The Bucknell Wrestling team hosted the Drexel Dragons last Friday, Jan. 24 in a tense and competitive EIWA matchup. Bucknell struggled to find their stride early, and the Bison locked themselves in a difficult position after just a few matches. A loss from Chris Nucifora ’28 (125) kicked off the match, but Kurt Phipps ’25 (133) quickly put the team on the board with a victory, the 98th of his impressive career in Orange and Blue. However, Bucknell would not score another point in the next three matches, with losses by Dylan Chappell ’26 (141), Braden Bower ’26 (149) and Cade Wirnsberger ’27 (157).
The Dragons’ dominance granted them a 14-3 lead halfway through the competition. Victories by Noah Mulvaney ’27 (165) and Myles Takats ’27 (174) made it seem like a promising Bison comeback was brewing, but subsequent losses by Logan Deacetis ’25 (184) and Dillon Bechtold ’28 (197) were the nail in the coffin for the team. Nolan Springer ’25 (285) was victorious in the final match, but his efforts were not enough as Bucknell was defeated by a final score of 20-13. This disappointing loss brought Bucknell’s record to 4-6 on the season and was their first EIWA loss of the season.
Two days after the tough loss to Drexel, the Blue and Orange hosted an even bigger challenge against the Army Black Knights, who came into the matchup ranked 22nd in the EIWA. Walking into Davis Gym against a ranked opponent after a difficult time on Friday seemed to be an incredibly tall task for the Bison, but the heart, grit and toughness of Bucknell were on full display. Army jumped out to a 5-0 lead after Nucifora’s loss in the opening match, but back-to-back wins by decision from Phipps and Chappell put Bucknell ahead after three matches.
An Army wrestler defeated Bower, but these would be the last Army points added to the scoreboard until the final match of the afternoon. The Bison proceeded to win five straight matches by a combined score of 15-0. Each round went down to the wire, with Coach Dan Wirnsberger praising his team’s ability to close out important matches when it mattered most, something they could not do on Friday. The win streak began with Wirnsberger, followed by Mulvaney, Takats, Deacetis and Bechtold all displaying skill and resilience to continue their team’s momentum. Springer fell in the final match, but Bucknell’s 21-13 victory gave the Bison their first win against a ranked opponent since 2015 and their first ranked EIWA win since 2013.
Momentum will be the name of the game for the rest of Bucknell’s season, as they will need to pull off several similar commanding victories to achieve the postseason success they know they are capable of. The Bison will face their next test hosting Navy on Friday, Jan. 31.
