SIUE grabs pair of first-place finishes at Central Missouri Open

WARRENSBURG, Mo. – The SIUE wrestling team kicked off its 2012-13 season Sunday at the Central Missouri Open and saw a pair of wrestlers crowned as champions.

Sophomore Patrick Myers (133 pounds) and freshman Jake Residori (165 pounds) each earned first-place honors in their respective weight divisions.

Also placing for the Cougars was senior David Devine, who was the runner-up at 285 pounds, and junior Josh Wood, who took fifth place at 197 pounds.

Myers won four matches to earn a spot in the championship match at 133, where he scored a 3-2 decision over Missouri freshman Matt Manley.

Residori, who was competing in his first tournament for SIUE, also picked up four victories en route to the finals, where he defeated McKendree's Isaiah Gonzalez via a 6-1 decision.

Devine needed three matches to reach the final but fell 6-3 to Missouri's Devin Mellon and took second place at 285.

Wood earned fifth place at 197, while freshman Drew Vrbenec reached the quarterfinals and was one win away from placing at 141.

Also picking up wins for SIUE Sunday were Brandon Brindley (133), Dillon Pousson (149), Alex Davis (157), Kyle Lowman (157), Deshoun White (174), Chris Johnson (184), and Cole Rogers (197).

Next up for the Cougars are the Iowa Duals on Nov. 24.

 

Patrick leads Davidson at Wolfpack Open

RALEIGH, N.C. – Junior Scott Patrick led Davidson’s wrestling team at the Wolfpack Open, placing fifth at 184 pounds Sunday in Reynolds Coliseum.

Patrick went 6-1 on the day with three wins by fall. He pinned Zathy Ndiang (Maryland) in 4:27 to open the tournament but was sent to the consolation bracket by Lance Bryson (West Virginia) after suffering a 15-6 major decision defeat.

Patrick claimed his first consolation bout in 59 seconds, though, pinning Bret Peltier (NC State), then claimed a pair of decisions over Southern Conference opponents to advance to the consolation semifinals. Patrick was slated to face Bryson again, but Bryson took a medical forfeit to place Patrick in the fifth-place bout, where he pinned Mark Colabucci (West Virginia) in 2:23.

Sophomore Philip Elias went 2-2 at 125 pounds, earning a decision over Bill Rappo (Maryland) and a win by forfeit.

Sejiro Littleton (141 pounds) and Patrick Devlin (149) earned a victory each.

Davidson will host No. 5 Ohio State on Thursday in Belk Arena at 7 p.m.

 

VMI’s Garcia third, Adams sixth at Wolfpack Open

RALEIGH, N.C. – Coming off of a fourth-place finish at last season’s Southern Conference championships, sophomore 197-pounder Urayoan Garcia claimed a third-place finish at the 2012 Wolfpack Open, hosted by NC State on Sunday afternoon. The Virginia Military Institute grappler finished 3-1 on the weekend.

Garcia was not the only Keydet to earn a place finish at the Open, as he was joined by junior heavyweight Juan Adams, who took sixth place at the tournament, his second consecutive weekend with a place finish after logging sixth place last week at the Hokie Open.

The Keydets enjoyed a highly successful weekend, winning 24 of their matches during the Wolfpack Open. Not only did the Keydets pile up the wins, but the team had a solid look at several Southern Conference opponents, notching 12 victories over SoCon foes.

Garcia opened the tournament with a pin, sticking King College’s Cody Davis on his back in 4:51. In the next round, the Keydet edged out SoCon foe Jared Johnson of Chattanooga with a 9-8 win. Garcia was pinned in the semifinals by Old Dominion’s Kevin Beazley but picked up a medical forfeit in the third-place bout by West Virginia’s AJ Vizarrondo to reach the podium.

After a bye in the first round, Adams, who improved to 8-4 on the young season with this weekend’s results, was pinned in the second round by Utah Valley’s Adam Fager. Adams bounced back however, pinning his next two opponents, Davidson’s Jordan Owenby and Matthew Torain, who wrestled unattached from any school. Adams won his first two wrestleback matches in just over five minutes of work, sticking Owenby in 4:19 and Torain in just 54 seconds.

