Reno, Nev. ? Junior Levi Duyn placed fourth at 149 pounds and three other Bulldogs earned two victories apiece as The Citadel wrestling team finished 17th out of 29 teams at the Reno Tournament of Champions on Wednesday at the Reno Downtown Convention Center in Reno, Nev.

 

Coming into the tournament as the seventh seed of the 149-pound bracket, Duyn advanced to the quarterfinals with three straight pins. After pinning eighth-seeded Mark Powell of Purdue in 2:35 to begin his day, Duyn notched another fall against Matt Black of Newberry College in 1:27. The redshirt-junior went on to the quarterfinals to face third-seeded Carter Downing of Wyoming after pinning Ryan Freeman of Oklahoma State in 3:52. Duyn dropped into the consolation bracket after being pinned by Downing in 1:56 to face Powell for the second time in the tournament. After defeating Powell by pin once again, this time in 4:21, Duyn earned another fall in 2:41 against Hadley Harrison of Clarion to advance to the third-place match where he lost to Downing for the second time on the day. Duyn still walked away from the tournament with a 5-2 record, all five victories by fall, and a fourth-place finish in the 149-pound bracket

 

Freshman Tyler Sim earned a victory in his first bout of the tournament as he won a 6-1 decision against Sean Katz of Liberty to advance to the round of 16 in the 125-pound bracket. But Sim dropped into the consolation bracket after being pinned by fifth-seeded Brandon Pecin of Northwestern in 5:40. Sim advanced after earning a 7-5 decision against Toby Seger of Clarion, but his hopes for the podium ended after losing a 7-2 decision to sixth-seeded Nick Smith of Minnesota State.

 

Junior Michael Arias also advanced to the round of 16 in his bracket as he notched a 6-4 decision over Westley Kuser of Duke at 141 pounds. Arias’ attempt to move on to the quarterfinals was thwarted, however, by eventual champion and top seed Kyle Larson of Oregon State who advanced with a 10-2 major decision. Arias earned a major decision of his own to advance in the consolation bracket as he defeated Micaiah Watkins of Embry-Riddle 12-1, but his day ended after being pinned by Jason Cook of Purdue in 1:02.

 

Junior Darius Caldwell also notched two wins for the Bulldogs as after dropping a 9-0 major decision to 14th-ranked and fourth-seeded Brandon Mason of Oklahoma State in his first bout, he earned two victories in the consolation bracket. Caldwell earned 3-1 decisions over both Quinn Tolbert of Newberry College and Nick Walden of Embry-Riddle. His hopes of placing were dashed by Luke Feist of Stanford, who advanced with a 4-2 decision.

 

The Bulldogs will return to the mats for the Southern Scuffle in Greensboro, N.C. on Dec. 29-30. All of the latest news from The Citadel wrestling team and all Bulldog athletics is available at www.CitadelSports.com.

 

The Citadel Results at the Reno Tournament of Champions

 

17. The Citadel, 29

 

125 Pounds ? Tyler Sim, 2-2

 

133 Pounds ? Anthony Easter, 0-2

 

141 Pounds ? Michael Arias, 2-2; Matt Bullwinkel, 0-2

 

149 Pounds ? Levi Duyn, 5-2

 

165 Pounds ? Zachary Filter, 1-2

 

174 Pounds ? Darius Caldwell, 2-2

 

184 Pounds ? John Dickerson, 0-2

 

285 Pounds ? John Buck, 0-2