This weekend, three members of the Boston University wrestling team competed in the NCAA Championships at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. After the tournament was over, the Terriers finished in 45th place as a team, generating six points for the weekend.
Senior Nestor Taffur highlighted the trio, falling just one win short of being named an All-American in his final season in the scarlet and white. On the first day of the tournament on Thursday, the senior fought against freshman Austin Matthews of Clarion University, pinning him just1:11 into the match.
In the next match of the day, Taffur was locked in a tight battle with No. 11 seed redshirt junior Taylor Walsh of Indiana University. Down 9-6 in the third period, things did not look promising for Taffur. But on the strength of two takedowns, Taffur tied the score at 10 at the end of regulation. Before even getting to overtime, the BU senior pinned Walsh and claimed his second victory of the day.
After winning his first two bouts, Taffur advanced to the quarterfinal round where he took on third-seeded sophomore Alex Dieringer of Oklahoma State University. Dieringer proved to be too much for Taffur, as the sophomore defeated him 18-11.
Taffur did have one last chance to advance, though, and fought redshirt sophomore Anthony Perrotti in the consolation match of the quarterfinal round. Despite clawing close at 4-2 in the third period, Perrotti ended Taffur’s career with a 10-2 victory. Although he fell just one win short of the semifinals and missed out on being an All-American, Taffur finished his time at BU with 119 wins, a program-best.
Juniors Tyler Scotton and Mitchell Wightman also competed in Oklahoma. Scotton faced freshman Edgar Bright of the University of Pittsburgh in the first round. While the junior fought hard and avoided takedown, he fell 3-1 to Bright and was later defeated by redshirt senior Nick Lester in a consolation match.
Wightman faced a similar fate, losing in both his first round bout and consolation matchup. He ended his season with a 23-15 record.
Nasson competes in Minneapolis
Sophomore Stephanie Nasson represented the Boston University women’s swimming and diving team this weekend in the NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, making her the first BU women’s swimmer to compete in the championship tournament since 1988.
In her first race, Nasson swam in the 500m freestyle, an event she set the school record in with a 4:47.42 finish at the Patriot League Swimming and Diving Championships in February.
Nasson broke her school record with her performance. After the race was all said and done, Nasson finished the 500 freestyle preliminary race with a time of 4:46.94.
Saturday, on the final day of the competition, Nasson again set a record, this time in the 1,650m freestyle. She had previously set the school and Patriot League record with a time of 16:20.32. In the race at the championships, Nasson broke that mark with a time of 16:17.71. She finished 26th in the race as the No. 39 seed in the competition. During the race, she also posted a split time of 9.51.10, good for a new school mark for the 1,000m freestyle.
Track sets new school record
Building off an indoor season in which it won the Patriot League Championship, the Boston University women’s track and field team had a successful start to its 2014 outdoor campaign, setting a new school record in the 4x400m relay at the Hurricane Invitational in Coral Gables, Fla.
Juniors Hannah Wiley and junior Gemma Acheampong, sophomore Jade Paul and freshman Djenne Parris combined for a 3:45.79 finish. The quartet placed third in the race behind two teams from the University of Miami.
BU’s previous best in the event was 3:45.94, which was set back in 2009. During the 2013-14 indoor campaign, the same group of Wiley, Acheampong, Paul and Parris broke the school record in the 4×400 relay three different times.
Earlier in the meet, the 4x100m relay team of Acheampong, Wiley, senior Janet Mellor and sophomore Christina Wood won its race, completing the run in 46.36 seconds.
Acheampong and Wood finished second and third, respectively, in the 100m finals. Wood also placed third in the 200m, while Parris came in sixth place in the same event. In the 400m run, Paul and Parris came in fourth and fifth.
For the field events, senior Allison Barwise led the Terriers, claiming a win in the high jump at 1.84m. She also finished second in the javelin with a distance of 36.72 meters.
Jackie is a sports reporter for The Daily Free Press and has previously served as Managing Editor and Associate Sports Editor of the FreeP. At this moment, she's probably watching Shark Tank and thinking of ways to work, "and for that reason, I'm out," into casual conversations. Please send all inquiries in the form of a box combo from Cane's with no coleslaw and extra fries or follow her on Twitter at @jackie_bam