In the quarterfinals, Adams blanked West Virginia’s Phil Mandzik 3-0, followed by a gutsy 8-6 sudden victory over Virginia Tech’s Ty Walz in the wrestleback semifinals. In the fifth-place bout, Adams was edged 3-1 by Virginia Tech grappler Chris Penny.

At 174 pounds, sophomore Carry Joseph picked up another three victories, opening the event with an 11-3 major decision against Davidson’s Ian Solcz. Joseph fell to West Virginia’s Brutus Scheffel in the second round but rebounded with an 11-4 victory over teammate Derek Thurman, who wrestled unattached for VMI at the Open.

In the wrestleback second round, Joseph picked up his second major decision of the tournament, besting King College’s Roy Daniels 12-4. However, Joseph’s afternoon came to an end in the wrestleback quarterfinals after Virginia’s Vincent Waldenhauser pinned the Keydet in 1:32.

VMI will enjoy a week off before its next schedule competition on Sunday, when action heads north to Philadelphia, Pa. The Keydets will take part in the 2012 Keystone Classic, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania at the historic Palestra. Matches will begin at 10 a.m.

 

Gardner-Webb’s Kozera and Starkes place at Wolfpack Open

RALEIGH, N.C. – Gardner-Webb redshirt sophomore Justin Kozera took third place overall at the heavyweight position, while freshman Cortez Starkes finished sixth at 125 pounds to lead the Runnin’ Bulldog grapplers at the Wolfpack Open on Sunday.

Kozera (4-1), wrestling unattached, won his first two bouts on the day then bounced back from a fall in the semifinals to post a 16-5 major decision win over Dawson Peck in the third-place match to finish third overall at 285 pounds.

At 125 pounds, Starkes (3-2), who also wrestled unattached on Sunday, recorded back-to-back wins in the consolation bracket to advance to the fifth place match, where the freshman fell to Brian Bokoski of North Carolina 16-2 in a major-decision loss to finish sixth overall.

Just missing out on placing on Sunday were freshmen Kyle Ash (4-2) at 165 pounds and Austin Trott (3-2) at 157 pounds.

Redshirt sophomore Aaron Rabin (1-2) and freshman Hunter Gamble (1-2) posted one win apiece on Sunday at 174 pounds, while fellow newcomer Ryan Mosley (1-2) earned a first-round 3-0 decision over Jacob Atkins of Chattanooga at 141 pounds.

GWU’s Josh Burns (0-2) and Joseph Evans (0-2) each competed at 165 pounds, while freshmen Alex White (0-2) and Boyce Cornwell (0-2) both wrestled unattached at 125 and 197 pounds, respectively, on Sunday.

Gardner-Webb graduate assistant coach Kyle Blevins (4-0) posted a first-place finish at 174 pounds, as the former NCAA national qualifier beat Levi Clemmons of Chattanooga 3-0 in the first-place match.

The Runnin’ Bulldogs (1-1) will return to dual match action on Nov. 19, as GWU will host Belmont Abbey at 7 p.m. in Paul Porter Arena.

 

Chattanooga’s Brown takes 197-pound title at Wolfpack Open

RALEIGH, N.C. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team had another solid weekend of competition at the Wolfpack Open on Sunday. Senior Niko Brown won the 197-pound title, leading a group of five Mocs who placed in the event.

Brown won four matches in the event to improve to 12-1 on the season. He started with a pin over NC State's Josh Lackey (1:48) before winning three straight decisions. His other wins were over Darren Hankins (7-4) of Virginia Tech, West Virginia's A.J. Vizcarrondo (7-2) and Old Dominion's Kevin Beasley (6-4) in the finals. This is Brown's second top-three finish in the last two weeks after placing third at the Hokie Open on Nov. 4.

