Dukes pinned by Wildcats

The JMU wrestling team’s record of 4-15 heading into Saturday’s match against the Davidson College Wildcats might be a little misleading in the same way the outcome of Saturday’s match was misleading.

Though the Dukes lost to the Wildcats 22-20, they won five of the 10 matches, including a pin from junior Chris Cvitan.

"It felt pretty good, but I wish we’d been a little closer so we could have won the match," Cvitan said.

However, some may have been surprised not to see senior Brian Lambert doing the pinning. Lambert has a team-best five pins.

"We really weren’t counting on [Lambert] for a pin," coach Josh Hutchens said. "His guy was a really tough guy. We were just looking for a win from him."

Lambert, who made his final home appearance along with seniors Aaron Swift and Derick Schoenly, was not in the least disappointed with his performance. He was too busy enjoying his last day in Godwin’s Sinclair Gymnasium.

"This was a pretty emotional day," Lambert said. "This was the last time I’d be wrestling at Godwin and the last time I’d be touching that mat. Win or lose, I just wanted to walk off that mat with no regrets."

The teams’ biggest problem came from the number of points lost early in the match. The JMU lightweights were dominated by the Wildcats, who used cradling to their advantage.

"We haven’t had a lot of experience going over it," Hutchens said. "All they did was cradle. You only have week to prepare for each team. We work on those things that week, but it’s hard."

Things started to turn around for the Dukes when junior 141-pounder Brian Kibler, narrowly won his bout against Davidson’s Benjamin Graham.

"I lost a lot of takedowns I shouldn’t have in the middle of the match," Kibler said. "When I was pushing the pace, I was getting takedowns. I could have done that more and it wouldn’t have been so close. Overall, though, I got the win and that’s what’s most important to me."

It was Kibler’s third consecutive win.

Sophomores Jason Chalfant and Zach Winfrey also pulled out wins for the Dukes at the 184-lbs. and 197-lbs. weight-classes, respectively. Winfrey’s win put him at 10-12 overall, winning four of his last five bouts.

Although the Dukes’ lightweights have had a tumultuous season, Lambert isn’t the least bit worried.

"We’ve got a lot of freshmen," Lambert said. "Those kids are tough and they’re working really hard. It’s just a couple of mental mistakes but we’ll fix those. The coaches are great and they’ll straighten them out."

But, Lambert is sad to be leaving.

"They are going to win more matches next year and they’re going to be tough," he said. "I wish I could be here."