Written By: Greg Arnold
Staff Writer
Old Dominion (3-1) wrestling scored a huge win against Iowa State University (0-3), who was ranked 23 in the nation. ODU won with a final score of 21-16. This season, ODU is doing all they can to get recognized as an emerging Division I wrestling program, and this win against Iowa State will help with that effort.
After redshirt sophomore Eric Dunnet suffered a tough loss for ODU in the first match, sophomore Scott Festejo was ready to give ODU a lead they would not let go. Festejo went down early in the match after Iowa State freshman Shayden Terukina scored a quick takedown. After an escape for Festejo, Terukina would try again to score another two point takedown. Festejo grabbed Terukina’s leg and held on with all he had to prevent the successful takedown.
From there Festejo would take over, he would score three takedowns and get one escape to have the lead 7-2 at the end of the second period.
At the start of the third period, Festejo scored yet another takedown. It seemed as if he would hang on to win and earn a major decision, giving ODU four points. That was not enough for Festejo, however, in a blink of an eye, he rolled Terukina and closed in for a pin. The 1,526 people in the Ted Constant Convection Center jumped to their feet and tried to somehow give him the power to finish the pin. Festejo fed off the energy and got both off Terukina’s shoulders on the mat. As the crowd erupted, and six points were added to ODU’s total, Festejo jumped to his feet and pumped his fists to continue the hysteria.
The most anticipated match of the dual was ODU senior Te Edwards, ranked tenth in the nation, and redshirt junior Chris Spangler, ranked seventh. Edwards lost to Spangler last year and was ready to get his revenge. Spangler led most of the match, but neither wrestler established dominance over the other. Going into the final period, Spangler was up 3-1.
Edwards started the period in the down position, but quickly escaped. He followed that with a takedown and took over the lead in the match 4-3. Spangler was able to escape and tie the match up, but not before Edwards gained over a minute of riding time. This gave Edwards the point he would need to win the match 5-4. After the huge win, Edwards was not afraid to show how much the win meant to him. He ran around the mat whipping the crowd into frenzy.
Redshirt sophomore John Nicholson won his match against Iowa State freshman Luke Swalla. Swalla was a replacement wrestler as Iowa State has been struggling with injuries. Nicholson showed the crowd why he is ranked 14 in the nation, as he dominated Swalla 23-8.
ODU senior Joe Budi helped his team by achieving a major decision against redshirt sophomore Cole Shafer, who qualified for the National Tournament last year. Redshirt sophomore Justin LaValle also earned a win for ODU against redshirt freshman RJ Hallman.
ODU will have a busy run the first weekend of Dec. They will travel around N.J. and wrestle against Rutgers, Princeton and Rider at each of their colleges in two days. The next time they wrestle at ODU will be against Bucknell Jan. 11.
Photo By ODUSPORTS.COM