Sophomore Nick Soto was coming off a win in the 125-pound bracket at last week's Hokie Open. His is currently No. 8 in the nation in his class and placed second Sunday. He won three matches before falling to North Carolina's Nathan Kraisser (7-4).

Senior Dean Pavlou also placed second in the event. He posted four wins, all decisions, to advance to the finals of the 141-pound bracket. Pavlou came into the match ranked No. 20 in the nation, but was pinned by UNC's 19th-ranked Evan Henderson (3:27).

Freshman Marvin Lopez and John Lampe both placed sixth at 133 and 165, respectively. Both Lampe and Lopez went 3-2 in the event.

The Mocs open the home portion of their schedule with a historic day of competition on Friday. No. 2-ranked Iowa will visit Maclellan Gym for the first time. The match between the Hawkeyes and the Mocs is set for 7 p.m. and caps off a full day of wrestling, as Chattanooga also hosts Cumberland at 5 p.m.

 

Arizona State 42, The Citadel 6

CHARLESTON, S.C. – No. 10-ranked Ugi Khishignyam recorded a pin at 5:44 to give The Citadel wrestling team its only six points of the day in a 42-6 loss against Arizona State in the 3rd Battalion on Sunday. The pin is Khishignyam’s second of the season and improves his record to 5-1 in the 141-pound weight division.

The heavyweight bout featured two ranked wrestlers in The Citadel's No. 13 Odie Delaney and Arizona State's No. 9 Levi Cooper. As expected, the two battled it out on the mats for seven minutes, but two Cooper takedowns proved to be the difference as the Sun Devils (4-0) took the win with a 6-2 decision.

The Bulldogs (0-1) will be back in action on Nov. 17 when they travel to Annapolis, Md., to compete in the Navy Classic. A season ago, Jack Duane took second place in the 184-pound division to help lead The Citadel to a fourth-place finish.

Arizona State 42, The Citadel 6
125: Ares Carpio (ASU) won by pin over Steven Cox (The Citadel) at 1:50.
133: Shane McGough (ASU) won by pin over Aaron Hansen (The Citadel) at 2:46.
141: Ugi Khishignyam (The Citadel) won by pin over Matthew Kraus (ASU) at 5:44.
149: Nathan Hoffer (ASU) won by decision over Jordan Dix (The Citadel) 8-3.
157: Codey Combs (ASU) won by tech fall over Matthew Frisch (The Citadel) 5:22, 17-0.
165: Parker Madl (ASU) won by decision over Michael Harper (The Citadel) 6-1.
174: Blake Stauffer (ASU) won by pin over John Duane (The Citadel) at 6:27.
184: Kevin Radford (ASU) won by pin over Kendall Hemmings (The Citadel) at 2:09.
197: Jake Meredith (ASU) won by major decision over Nicholas Grossi (The Citadel) 14-4.
285: #9 Levi Cooper (ASU) won by decision over #13 Andrew Delaney (The Citadel) 6-2.

 

Appalachian State goes 3-0 on Sunday

BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University began its 2012-13 home slate with a trio of victories over George Mason, Anderson and Belmont Abbey on Sunday afternoon at Varsity Gymnasium.

Appalachian State and George Mason (0-3) finished in a tie, but under the two-year-old tiebreaking rule, the tie was broken using pre-determined criteria. The teams each had five victories and two falls. The next procedure is total match points, excluding bouts involving the falls.

Previously, George Mason was awarded the victory, counting all the points earned throughout the dual. The rule was incorrectly interpreted, as the points earned by each wrestler in a non-fall match should have been counted. Appalachian State earned 50 points, compared to GMU's 46, giving the Mountaineers the extra point needed to clinch the win.

Appalachian defeated Anderson (0-5), 40-6, and Belmont Abbey (2-2), 39-9.

Appalachian State moved to 3-0 on the season, as the Southern Conference schedule begins in the Mountaineers' next dual on Tuesday, Dec. 4, against Gardner-Webb.

