UNCG 23, North Carolina State 17
RALEIGH, NC ? The UNC Greensboro wrestling squad got their redemption against NC State as they defeated the Wolfpack, 23-17, on Wednesday night at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh, NC.
The Spartans got the night started with two big wins in the 125- and 133-pound weight classes to take a 9-0 lead.
Sophomore Mitchell Johnson (12-13, 2-2 SoCon) tacked on his fifth fall victory of the season with a 2:57 pin against Taylor Cummings (20-12). Johnson has won two of the three matches versus Cummings this year.
Thirteenth-ranked senior Jeff Hedges (22-9, 4-0 SoCon) won his 11th consecutive match with a 6-4 decision over Darius Little (10-11). Hedges is now 2-0 against Little. Earlier this week he was tagged the Southern Conference Student-Athlete of the Week.
The Wolfpack seemed to be making a comeback as they won the next four matches and took a 17-9 point lead.
No. 5 Joe Caramanica (28-4) got things started with a seven-minute, 17-2 technical fall over senior Ben Wilmore (4-14, 2-2). Ninth-ranked Darrion Caldwell (28-3) followed with a 1:43 fall victory over junior Marcus Hannah (14-6, 3-1 SoCon) in the 149-pound bout.
Colton Palmer (6-9) kept the momentum going as he defeated senior Mark Ring (7-13, 2-1 SoCon) with a third-period takedown to win 7-4 and Jalil Dozier (12-11) won a 17-10 decision over redshirt freshman Byron Sigmon (13-13, 3-1 SoCon).
Not to be putout by the eight-point deficit, the blue and gold answered with four back-to-back wins to take the lead and the dual win away from the Wolfpack.
Freshman Mikal McKee (11-16, 1-3 SoCon) took the 174-pound bout with a 12-3 major decision over Ray Ward (5-8) to give the team four points and at 184, sophomore Jeremy Cannon (6-4, 0-0 SoCon) nearly shutout Dane Coffee (0-10) with a 10-1 major.
With the scores tied at 17-17, thirteenth-ranked senior Daren Burns (28-6, 4-0 SoCon) not only gave the Spartans the lead with a 1-0 victory over Mark Jahad (9-17), but he also made UNCG history. The win was Burns’ 100th in his career at UNCG and made him the first Spartan to ever reach the century mark.
As he has done in the past, junior Ryan Hsu (19-11, 4-0 SoCon) sealed the victory for the Spartans as he took the heavyweight bout with a 5-2 decision over Bobby Isola (15-12).
The Spartans are now 9-1 on the season with a 3-1 Southern Conference record. With the loss, NC State drops to 8-10-1.
UNCG is back in action Wednesday, February 20 as they take on the Duke Blue Devils. Prior to the 7pm start time, the Spartans will honor four of its senior squad members.
For more news on UNCG wrestling, ticket prices, a complete season schedule, and all other Spartan athletic information log onto www.UNCGSpartans.com.
AGATE
UNC Greensboro 23, NC State 17
125 ? Mitchell Johnson (UNCG) pinned Taylor Cummings (NCS), at 2:57
133 ? #16 Jeff Hedges (UNCG) dec. Darius Little (NCS), 6-4
141 ? #5 Joe Caramanica (NCS) tech fall Ben Wilmore (UNCG), 17-2, at 7:00
149 ? #9 Darrion Caldwell (NCS) pinned Marcus Hannah (UNCG), at 1:43
157 ? Colton Palmer (NCS) dec. Mark Ring (UNCG), 7-4
165 ? Jalil Dozier (NCS) dec. Byron Sigmon (UNCG), 17-10
174 ? Mikal McKee (UNCG) major dec. Ray Ward (NCS), 12-3
184 ? Jeremy Cannon (UNCG) major dec. Dane Coffee (NCS), 10-1
197 ? #13 Daren Burns (UNCG) dec. Mark Jahad (NCS), 1-0
Hwt ? Ryan Hsu (UNCG) dec. Bobby Isola (NCS), 5-2
Appalachian State 30, Liberty 9
BOONE, N.C.- The Appalachian State wrestling team extended their winning streak to four matches, tying a season high, with a 30-9 victory over Liberty on Wednesday evening. Buoyed by pins in the first two bouts of the evening, the Mountaineers cruised to the victory, their 11th of the season.
Senior Eddie Hutchinson earned a takedown on Julian Colon with only 10 seconds off the clock at 157-pounds. Hutchinson then earned three-points for a near-fall before pinning Colon after 52 seconds. Eddie improved to 14-9 on the season and scored his seventh pin of the season and fourth in a row.
At 165-pounds senior Tommy Hutchinson faced Chad Porter. Liberty's Porter earned a takedown in the first period and took a 2-0 lead into the second period. Hutchinson opened on top and worked Porter onto his back, winning his 11th pin of the season after 39 seconds in the second period. ASU extended their lead to 12-0 with two bouts in the book.
