Heavyweight Jackson Brinker caps comeback for Cornell’s first men’s wrestling dual win over Coe since 2017

Jackson Brinker is no stranger to a winner-take-all situation.

Cornell’s heavyweight has taken the mat with the dual on the line multiple times. He has succeeded more often than not, balancing the buzz and butterflies.

“I want win,” Brinker said. “I’m going to give it everything I got. Coming down to the last match at heavyweight, it's a bit nerve-wracking. … It can wear on you.”

Brinker posted a come-from-behind decision and powered No. 21 Cornell past rival No. 10 Coe, 19-18, on tiebreaker criteria in the Bremner Cup dual Wednesday night at Small Athletic and Wellness Center in Mount Vernon. The Rams beat the Kohawks for the first time since 2017 and earned their first victory in the series at home since 1998.

“It was good win,” said Cornell Coach Brent Hamm, who was a Rams assistant for that 28-7 win in 2017. “It’s been a while. I remember the last one so vividly. Last time it was at Coe. It always feels good but nice in front of the home crowd.”

“Even though it was kind of a snow day, our gym was loud, packed and electric. It made for a great environment.”

The Rams improved to 14-5, splitting the 10 bouts. They matched the most dual wins by a Cornell team since the 2014-15 season. The performance was indicative of the entire season.

“We’ve been wrestling well all year,” Hamm said. “We’ve had a lot of good duals. We talk about how you have to do whatever it takes as long as it takes. They all embody that.”

The dual was a back-and-forth affair. Coe won the first three bouts for a 10-0 lead. The Rams answered with three straight victories, including a vital fall from Brian Petry at 165, for a 12-10 lead. The Kohawks added two more wins, taking an 18-12 lead with two matches to go.

“We just got them ready for their match,” Hamm said about 197-pounder Treyten Steffen and Brinker. “Treyten knew who he had. We’ve wrestled Arsenault seven or eight times the last two years. He just needed to win that for himself and he gave us an opportunity.

“I knew that if we were within striking distance at heavyweight, we had a pretty good shot at winning the dual. I just told Brinker when he walked out that we just needed a win to win.”

Brinker understood the scenario when 10 th-ranked Steffen edged Matthieu Arsenault, 6-5, setting up the last-match dramatics.

“I’m not going to lie I had that tucked in the back of mind toward the end of the dual,” Brinker said. “What if it comes down to me? I was ready for that after Treyten getting that win. Hamm told me we just needed a win and said I’ll see what I can do.”

The start didn’t go in Brinker’s favor, allowing the opening takedown and trailing 4-2 after one period, which grew to 8-4 early in the third. He rallied for two takedowns in a little over a minute and added nearfall points as time expired for a 14-9 decision.

“I had taken (Dancy) down and I needed another one to take the lead,” Brinker said. “I see Hamm telling me to cut him. I was pushing hard on his head, making sure he's not diving for my ankles when he’s getting up. I secured last takedown towards the end. I had his leg hooked and I was pretty confident that he wasn't going to get out of that. It was pretty much just run out the clock from there.”

Brinker reveled at the end of the match and became more excitable when the comeback was complete. The National Wrestling Coaches Association Scholar All-American and former Johnston prep described it as a “peak moment” in his college career.

“It was definitely a quality experience, you could say that,” Brinker said. “I was excited. I had a little bit of an adrenaline rush. Celebrated a little bit, but we beat Coe.”

The decisive criteria was most pins. Petry recorded the only one of the night, decking Kael Scranton in 1:46. The Rams also received tight victories from Landon Card at 149 and 157-pounder A.J. Parrish. Card topped Dresden Grimm, 4-2, while Parrish edged national qualifier Ty Koedam, 8-7.

“He’s the toughest 10-10 guy in the country because he’s wrestled all All-Americans and ranked guys,” Hamm said of Parrish. “He’s been at that level but you’ve got to get over the hump and beat one of those guys. It was a big win for him.”

Coe (9-5) opened with No. 14 Brayden Parke’s 8-0 major decision over Jase Van Pelt at 125, followed by No. 11 Bryce Parke’s 11-5 decision over Eli Sneed. Kael Kurtz had a decision at 141 for Coe’s early double-digit lead. The Kohawks reclaimed the lead with a technical fall from No. 4 L.J. Richardson at 174.

The lone battle of ranked opponents went in Coe’s favor. No. 6 Jared Voss tallied takedowns in the first and third periods for a 9-2 decision over No. 8 Cael McLaren at 184.

AT MOUNT VERNON

Cornell 19*, Coe 18

125 – #14 Brayden Parke (Coe) major dec. Jase Van Pelt, 8-0; 133 – #11 Bryce Parke (Coe) dec. Eli Sneed, 11-5; 141 – Kael Kurtz (Coe) dec. Elliot Cooney, 8-1; 149 – Landon Card (Cor) dec. Dresden Grimm, 4-2; 157 – AJ Parrish (Cor) dec. Ty Koedam, 8-7; 165 – Brian Petry (Cor) pinned Kael Scranton, 1:46; 174 – #4 L.J. Richardson (Coe) tech. fall Jace Nelson-Brown, 17-0; 184 – #6 Jared Voss (Coe) dec. #8 Cael McLaren, 9-2; 197 – #10 Treyten Steffen (Cor) dec. Mathieu Arsenault, 6-5; Hwt. – Jackson Brinker (Cor) dec. Damari Dancy, 14-9.

* - Cornell won dual on second tiebreaker criteria with greater number of pins.

MEET STATISTICS

Takedowns – Cornell 8, Coe 14. Nearfall points – Cornell 4, Coe 18. Reversals – Cornell 1, Coe 2. Escapes – Cornell 12, Coe 12. Penalty points – Cornell 1, Coe 2. Riding time points – Cornell 0, Coe 2

Comments: kj.pilcher@thegazette.com