Geoffrey Alexander
As Terrapins 133-pound wrestler Geoffrey Alexander was set to weigh in for his team’s dual against then-No. 19 Wisconsin on Nov. 14, coach Kerry McCoy delivered disappointing news.
Jesse Thielke — the Badgers projected starter and a top-20 wrestler in his weight class at the time according to InterMat — didn’t step on the scale, leaving an opening in Alexander’s weight class. Alexander won by forfeit but was stripped of the opportunity to wrestle premiere competition for the first time this season.
He watched from the sideline as the Badgers claimed seven matches and won the dual 28-12. Aside from Alexander’s victory, 174-pound Josh Snook and 141-pound Shyheim Brown earned the Terps’ only decisions.
“It was a little frustrating at first,” Alexander said. “The first five minutes, I was pissed off. I wasn’t there just to make weight. I was there to weigh in, get out there and get after it. And that’s what I was looking forward to.”
Instead of carrying his disappointment into the dual against then-No. 7 Nebraska two days later, Alexander brought determination and motivation into his match with 133-pound Eric Montoya. The Pittsburgh native won 4-2 in his inaugural Big Ten bout and provided his team with the only points in a 42-3 defeat.
“It was going to be a really tough match [against Thielke], and it would have been great competition,” Alexander said after the Nebraska match. “But those things happen, and I kind of had to shake that off and look forward to my match today.”
The win over Montoya was Alexander’s first match in two weeks — he earned wins against Johns Hopkins and Kutztown at the Terrapin Duals on Nov. 2 — and McCoy said the redshirt junior could have tallied more points to extend his lead. Still, the seventh-year coach was content with his wrestler’s result.
“He didn’t wrestle his best, but he got the win, and that’s the most important thing,” McCoy said. “It was his first competition in a couple weeks, so he’s just trying to get back, shake the rust off and get ready for the next step.”
Alexander’s impressive showing on the mat this season hardly comes as a surprise. In his first two college seasons, he combined to win 47 matches as a starter at 133 pounds. Alexander served as a redshirt last season, compiling a record of 25-2 and claiming four open-tournament titles.
His success also energizes teammates, namely Brown, who wrestles a weight class above Alexander. Against the Badgers, Brown secured a one-point victory. He fell to No. 14 Anthony Abidin in his match against the Cornhuskers but held tough in an eventual two-point defeat.
Brown, a sophomore, said Alexander serves as a mentor and added he feeds off his veteran teammate’s knack for winning matches.
“It’s definitely a plus because I’m right after him,” Brown said. “Whenever he gets his hand rose [in victory], I’m up shortly after. It’s good to have someone like that.”
The referee raised Alexander’s arm — signaling him the winner — against Wisconsin, but Alexander wasn’t satisfied with a victory by default.
So now he has even more fuel as he turns his attention to Friday’s match against Pittsburgh, his hometown team, during which he hopes to decide his own fate rather than hearing his result from his coach.
“I just try to go out there and wrestle my match, wrestle the way I’m capable of wrestling,” Alexander said. “I’m just excited to get back out there and compete with the team.”