Senior Neal Martin faced Aaron Kelley at 174-pounds. Martin lost the first period, 4-1 on the wrong side of a takedown and two-point near fall. Martin started on bottom and earned a reversal halfway though the second period to trail 4-3 after two. Starting the third-period neutral, no points were scored as Kelley resisted Martin’s scoring attempts for the final two-minutes. With the win, Liberty got on the board, trailing 12-3.
Freshman Austin Trotman took on Chris Daggett at 184-pounds. Trotman scored first as Daggett put the Mountaineer in an illegal hold. Trotman answered 20 seconds later with a takedown. Daggett escaped late in the period, trailing at the horn, 3-1. Trotman started the second on top and allowed Daggett to escape after five seconds. The period ended with Trotman leading 3-2. Trotman scored a five-point takedown-near-fall combo as well as a riding time bonus in the bout's final two-minutes to win 9-3.
Freshman Dylan Temple drew Nick Knowles at 197-pounds. Temple won a takedown and worked Knowles into a two-point near-fall. He kept the advantage for 2:51 of the first 3:00. Starting neutral, Temple won a takedown early in the second stayed on top for the remainder of the period. After five minutes, Temple had 4:28 of riding time and led 7-0 taking into account the advantage point. Temple started on bottom and escaped to extend his lead to 8-0. Temple earned another takedown late to win the major decision 10-0. ASU led 19-3 going into the heavyweight bout.
At 285-pounds, senior Jared Campbell took on Patrick Walker. With 1:10 off the clock, a cut over Walker’s eye opened up and stopped the match for over two minutes. Out of the break, Walker took Campbell down and stayed on top for the remainder of the period. Campbell started the second period on top, but was not able to keep Liberty’s Walker down. Walker extended the lead to 5-0 late in the second with his second takedown. Starting the third neutral, neither scored, ending the match at 6-0 to Walker with the riding time point.
Sophomore Frank Celorrio faced Sean Katz at 125-pounds, taking a takedown off the opening whistle and keeping the advantage throughout the period to give the Mountaineer a 2-0 lead. Celorrio opened the second period on bottom, nearly earning a reversal before stalemate was called. Off the whistle, Celorrio escaped and extended his lead to 3-0. With one second on the clock, Celorrio scored a hard-fought takedown to take a commanding 5-0 lead. The score remained the same to end the match, 5-0 pushing ASU’s lead to 22-6.
At 133-pounds, senior Terreyl Williams took on Christian Smith. Halfway though the first period, Williams executed a textbook single-leg takedown but allowed Smith to escape. Another takedown-escape for Williams made the score 4-2 with time winding down in the first. Williams started second period on top and worked Smith for 47-seconds. Smith then used 70 seconds of injury time, scoring an escape on the re-start. Williams then finished the second with two takedowns, leading 8-4 with two minutes remaining in the bout. Williams scored three takedowns in the final period as well as the advantage bonus to win the match by a major decision score of 15-6. The win clinched ASU’s victory by extending the lead to 26-6.
Sophomore Mark Maya opposed Tim Harner at 141-pounds. Harner notched a quick takedown and followed by a Maya escape. Maya entered the second period on top, trailing 2-1 allowed Harner to escape making the score 3-1. Maya evened the score 30-seconds later with a takedown. Harner escaped with 40-seconds remaining in the period to go back on top 4-3, a lead he would take into the third. Maya, on bottom, nearly escaped twice, but could not get to neutral before the whistle and dropped the decision, 5-3.
In the final bout of the evening, senior Scott Ervin, ranked No. 12 nationally, faced Scott Clymer. Ervin took a fast takedown followed by a three-point near fall in the first minute to vault to a 5-0 lead. Clymer reversed, then Ervin reversed in quick succession to make the score 7-2 halfway through the first period. A scoreless final 90-seconds gave Ervin the 7-2 advantage. Starting on bottom, Ervin took a 9-2 lead by executing an outside switch reversal. Four near-fall points put Ervin in position to claim the victory after the second period. Starting on bottom, Ervin scored a reversal in the match’s final minute to lead 16-2 with the riding time bonus. Clymer reversed again to make the score 16-4. Ervin reversed again in the final 10-seconds to win by major decision, 18-4.
Appalachian claimed the victory, 30-9 to improve to 11-7 on the season. Liberty falls to 11-11-1 on the season with the loss.
The Mountaineers will conclude the home schedule this Sunday, Feb. 17 with a senior day doubleheader against VMI and Carson-Newman. Matches begin at 1 p.m. with senior recognition taking place during the intermission.
