Wesleyan’s wrestling team rocked the competition on the road Sunday, triumphing over Southern Maine and the 11th ranked Johnson and Wales Wildcats. The Cardinal victories in Southern Maine followed their one-point edging of Coast Guard at home last week.
In the duel against Johnson and Wales, things looked bleak as Wesleyan trailed 20-13 heading into the final three matches of the meet. The Cardinals needed victories in three of three to get the win, but with three of Wesleyan’s team-leading grapplers on the mat, Coach Black and the “Red and Black Attack” were optimistic. The first match featured standout Camilo Rincon-Camacho ’05 at 149 pounds in a battle that had him as the underdog. Rincon-Camacho broke his opponent’s spirit in a challenging bout and won a narrow 4-3 decision, helping him improve to 18-5 this season.
Next up for the Cardinals was senior co-captain Adam Jonas. True to form, Jonas dominated his opponent from the opening, improving to 22-1 on the season and once again showing why he is the sixth ranked wrestler in the country. A spot in the NCAA Tournament certainly awaits the much-accomplished Jonas.
The final bout of the meet lay in the hands of Dan Delalla ’07. Wrestling up a weight class at 165 pounds, Delalla had a tough road ahead of him. The match started in a dead heat, and in the third period the match was still locked at 0-0, with neither wrestler gaining a clear advantage. However, Delalla pulled an escape and followed with a takedown of his Johnson and Wales opponent, and the rest was history.
Delalla’s opponent almost seemed to give up as he cruised to a 6-1 decision. In a dramatic turnaround, Wesleyan defeated Johnson and Wales by a final score of 23-20.
Commenting on the match, Delalla said, “After Camilo and Adam won their matches, I could feel momentum building for us. I was pretty pumped up to wrestle well and come out on top. Being hurt and coming back in time for the championship season has been a big lift as well. Everyone is wrestling well and we’re pretty excited as we head into the New England Championships.”
In the other half of the meet, Wesleyan easily defeated the University of Southern Maine by a score of 33-12. Senior Dan Case ’05 and Jeremy Stuart ’08 got key wins and improved on already fine days, both having been victorious against Johnson and Wales in the front half.
“This weekend was a great accomplishment,” Jonas said. “It just goes to show that no team is at full strength all the time. It was truly a team effort. We didn’t give up pins and technical falls where they were strong and we were able to outlast them down the stretch. In the final three matches, it seemed that we just broke Johnson and Wales’ spirit. Their wrestlers were completely devastated after the match. They just couldn’t hang with our toughness.”
In the past two weeks, Wesleyan has strung together a three-meet winning streak including a victory over a nationally ranked Coast Guard team. Only three dual matches remain for the team, including one against Little Three rival Williams College that will take place at noon Sunday in the Bacon Field House. Two weeks later, the team hopes to carry its momentum into the New England Championships.
“Hopefully we will be able to peak just in time for that meet and show the rest of New England what Wesleyan wrestling is all about,” Delalla said.
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