NEW YORK – The Lions won six bouts Sunday afternoon in Levien Gym to fight off No. 29 Maryland in a thrilling 18-16 win. Columbia completes the regular season with a 6-7 overall record and a 5-3 mark in EIWA action as the Lions prepare to head to the EIWA Championships at the beginning of March.
 
"The reality is, we already started our transition into postseason, and that is how it has to be, Andrew F. Barth Head Coach of Wrestling Zach Tanelli said. "We used this as our last tune-up before the EIWA tournament. We focused more individually on what we needed than the team, so we are ready to go."
 
The festivities got started before the match Sunday as the team's six seniors were recognized before the match. Chimenum Tasie-Amadi, Gunnar Fuss, Sam Wustefeld, Danny Conley, Danny
Fongaro, and Matt Kazimir are all part of the class of 2023.
 
"This is a really special group," Tanelli said about the senior class. "Every class is special, but these guys are the ones that started with me. I recruited each one of these guys. We have always had a good tradition here, but they have been the ones that really made it what it is today and what it is going forward. It is emotional for me seeing these guys wrestle their last dual meet at home."
 
The match started at 125, where No. 27 Nick Babin toughed out an 8-5 decision win over No. 15 Braxton Brown to put the Lions on top early. Maryland's King Sandoval met Boris Witmer in the 133 bout next, where Sandoval won by fall (2:45) to give the Terrapins a 6-3 lead.
 
The senior, No. 22 Kazimir posted an impressive 6-0 decision over Kal Miller at 141 to celebrate senior day. Fongaro followed at 149 as he dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 18 Ethen Miller.
 
"It is shocking to wrap my mind around this being the last dual that I will have for Columbia," Kazimir said. "It is sad, but also it is nice. I got the win and the team got the win as well against Maryland, which is amazing."
 
Columbia rolled through the next four bouts to take a 18-9 lead with two bouts remaining in the match. No. 22 Cesar Alvan got the streak started at 157 as he battled to win an 8-5 decision against Michael North.
 
No. 15 Joshua Ogunsanaya took the mat for the 165 bout against John Martin Best. Ogunsanya cruised to take an 11-4 win, coming just short of bonus points. No. 28 Lennox Wolak then posted a tight 4-3 win over Dom Solis at 174. Aaron Ayzerov notched the sixth bout win of the afternoon for the Lions with an impressive 7-0 decision over Kevin Makosy.
 
Looking to close out the win, Jack Wehmeyer and Billy McChesney came to the mat for the last two bouts of the match. Wehmeyer lost a major decision to No. 13 Jaxson Smith. No. 24 Jaron Smith followed with a 7-3 decision over McChesney to wrap up the afternoon.
 
RESULTS
 
COLUMBIA 18, No. 29 MARYLAND 16
New York, N.Y.  (Levien Gym)
 
Individual Match Results:
125: No. 27 Nick Babin (COL) def. No. 15 Braxton Brown (MAR) | Dec., 8-5
133: King Sandoval (MAR) def. Boris Witmer (COL) | Fall, 2:45
141: No. 22 Matt Kazimir (COL) def. Kal Miller (MAR) | Dec., 6-0
149: No. 18 Ethen Miller (MAR) def. Danny Fongaro (COL) | SV, 4-2
157: No. 22 Cesar Alvan (COL) def. Michael North (MAR) | Dec., 8-5
165: No. 15 Joshua Ogunsanya (COL) def. John Martin Best (MAR) | Dec., 11-4
174: Lennox Wolak (COL) def. Dom Solis (MAR) | Dec., 4-3
184: Aaron Ayzerov (COL) def. Kevin Makosy (MAR) | Dec., 7-0
197: No. 13 Jaxon Smith (MAR) def. Jack Wehmeyer (COL) | MD, 11-3
HWT: No. 24 Jaron Smith (MAR) def. Billy McChesney (COL) | Dec., 7-3
 
Cumulative Scoring Results:
125 | COL 3, MAR 0
133 | MAR 6, COL 3
141 | MAR 6, COL 6
149 | MAR 9, COL 6
157 | MAR 9, COL 9
165 | COL 12, MAR 9
174 | COL 15, MAR 9
184 | COL 18, MAR 9
197 | COL 18, MAR 13
HVY | COL 18, MAR 16
 
UP NEXT

The Lions will head to Philadelphia for the EIWA Championships on March 4-5.

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