The Binghamton University men’s wrestling team has had an up-and-down season, but is currently on a high after defeating East Stroudsburg University last night.
The Bearcats (5-4) defeated the Warriors last night by a score of 24-17. The win marked the Bearcats’ second straight for the season. On the other end, it was only the Warriors’ second match this year; they first fell to Drexel University, 22-11, on Nov. 18.
Junior Josh Patterson, currently ranked 14th in the country in the 184-pound weight class, led the way for Binghamton with his pin on Warriors freshman Trevor Salvatore. It was Patterson’s seventh pin of the year. With his win, the last of four straight that opened the matches, the Bearcats went ahead, 15-0, on East Stroudsburg. The Warriors’ juniors, Shane Mallory (197 pounds) and Chris Birchler (heavyweight), two key members of last year’s team, ended Binghamton’s dominance with wins over junior Corey Waite and freshman Arthur Garvey, respectively. Birchler’s win came only 55 seconds into the match.
With the lead trimmed to 15-9, Bearcats freshman Andrew Bloss turned the momentum back to BU’s favor with a win 25 seconds into sudden death in his bout with junior Matthew Benedetti. With 141-pound sophomore Anwar Goeres’ win two bouts later, Binghamton won six of the 10 bouts overall.
BU travels to Penn State to participate in the Penn State Open on Sunday, beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing throughout the day.