
Cornwell Battles, Falls In Consolation Bracket Friday At NCAA Championships For @GWUWrestling
March 18, 2016 | Wrestling
@GWUWrestling | @NCAAWrestling
NEW YORK – Heavyweight Boyce Cornwell battled hard against his third Big Ten opponent in two days Friday afternoon, but fell in a 7-2 decision to No. 12 seed Billy Smith in the consolation round.
Cornwell also faced No. 11 seed Sam Stoll (Iowa) and unseeded Brooks Black (Illinois) this week at Madison Square Garden. He led Stoll 6-1 when that match was called due to injury and lost a heartbreaker to Black on Thursday night in the championship bracket – falling 4-3 (TB-2) based on a four-second deficit in riding time.
On Friday, Cornwell came out strong against the larger Smith, but missed a chance at an early takedown in the first period. Smith pulled off a takedown himself with three seconds remaining in the first and pulled off an escape early in the second for a 3-0 lead.
Cornwell escaped himself to trim the lead to 3-1, but could not land any shots in the match's late stages. Smith scored twice more on late takedowns for the final margin.
Cornwell capped a strong junior season, which saw him move to the 285-pound weight class after two years wrestling at 197. He destroyed his previous single-season mark for wins, going 23-11 and earning one of the SoCon's three allocations by taking third at the 2016 Southern Conference Championships. Cornwell was the lone SoCon heavyweight to earn a first-round victory Thursday.
He was a key part of Gardner-Webb winning a share of the 2016 SoCon regular season title and keyed a 19-18 win over No. 24 Duke with a late decision in that dual. GWU set new program marks for dual wins (9) and SoCon wins (6) in 2015-2016.
Cornwell, Austin Trott (165) and Chris Vassar (149) represented Gardner-Webb's largest contingent at the NCAA Championships since four men went from the Eastern Regional in 2011.
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 (COLU) dec. Austin Trott (GWU), 6-2
285: Boyce Cornwell (1-2)
Boyce Cornwell (GWU) medical default #11 Sam Stoll (IOWA), 6-1 (3:45)
Brooks Black (ILL) dec. Boyce Cornwell (GWU), 4-3 (TB-2)
#12 Billy Smith (RUT) dec. Boyce Cornwell (GWU), 7-2
