The Bison wrestling team traveled to Annapolis, Md., to compete in the Navy Classic on Saturday, Nov. 19. Nine out of 20 Bison ended the trip as place-winners.

This successful weekend was led by performances by Darren Miller ’23 and Kurt Phipps ’24. 

The Orange and Blue showed a stellar team performance, with three major decisions, five pins and two technical falls in the competition.

Miller had a major decision over Lock Haven to start off the day. He competed against Navy in the semifinals, winning with a 5-3 decision. Miller continued on to the finals, coming short in the match to Nebraska. 

Nolan Springer ’25 had two of the pins on the day, placing fifth at the 197 weight class. 

Phipps came in third place in the competition, starting off his day by beating Navy 7-2. He followed up in the semifinals, losing to Air Force 13-0 in a major decision. He concluded his day with a win in the consolation match against Lock Haven 2-1. 

“The Navy Classic is a tough early season competition that allows the team to see where we’ve made strides and where our lesser weaknesses are,” Phipps said. “I thought, in particular, the freshmen and sophomores wrestled really tough, and it excited me for this year and the future of our team!”

Dylan Chappell ’25 finished in fourth-place and Logan Deacetis ’25 finished in fifth-place. Mason McCready ’23 and Mikey Bartush ’26 finished in sixth and seventh place, alongside Chase Barlow ’26 and Sam Barnes ’23 finishing in eighth.

The Orange and Blue will travel to Las Vegas for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas International on Dec. 2 and Dec. 3.