Penn State Open
The Citadel
State College, Pa. ? The Citadel wrestling team traveled up north this weekend to compete in the Penn State Open. One of the largest open wrestling tournaments in the country featured 569 competitors from more than 30 different teams. There were 11 Bulldog athletes competing for The Citadel along with five cadets wrestling unattached.
As the young team continues to gain experience they have consistently sought out bonus points by way of extra takedowns, nearfall points and pins. More than a third of the Bulldog victories were by fall and nearly a fourth were recorded as major decisions.
The Cadet charge was led by 125-pound freshman Paul Sanford who improved to 12-6 on the season with his 4-2 performance on Sunday. Sanford recorded a fall in the first period of the first round of competition, advancing him into the 32-man bracket. He then shut out his next opponent 10-0 before falling to the eventual fifth place finisher in a close battle. Sanford secured his final victories on the weekend against two Pitt-Johnstown opponents, pinning the first at the 3:36 mark and defeating the second 5-3.
Redshirt sophomore Mike Fenton, redshirt freshman Derek Royster and redshirt junior Aaron Brown also defeated their first opponents of the tournament in the 133, 149 and 285-pound weight classes. Royster recorded a second period fall at the 3:20 mark while competing along side 81 other wrestlers in his weight class.
141-pound Cadet Michael Arias and 157-pound Bulldog Keith Koziel both added two more notches to the win column of their season records, improving to 10-3 and 6-5 respectively. Arias defeated his first opponent 8-0 in the redshirt senior’s only match of the day to go the full six minutes. A fall in the first round of consolation matches advanced Arias further in the tournament than two-thirds of his original competition. Koziel began the tournament with a fall, pinning his fellow service academy opponent in the third period. He then defeated his next foe 7-2 advancing him into the championship round of 16.
The Bulldogs’ John Buck wrestled five challenging rounds of competition en route to three victories in the 197-pound weight class. The redshirt senior first took on an opponent from Duquesne who he defeated 7-5. Buck then fell to the eventual sixth place finisher, dropping him into the consolation bracket. In his next match, Buck was able to secure bonus points scoring a 17-3 major decision. He split his final two bouts of the day, winning the first 4-3 and falling in the second 2-5.
Other Bulldogs that competed for The Citadel in the tournament were junior Anthony Easter (0-2) at 133 pounds and freshmen Brendan Prince (0-1) at 165 pounds, Derek Sickel (0-2) at 174 pounds and Joe DeLisle (0-1) at 184 pounds. The Bulldogs also had five athletes compete unattached in the tournament, sophomore Tyler Sim (0-1) at 125 pounds and freshmen Kevin Ciccone (0-1) at 133 pounds, Justin Sparrow (4-2) at 149 pounds, J.C. Oddo (3-2) at 174 pounds and heavyweight Ivan Muller (0-2).
The Bulldogs will be back in action Thursday, Dec. 13 at home in McAlister Field House at 7 p.m. when they will host Campbell. Live audio and video of The Citadel’s home matches can be viewed on Bulldog Insider at www.CitadelSports.com. For all of the latest news on The Citadel wrestling team and Bulldog athletics visit wwwCitadelSports.com.
VMI
STATE COLLEGE, Pa.- The VMI wrestling team competed at the Nittany Lion Open on Sunday, hosted by Penn State at Rec Hall.
Seniors Tyler Anthony (Canton, Ohio/Glen Oak) and David Metzler (Dayton, Va./Turner-Ashby) made runs in the 133-pound and 141-pound brackets, respectively. Anthony won his opener with a 6-5 decision over Cory Dunn of Sacred Heart, before knocking off Princeton’s Nicky Pereira with a pin at the 3:52 mark. Anthony then dropped a 6-2 decision to Virginia’s Eric Albright to fall out of the championship bracket. In the consolation bracket, Anthony took a 7-6 decision over Clarion’s Tony Lascari. However, his day came to an end when Lock Haven’s William Ashnault took a 7-2 decision
Metzler began his run with a 5-0 decision over Virginia’s Scott O’Donnell before dropping a 1-0 decision to Bloomsburg’s Ricky Donald. In the wrestlebacks, Metzler ran off three decisions with a 4-2 win over UPJ’s Nathan Link, a 6-1 decision against Army’s Casey Smith and a 6-4 victory against ODU’s Adam Koballa. The redshirt-senior’s run came to an end against Hofstra’s Justin Accordino with a 9-4 decision.
