The Binghamton wrestling team earned its first Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association (EIWA) dual victory of the season on Friday night, defeating Princeton, 20-16.
“We’ve been fighting hard all season,” Binghamton head coach Matt Dernlan said. “I challenged our guys this weekend to match our execution with our fight. I think we out-fought them and out-executed them.”
While the teams split the 10 matches, Binghamton (2-4, 1-0 EIWA) earned a pin in its final matchup to seal its victory.
Opening for the Bearcats was redshirt freshman Thierno Diallo, who notched a technical fall, 16-1, to put BU on top in the 125-weight class.
“Thierno’s win was huge,” Dernlan said. “We knew we had an opportunity for bonus points … and Thierno came out with that attitude and got a huge statement win.”
After splitting the next two matches, No. 18 ranked Princeton (3-2 0-1 EIWA) senior Adam Krop earned a 12-4 decision victory over BU sophomore Nick Tighe at the 149 spot, cutting BU’s lead to 8-7. The Bearcats and Tigers split the next four, giving Binghamton a 14-13 lead headed into the last two matches.
In the 197 match, No. 11 ranked Princeton junior Abram Ayala defeated Binghamton redshirt senior Caleb Wallace, 7-4. The victory put Princeton on top, 16-14, for the first time all match. Heading into its final match behind senior leader and No. 17 ranked Tyler Deuel, BU only needed three points from a decision victory to take the match. But Deuel wanted more: He pinned his opponent 50 seconds into the second period to lift Binghamton to a 20-16 victory.
“It was a big statement win,” Dernlan said. “Not only did he get his hand raised, which would’ve secured the dual meet as well, but he wants to lead by example. He knew he could get a pin and he went out with that intention and secured a big win for us.”
Deuel now sports a 5-1 record in dual matches this season, going 9-1 overall.
“Being a senior leader on the team, being our highest-ranked wrestler, he’s got to lead by responsibility and by his actions,” Dernlan said. “And he did.”
The Bearcats are next set to travel to Chicago for the Ken Kraft Midlands Championships hosted by Northwestern. The two-day event is set to begin at 9 a.m. on Dec. 29.