Joe Hambleton
LAUDERDALE BY THE SEA, Fla. - Senior Timothy Hood capture the 125-pound title and Joe Hambleton earned his 100th career win in leading Cornell's fifth-ranked wrestling team at the Citrus Invitational Thursday and Friday at Cardinal Gibbons High School.
The Rams came away with six placewinners and placed third in a competitive 16-team field which featured six nationally-ranked teams. Cornell scored 124.5 points, nine more than sixth-ranked Saint John's in fourth.
NCAA Division II's second-ranked Upper Iowa won the team title with 159 points, followed by No. 7 Augsburg in second with 149.5.
Hambleton continued his stellar senior season with a 6-1 tourney mark and third-place finish at 165. He recorded a pair of first-period pins before falling 8-1 to New York University's fourth-ranked David Rice in the semifinals. Hambleton battled his way through the consolation bracket with four consecutive wins, including a 3-2 decision over Ohio Northern's fifth-ranked William Painter in the third-place bout.
The third-ranked Hambleton moved to 20-3 on the season, and improved his career mark to 102-45. He became the 10th Cornell wrestler in the modern-day era to reach 100 wins.
Hambleton is the sixth Ram to achieve the feat under Coach Duroe, joining Pat McAuley (139 wins, 2004-08), Chris Heilman (132, 2004-08), Nick Nothern (118, 2006-10), Kyle Kehrli (114, 2005-09) and Kevin Donahue (109, 2007-11).
"One hundred wins is a milestone for any wrestler," Duroe said. "Joey is an extremely tough competitor."
Coming up - The Rams are scheduled to compete in the William Penn Open Saturday, Jan. 7 in Oskaloosa. Cornell hosts its annual Matman Invitational Jan. 14 in Mount Vernon.
