The American University wrestling team dropped both of its duals on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles fell to North Carolina State, 25-12, in its home finale in Bender Arena and lost at local rival Maryland, 23-9, on Sunday night.

No. 10 David Terao and Esteban Gomez-Rivera kicked off the dual with back-to-back decisions at 125 and 133 lbs., respectively. Terao earned an 11-5 victory over Micah Perez, taking a 5-2 advantage in the first period and adding a pair of takedowns in the third. Gomez-Rivera scored two takedowns in the first period for the early advantage as he went on to pick up a 5-3 decision over Chris Wilkes.

North Carolina State won each of the next five matches to take a 22-6 lead in the dual. Jason Grimes was able to end the Wolfpack's streak with a victory over Michael Macchiavello at 184 lbs. The freshman tallied two near falls early and held a 5-2 advantage at the end of the first period. He started on top in the third but Macchiavello was able to get a reversal to tie it up at 6-all. Grimes secured an 8-6 win on a reversal with just 15 seconds remaining in the bout. 

Brett Dempsey earned his first career dual victory with a 7-5 decision over KaRonne Jones at 197 lbs. Jones led 4-1 at the end of the first period but Dempsey was able to make it a two-point match, 5-3, heading into the third. The freshman had an early escape and scored a takedown with 20 seconds remaining, building up his riding time advantage for the victory. Blake Herrin closed out the dual against No. 6 Nick Gwiazdowski. The senior nearly secured the upset with a third period takedown for the 4-3 edge, but Gwiazdowski registered a late takedown and held the riding time advantage for the 7-4 decision.

"I'm really happy for Brett, just being able to dig deep and find a win like that," said Head Coach Teague Moore following the home dual. "David came through for us at 125 lbs., he was attacking hard and I'm happy for him with his results. Esteban came out with two early takedowns which we hadn't seen that from him in a match. I think is hopefully the confidence he needs to move forward. Jason did an excellent job of getting to a position that he's really strong with and was able to execute." 

Terao and Gomez-Rivera posted back-to-back wins to open the dual once again in the Eagles' loss at Maryland. Terao picked up an 8-6 decision over Paul O'Neill and Gomez-Rivera followed it up with a 7-4 decision over Tyler Goodwin at 133 lbs.

The Terrapins won the next two weight classes for the 7-6 edge in the dual but John Boyle put American back on top with a 5-3 decision over Danny Orem. Maryland secured the 23-9 victory in the dual with victories in each of the last five bouts. 

"I'm very happy for David, Esteban and John, they all performed extremely well tonight," said Moore. "We wrestled for all seven minutes in our matches, our conditioning looks good but our execution can improve. We will now begin to focus on the individual athletes as we move towards postseason."

The Eagles close out its dual schedule on Saturday, March 1 when it travels to Oklahoma State.

North Carolina State 25, American 12
125: #10 David Terao (AU) dec. Micah Perez (NC State), 11-5; American leads, 3-0
133: Esteban Gomez-Rivera (AU) dec. Chris Wilkes (NC State), 5-3; American leads, 6-0
141: Sam Speno (NC State) major dec. Spencer Slishman (AU), 14-4; American leads, 6-4
149: Cohl Fulk (NC State) fall Mark Cirello (AU), 2:26, NC State leads, 10-6
157: Tommy Gantt (NC State) dec. John Boyle (AU), 4-2; NC State leads, 13-6
165: Nijel Jones (NC State) major dec. Cristian Masaya (AU), 15-3; NC State leads, 17-6
174: #18 Pete Renda (NC State) tech fall Keithen Cast (AU), 17-2; NC State leads, 22-6
184: Jason Grimes (AU) dec. Michael Macchiavello (NC State), 8-6; NC State leads, 22-9
197: Brett Dempsey (AU) dec. KaRonne Jones (NC State), 7-5; NC State leads, 22-12
HWT: #6 Nick Gwiazdowski (NC State) dec. Blake Herrin (AU), 7-4; NC State wins, 25-12

Maryland 23, American 9
125: #10 David Terao (AU) dec. Paul O'Neill (MD), 8-6; American leads, 3-0
133: Esteban Gomez-Rivera (AU) dec. Tyler Goodwin (MD), 7-4; American leads, 6-0
141: Shyhiem Brown (MD) dec. Tom Page (AU), 7-3; American leads, 6-3
149: Frank Goodwin (MD) major dec. Mark Cirello (AU), 9-0; Maryland leads, 7-6
157: John Boyle (AU) dec. Danny Orem (MD), 5-3; American leads, 9-7
165: Josh Snook (MD) dec. Cristian Masaya (AU), 6-0; Maryland leads, 10-9
174: Matthew Snook (MD) dec. Keithen Cast (AU), 5-2; Maryland leads, 13-9
184: #1 Jimmy Sheptock (MD) major dec. Jason Grimes (AU), 12-2; Maryland leads, 17-9
197: #11 Christian Boley (MD) dec. Brett Dempsey (AU), 10-4; Maryland leads, 20-9
HWT: Carl Buchholz (MD) dec. Blake Herrin (AU), 5-1; Maryland wins, 23-9