Match Results
Appalachian State 30, Liberty 9
157: Eddie Hutchinson (ASU) pins Julian Colon (LIB), 0:52. ASU 6. LIB 0.
165: Tommy Hutchinson (ASU) pins Chad Porter (LIB), 3:39. ASU 12. LIB 0.
174: Aaron Kelley (LIB) dec. Neal Martin (ASU), 4-3. ASU 12. LIB 3.
184: Austin Trotman (ASU) dec. Chris Daggett (LIB), 9-3 . ASU 16. LIB 3.
197: Dylan Temple (ASU) maj. dec. Nick Knowles (LIB), 10-0. ASU 19. LIB 3.
285: Patrick Walker (LIB) dec. Jared Campbell (ASU), 6-0. ASU 19. LIB 6.
125: Frank Celorrio (ASU) dec. Sean Katz (LIB), 5-0. ASU 22. LIB 6.
133: Terreyl Williams (ASU) maj. dec. Christian Smith (LIB), 15-6. ASU 26. LIB 6.
141: Tim Harner (LIB) dec. Mark Maya (ASU), 5-3. ASU 26. LIB 9.
149: Scott Ervin (ASU) maj. dec. Scott Clymer (LIB), 18-4. ASU 30. LIB 9.
VMI 39, Delaware State 12
LEXINGTON, Va.- VMI used three pins and three forfeits on their way to a 39-12 non-conference victory against Delaware State on Wednesday evening at The Thunderdome. The Keydets improve to 6-5 overall, while the Hornets fall to 1-12-1 on the season.
With the Hornets forfeiting three of the first four weight classes and VMI senior Tyler Anthony pinning Kelvin Watford at 133, the Keydets took a 24-0 decision into the evening’s fifth match, coming at 157. There, DSU redshirt-freshman Kyle Robinson pinned VMI freshman Andrew Dionne at the 4:08 mark, giving the Hornets their first win of the evening to cut the margin to 24-6.
Hornet sophomore Brandon Gardner won the night’s first decision, besting Keydet freshman Jayme Gordon at 165. In that match, Gordon broke a scoreless tie late in the second period with a takedown, however fell behind 3-2 midway through the third period and could not escape as time expired.
VMI senior Dustin McCabe scored the Keydets’ second pin of the evening in the second period of the 174 match. With a 2-0 lead and over a minute of riding time entering the second, McCabe began the second period in the down position. He was unable to escape until he reversed Kyle Skinner’s hold in the center circle, pinning him at the 3:52 mark to push the VMI advantage to 30-9.
Keydet freshman Curtis Moore won his first career dual match at 184, running up a 9-2 decision over Hornet junior Derrick Loper. Hornet junior Shawn Nowrey countered with a 10-3 decision at 197 over Keydet freshman Ronnie Ellsworth.
The final match of the evening pitted DSU redshirt-freshman Ellis Hester against Keydet freshman Josh Wine. Wine continued his dominance at The Thunderdome, improving to 3-0 with three pins at home this season, doing so at the 2:54 mark of the first period to wrap up the night’s action.
“Well, we only wrestled seven matches, so the team score is misleading,” said VMI head coach John Trudgeon. “We won four of the seven matches, and had six true freshmen in the lineup tonight. Curtis Moore had a good win tonight, it’s good for him to wrestle aggressively and get a win. There’s a lot of work to do out there for us. It’s good to have Tyler getting back to 100%, and then we’ve basically got Dave, Dustin and a bunch of young pups. We’ve got some big challenges this weekend against Duke and Appalachian State, but tonight, a win’s a win and we’ll take it.”
The Keydets return to action this weekend, taking on Duke in Durham on Saturday before rounding out their Southern Conference schedule at Appalachian State on Sunday.
VMI 39, Delaware State 12
125- Jeremy Adams (VMI) wins by forfeit, VMI 6, DSU 0
133- Tyler Anthony (VMI) pins Kelvin Watford (DSU) 4:26, VMI 12, DSU 0
141- David Metzler (VMI) wins by forfeit, VMI 18, DSU 0
149- John Held (VMI) wins by forfeit, VMI 24, DSU 0
157- Kyle Robinson (DSU) pins Andrew Dionne (VMI) 4:08, VMI 24, DSU 6
165- Brandon Gardner (DSU) dec. Jayme Gordon (VMI) 3-2, VMI 24, DSU 9
174- Dustin McCabe (VMI) pins Kyle Skinner (DSU) 3:52, VMI 30, DSU 9
184- Curtis Moore (VMI) dec. Derrick Loper (DSU) 9-2, VMI 33, DSU 9
197- Shawn Nowrey (DSU) dec. Ronnie Ellsworth (VMI) 10-3, VMI 33, DSU 12
285- Josh Wine (VMI) pins Ellis Hester (DSU), 2:54, VMI 39, DSU 12