Rams roll on with 34-6 rout at Augustana

Cornell's fifth-ranked wrestling team received bookend pins from 125-pounder Timothy Hood and heavyweight Wyatt Bauman in a 34-6 rout of Augustana Friday night at Roy J. Carver Center.

The Rams (6-2 overall) took eight of the 10 contested bouts and head into Christmas break riding a five-dual winning streak. Cornell dominated the host Vikings (3-2) with a 20-3 advantage in total takedowns and scoring bonus points in four matches. It was Cornell's fifth straight series dual win over Augustana.

Cornell built a 13-0 lead through three matches, starting with a quick pin by Hood in 2 minutes, 8 seconds. Tigue Snider earned a 9-2 victory at 133, and Michael Buhr scored a 10-1 major decision at 141 as the Rams took early control of the meet.

After dropping a 6-1 decision at 149, the Rams pulled away by winning five of the remaining six bouts. Senior Nicholas Loughlin, ranked second at 157, recorded a fall in 5:59. Cornell stretched the lead to 25-3 following back-to-back decisions from third-ranked Joe Hambleton (7-4 at 165) and Brent Hamm (9-3 at 174).

The Vikings prevailed 3-1 in the 184-pound match. Cornell then closed out the dual with a 7-0 decision from 197-pounder Alex Coolidge and a pin in 4:38 from Bauman at 285.

Team leaders - Hambleton raised his season record to 14-2, sharing the team lead in wins with Loughlin (14-4). Hambleton moved into a tie for 13th place on the program's modern day wins list with a 96-44 career mark. Loughlin climbed into the top 25 for career wins at 81-24.

Senior Timothy Hood and sophomore 125-pounder Ben Rosen both stand at 12-4 on the year. Freshman Mitch Hood is 12-9 at 125. The Rams have two others with double-digit wins in Snider (10-8) and heavyweight Carl Gaul (10-10)

Coming up - The Rams take some time off over holiday break before traveling to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the Citrus Tournament Dec. 29-30 hosted by Cardinal Gibbons High School. Matches begin at 8 a.m. (Iowa time) both days.

Cornell finished fourth out of 14 teams at last year's tournament. The Rams had three individuals reach the finals, led by 141-pound champion Kevin Donahue. Loughlin at 157 and Hambleton at 165 both placed second.

This year's 15-team field includes Augsburg, Case, John Carroll, Mount Union, Ursinus, Wilmington, Cornell, Dubuque, Upper Iowa, Heidelberg, Colorado School of Mines, New York, Ohio Northern, Liberty and Carroll.