East Stroudsburg, PA – In his first collegiate meet, Holden Corbin dominated for Lincoln Memorial Men's Wrestling, taking home third in the season opening East Stroudsburg Open on Sunday.
In total, six Railsplitters hit the mats in the opening event of the season, as Lincoln Memorial finished above 15 other clubs in team score during the event.
In the 141-pound division, Christopher Puryear took on a close battle in the opening round, falling via Major Decision to his opponent from Averett while earning two points thanks to key escapes to start the second and third round of the bout, taking the bout to the distance.
In the heavyweight class, the Railsplitters dominated early, as Corbin began his collegiate career with a quarterfinals victory over his opponent from East Stroudsburg, taking just 48 seconds to net the fall victory, and earn a berth in the Semifinals of the 285-division.
Corbin would fall to an opponent from Kutztown via decision, but would earn a place in the third-place match against Pittsburg-Johnstown, which Corbin would win via forfeit, securing a bronze-finish in his first ever collegiate bout.
Blake Allen would earn a bid into the Consolation Round of 16 in the 157-pound division, and would back up his berth with a dominating win over his foe from East Stroudsburg. Allen began ahead, entering the break up 7-0 thanks to a takedown followed by a four-point near fall. After choosing to start on the bottom in the second-round, Allen turned a quick escape into a takedown, netting four additional points before his opponent got on the board. A takedown ended round two, and had Allen leading 14-1 going into the final period. Allen locked up his win thanks to an early takedown, ending with a 17-1 Tech Fall win in 5:24 of action.
Allen's day continued in the Round of 8, as the sophomore was able to translate an early lead into a Major Decision victory. Allen would rack up a takedown and two nearfalls before a reversal had him ahead 9-2 going into the first break. Two four-point nearfalls in the second round all but locked up the win, and Allen would ride out the third period with an escape followed by a takedown, securing the riding time point and advancing in the consolation bracket. Allen's next matchup would be far less eventful, but ended the same for Allen, securing a 3-2 victory via decision to earn a bid in the 157 consolation semifinals.
James Thaxton, fresh off a preseason conference wrestler to watch honor, would fight valiantly in the opening round of the 165-pound division. In the first round of his match against Kutztown, Thaxton would put himself on the board thanks to an escape, followed by a reversal that helped him to three after the first timer ran out.
In the second-round, Thaxton would turn a neutral position into an advantage, securing his first takedown of the season to end the next period tied with three points in the second period. Despite netting an escape and a takedown of his own in the third round, Thaxton was unable to overcome the early deficit, falling 10-20 in a Major Decision.
Thaxton would turn that performance into a consolation Round of 16 win, as the senior made quick work of his opponent from Union College of New Jersey, earning a victory via Fall in 1:55 to earn a spot in the Consolation Round of 8.
In the first bout of the Round of 8, Thaxton would face a close contest with his opponent from Bridgeport, as Thaxton would need all of his match to secure a close 11-10 decision victory. The senior would fall behind early, trailing 7-2 going into the first break. After choosing to start the period on bottom, Thaxton reversed the course of the match, earning an escape point before taking three off a takedown to enter the third period down just one. Despite allowing a takedown early in the set, Thaxton picked up an escape before forcing the match into an overtime set, which Thaxton rode out for a one-point advantage and the win.
A strong first period helped Quinton O'Driscoll in the 174-pound division, as facing an opponent from Pitt-Johnstown, O'Driscoll would pair an escape with a takedown to secure four points, but was unable to recapture the momentum , losing via Tech Fall in 4:44.
O'Driscoll turned things around in the Round of 8 in the consolation bracket, dominating his opponent from Centenary in a 20-4 Tech Fall win, taking just over four minutes to run away with the victory.
Results
125
Round of 16
Kameron Harrell def. by William Soto (KD Training Center): TF 0-15 (3:51)
Consolation Round of 8
Kameron Harrell def. by David Vazquez (UCNJ): Fall (1:04)
141
Round of 32
Christopher Puryear def. by Jesse Lemon (Averett): MD 2-11
Consolation Round of 16
Christopher Puryear def. by Jared Fulton (Kutztown): TF 0-16 (5:28)
157
Round of 32
Blake Allen def. by Gavin Reynolds (East Stroudsburg): TF 1-17
Consolation Round of 32
Blake Allen over Jackson Brady (Unattached): Forfeit
Consolation Round of 16
Blake Allen over Alex Nigro (East Stroudsburg): TF 17-1 (5:25)
Consolation Round of 8 (1)
Blake Allen over Gabriel Foreman (Averett): MD 22-14
Consolation Round of 8 (2)
Blake Allen over Ricky Halford (Pitt-Johnstown): Dec. 3-2
Consolation Round of 4
Blake Allen def. by Ryan Schimpf (Kutztown): TF 1-18
165
Round of 16
James Thaxton def. by Luke Hitchcock (Kutztown): MD 10-20
Consolation Round of 16
James Thaxton over James Villafana (UCNJ): Fall (1:55)
Consolation Round of 8 (1)
James Thaxton over Cameron White (Bridgeport): Dec. 11-10
Consolation Round of 8 (2)
James Thaxton def. by Billy Wood (Sussex): Dec. 5-8
174
Round of 16
Quinton O'Driscoll def. by Ewan Olson (Pitt-Johnstown): TF 8-24 (4:44)
Consolation Round of 16
Quinton O'Driscoll over Stephan Hayek (East Stroudsburg): Forfeit
Consolation Round of 8 (1)
Quinton O'Driscoll over Luke McGovern (Centenary): TF 20-4 (6:16)
Consolation Round of 8 (2)
Quinton O'Driscoll def by Zahier Chiles (UCOU): TF 3-19 (3:24)
285
Quarterfinals
Holden Corbin over Layton Schmink (East Stroudsburg): Fall (0:48)
Semifinals
Holden Corbin def by Matthew Scott (Kutztown): Dec. 3-7
Third-Place
Holden Corbin over Ethan Osburn (Pitt-Johnstown): Forfeit
