HARRISONBURG, VA - James Madison University used two pin falls, a major decision and a decision in the final four bouts to rally from a 20-3 deficit and defeat Franklin & Marshall College 22-20 in non-conference wrestling action at JMU's Godwin Hall.
Leading by 17 points after a 10-1 major decision by Matt Veres (Jr., Phillipsburg, NJ/Blair Academy) over Chris Gwaltney at 165 lbs., the Diplomats saw their lead begin to dwindle as Brian Lambert pinned Matt Goggin (Fr., Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) in 1:33 at 174 to close the gap to 11 points with three matches remaining.
The Dukes continued their rally as Jason Chalfont pinned Chris Richey (Fr., Setauket, NY/Ward Melville) in 5:11 at 184 to pull James Madison to within five points before Zach Winfrey won 9-1 over Glenn Martin (Fr., Winston-Salem, NC/Parkland) for a major decision at 197 lbs. to close the gap to 20-19 with the heavyweight bout remaining.
Winfrey's victory at 197 was crucial to the Dukes comeback hopes as he scored a takedown and accumulated more than three minutes of riding time in the first two periods for a 5-0 lead. He posted two more takedowns in the final period for take the major decision and make the heavyweight match the deciding bout.
At heavyweight, Chris Cvitan held off Shawn Coughlin (So., Berkley Heights, NJ/Governor Livingston) 6-2 for a decision, three team points and a 22-20 victory for the Dukes.
The match did not appear to be a contest in the opening bouts as Trent Dixon (So., Baltimore, MD/Eastern Tech) recorded a fall at 125 lbs. in 1:55 over Thang Ho for a 6-0 advantage. Rich Gebauer (Jr., South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield) kept things moving at 133 lbs. notching an 11-4 decision for a 9-0 lead before JMU's Brian Kibler downed Steve Gregory (So., Winchester, MA/Winchester) 10-6 at 141 lbs. to get James Madison on the scoreboard.
The Diplomats continued their roll at 149 lbs. as Andrew Smith (Fr., Annapolis. MD/Annapolis) defeated Jeff Jacobs of James Madison 7-6 for a 12-3 advantage.
F&M tacked on eight more points in the next two bouts as #19 nationally ranked Mike Parziale (Jr., Woburn, MA/Woburn) defeated Derrick Schonely 23-9 at 157 lbs. and Matt Veres (Jr., Phillipsburg, NJ/Blair Academy) took a 10-1 victory at 165 lbs. for a 20-3 advantage with four weight classes remaining.
Parziale's victory upped his record to 18-4 on the year and raised his career mark to 65-22 to move to within three wins of surpassing John Johnston '89 for eighth in career victories at Franklin & Marshall College.
Franklin & Marshall (2-4) will return to the mat on January 14 at the Virginia Duals, as the Diplomats will look to defend their 2004 tournament title.
James Madison 22, Franklin & Marshall 20
125 - Trent Dixon (F&M) FALL Thang Ho (JMU), 1:55
133 - Rich Gebauer (F&M) DEC Shawn Horst (JMU), 11-4
141 - Brian Kibler (JMU) DEC Steve Gregory (F&M), 10-6
149 - Andrew Smith (F&M) DEC Jeff Jacobs (JMU), 7-6
157 - Michael Parziale (F&M) MAJOR Derick Schonely (JMU), 23-9
165 - Matt Veres (F&M) MAJOR Chris Gwaltney (JMU), 10-1
174 - Brian Lambert (JMU) FALL Matt Goggin (F&M), 1:33
184 - Jason Chalfont (JMU) FALL Chris Richey (F&M), 5:11
197 - Zach Winfrey (JMU) MAJOR Glenn Martin (F&M), 9-1
HWT - Chris Cvitan (JMU) DEC Shawn Coughlin (F&M), 6-2
