The Bison wrestling team traveled to Harvard and Brown for two key out-of-conference matchups on Jan. 19. The Orange and Blue did not face much resistance in a 35-3 decisive victory over the Crimson at the Malkin Athletic Center but fell short to Brown 20-18 at the Pizzitola Sports Center after giving up four of the last five bouts to the Bears. The team’s season record now stands at 3-6.

Coming off back-to-back losses against Navy and Lehigh the week prior, the Bison looked to get back on track against Harvard at the Crimson’s season home opener. The Orange and Blue took care of business in Cambridge, claiming nine of ten bouts and cruising to a 35-3 victory over the Crimson. The Bison were led by pins from Zach Hartman ’22 at 157 pounds and Brandon Stokes ’20 at 285 pounds.

“The little guys really got us off to a great start and we just kept the momentum rolling all the way up through. It was really good to get that win in the first dual of the day and give our guys some confidence heading into Brown,” Stokes said.

The outcome at Brown, though, was not the same as it had been for the Bison a few hours earlier. While the Orange and Blue were leading 18-14 at the start of the heavyweight bout between the Bears’ Ian Butterbrodt and Stokes, Stokes’ fifth stall warning in the third period earned him a disqualification and led to the 20-18 victory for Brown. Despite this challenge, the meet proved impressive for the Bison, who saw Joey Gould ’20 at 141 pounds register his first pin of the season and Jakob Campbell ’21 at 125 pounds lengthen his undefeated record in dual action to 6-0.

“Joey Gould’s return to the lineup has been a tremendous boost of energy for our program,” assistant coach Kevin LeValley said. “He has a wide-open and unorthodox style of wrestling that is fun for fans to watch. We expect Joey to continue to improve each week as he begins to prepare for postseason competition.”

The wrestling team travels again on Jan. 26 for another doubleheader against Sacred Heart (12 p.m.) and Hofstra (7 p.m.).