STANFORD, Calif. - In its first of three duals this weekend, the No.18 Stanford wrestling squad earned a 25-10 victory over the Cal Baptist Lancers at Burnham Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
After splitting the first four bouts, the Cardinal broke the dual open thanks to a CBU forfeit at 165 pounds and decision wins from Peter Galli at 174 pounds and Michael Sojka at 197 pounds.
Joey McKenna, coming off a finals appearance at the prestigious Southern Scuffle, tallied several late takedowns against the Lancers' Peter Cunningham to secure an 11-3 major decision. Ranked second in the nation at 141 pounds, the freshman from Towaco, New Jersey is now 12-1 on the season.
Following McKenna's win, redshirt freshman Paul Fox pushed the Cardinal's lead to 7-3 with a 6-1 defeat of Bradford Gerl at 149 pounds, adding to his team-high 21 victories this season. But Cal Baptist tied the score at 7-7 in the next weight up, as Brady Bersano dealt Stanford's Walker Dempsey a 15-6 loss. Bersano got out to an early lead, but Dempsey, a second-year wrestler from Greenwich, Connecticut, battled tough and evened the bout at 3-3. Shortly thereafter, Bersano took control with four nearfall points en route to a major decision result.
After Jim Wilson's forfeit victory at 165 pounds, Galli faced off against CBU's Christian Smith at 174 pounds. Though he fell behind early, Galli recorded two escapes to tie the score at 2-2, and then scored a takedown to grab the lead for good. The redshirt junior dominated Smith in the final minutes, slamming him to the mat twice to ensure a 5-2 win.
The next two bouts were defensive struggles, as both teams scored four combined points. Clovis High School product Zach Nevills lost 2-0 to Jacob Waste at 184 pounds, but Sojka kept the Lancers out of striking range with a 2-0 win of his own at 197 pounds. Nathan Butler's forfeit victory at heavyweight concluded the dual.
Stanford travels north on the peninsula to face San Francisco State (3 p.m.) and Menlo College (6 p.m.) on Sunday, Jan. 10.
No. 18 Stanford 25, Cal Baptist 10
Weight |
Participants |
Score |
125 |
Double Forfeit |
|
133 |
Anthony Racobaldo (C) dec. Brian Rossi (S) |
16-12 |
141 |
#2 Joey McKenna (S) maj. dec. Peter Cunningham (C) |
11-3 |
149 |
Paul Fox (S) dec. Bradford Gerl (C) |
6-1 |
157 |
Brady Bersano (C) maj. dec. Walker Dempsey (S) |
15-6 |
165 |
#13 Jim Wilson (S) won by forfeit |
FF |
174 |
Peter Galli (S) dec. Christian Smith (C) |
5-2 |
184 |
Jacob Waste (C) dec. Zach Nevills (S) |
2-0 |
197 |
Michael Sojka (S) dec. Bryce Benlian (C) |
2-0 |
285 |
Nathan Butler (S) won by forfeit |
FF |