In other action, senior Jeremy Adams lost a 10-2 major decision in the first round at 125 pounds to Cornell’s Frank Perelli. Senior Vince Cole dropped a 3-2 decision to Edinboro’s Joe Bockmore at 149 lbs., while senior Dustin McCabe was pinned at the 2:49 mark against Liberty’s Aaron Kelley in the first round of the 174-pound bracket.
The Keydets return to action on Friday evening, hosting Gardner-Webb in the team’s home opener at 7:30 p.m. at The Thunderdome.
Cliff Kean Las Vegas Invitational
UNC Greensboro
LAS VEGAS, NV ? The UNC Greensboro wrestling team wrapped up the 2007 Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational with two wrestlers finishing in the top 10. Senior Daren Burns finished third in the 197-pound division and senior Jeff Hedges placed sixth at 133 lbs.
On day-two, Burns went 3-0 to take the consolation championship decision.. He defeated Dickinson State’s Justin Schlecht with a 6-2 decision in his first match of the day. He then won a 7-5 decision over Anthony Biondo of Michigan and in the consolation round, he defeated Patrick Bond of Illinois in a 6-3.
Hedges came home with a sixth-place finish. He went undefeated on Friday, but fell to Cal State-Fullerton’s T.J. Dillashaw (9-3 decision), Filip Novachkov of Cal Poly (4-0 decision), and Hofstra’s Louie Ruggirello (5-4 decision) on Saturday.
For more information on UNCG wrestling and all other Spartan athletics visit www.uncgspartans.com .
AGATE
Semifinals
133 ? T.J. Dillashaw (Cal State-Fullerton) def. Jeff Hedges (UNC Greensboro) Decision, 9-3
Wrestleback 7
133 ? Filip Novachkov (Cal Poly) def. Jeff Hedges (UNC Greensboro) Decision, 4-0
Fifth Place
133 ? Louie Ruggirello (Hofstra) def. Jeff Hedges (UNC Greensboro) Decision, 5-4
Wrestleback 5
197 ? Daren Burns (UNC Greensboro) def. Justin Schlecht (Dickinson State) Decision, 6-2
Wrestleback 6
197 ? Daren Burns (UNC Greensboro) def. Anthony Biondo (Michigan) Decision, 7-5
Wrestleback 7
197 ? Daren Burns (UNC Greensboro) def. Patrick Bond (Illinois) Decision, 6-3
Davidson Open
Davidson
DAVIDSON, N.C. ? Sam O’Hair took second at 184, while Ben Altman, Trebor Clavette and Mike Waters placed third at the Davidson Open Saturday afternoon.
O’Hair fell 12-4 to John Barone of Duke after advancing to the Championship match. Altman lost 8-6 to Kellan McKeon of Duke in the quarterfinals at 125 but battled through the Wrestleback bracket and defeated McKeon by medical forfeit for third place.
Clavette suffered a 5-3 setback to UNCG’s Kody Harrington in the second round at 174, but stormed through Wrestlebacks and topped Zach Ulm of George Mason 21-8 in the third-place match. Waters lost in the semifinals at 197 and won by medical forfeit in the Wrestleback championship.
Heavyweight Charlie Wolff took fourth after winning his first two matches before falling 5-3 to Leon Barrow of VMI in the semifinals. The freshman posted a 7-4 victory in the Wrestleback semis, but lost 4-1 to Drew Doyle of Newberry in the third-place match.
Alex Radsky advanced to the semifinals at 133 but suffered a 12-2 setback in that round and dropped a 10-3 decision in the Wrestleback semis.
Carl Sandercock and Ben Thompson each lost their first match at 141, and Sandercock posted a 10-6 victory in Wrestlebacks before falling 6-4 to Duke’s Spencer Jasper. Thompson lost 7-2 to George Mason’s John Delgado in Wrestlebacks.
Scott Matthews and Joe McGinley also lost their first matches and were forced to face each other in the second round of Wrestlebacks. McGinley earned a 12-1 victory but fell to Duke’s Mike Bell in the next round.
Kevin Cook made his season debut at 165 and posted a 12-5 victory in the opening round. He lost 7-1 in the second round and won two matches in the Wrestleback bracket before falling 11-4 to Chattanooga’s Mark Rodgers.
The Wildcats return to action at the Southern Scuffle, hosted by UNC Greensboro, Dec. 29 and 30.