The day started in favor of the Mountaineers, who captured back-to-back victories at 125 and 133 pounds against George Mason as redshirt sophomore Dominic Parisi and redshirt freshman Joe Morrison put Appalachian State ahead, 7-0.

The Patriots stormed back, taking the next three bouts and the lead at the 13-7 mark.

Appalachian (2-1) responded with three straight victories, including pins by redshirt freshman Zack Strickland and sophomore Jesse Johnson. With the three wins, Appalachian State looked to control the match at 22-13.

With George Mason's win at 197 pounds, GMU's heavyweight, Jake Kettler, forced the 22-22 deadlock with his pin at the 4:08 mark.

Highlighting the day was Strickland, who posted two pins and a technical fall. Also posting three wins were Parisi, Johnson and sophomore Colin Hedash. One of Parisi's wins came outside of his normal weight class of 125 pounds, as he tallied a 12-10 decision over Anderson's Zak Hale at 133 pounds.

Johnson doubled his career dual win total, entering Sunday's bouts with just one dual victory. Johnson earned a pin and a technical fall, leading the Mountaineers at 184 pounds.

The Mountaineers return to action on Sunday as they will partake in the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, Pa. This will be the second invitational of the season after the Mountaineers began their season at the Hokie Open.

Appalachian State 23, George Mason 22
125 - Dominic Parisi (APP) maj. dec. Robert Dooley (GMU), 10-2 (APP 4-0, APP 10-2)
133 - Joe Morrison (APP) dec. Zach Isenhour (GMU), 6-3 (APP 7-0, APP 16-5)
141 - Sahid Kargbo (GMU) maj. dec. Acton Pifer (APP), 15-5 (APP 7-4, APP 21-20)
149 - Greg Flournoy (GMU) won by fall over Aaron Scott (APP), (5:48) (GMU 10-7, APP 21-20)
157 - Jaaziah Bethea (GMU) dec. Riley Keen (APP), 9-7 (GMU 13-7, GMU 29-28)
165 - Zack Strickland (APP) won by fall over Matt Huffstickler (GMU), (2:46) (Tied 13-13, GMU 29-28)
174 - Colin Hedash (APP) dec. Ryan Hembury (GMU), 13-7 (APP 16-13, APP 41-36)
184 - Jesse Johnson (APP) won by fall over Corey Smith (GMU), (4:46) (APP 22-13, APP 41-36)
197 - Matt Meadows (GMU) dec. Paul Weiss (APP), 10-9 (APP 22-16, APP 50-46)
HWT - Jake Kettler (GMU) won by fall over Joe Cummings (APP), (4:08) (Tied 22-22, APP 50-46)
Appalachian State awarded tiebreaker point (criterion 3.15.3) (APP 23-22, APP 50-46)

Appalachian State 40, Anderson 6
125 - Jeffrey Ogburn (APP) won by fall over Greg Williams (AU) (1:16) (APP 6-0)
133 - Dominic Parisi (APP) dec. Zak Hale (AU), 12-10 (SV-1) (APP 9-0)
141 - Chris Johnson (APP) tech. fall Brandon Benitez (AU), 15-0 (5:00) (APP 14-0)
149 - Dan Telhade (AU) dec. Riley Keen (APP), 7-2 (APP 14-3)
157 - Nick Giuliette (AU) dec. Aaron Scott (APP), 3-0 (APP 14-6)
165 - Zack Strickland (APP) tech. fall Jamal Lackey (AU), 15-0 (4:48) (APP 19-6)
174 -Colin Hedash (APP) won by fall over Jake Allen (AU), (2:21) (APP 25-6)
184 - Jesse Johnson (APP) tech. fall Donnee Grase (AU), (5:10) (APP 30-6)
194 - Paul Weiss (APP) won by forfeit (APP 36-6)
HWT - Joe Cummings (APP) maj. dec. Zach Newton (BAC), 12-4 (APP 40-6)

Appalachian State 39, Belmont Abbey 9
125 - Dominic Parisi (APP) won by fall over Patrick Mestrez (BAC), (4:18) (APP 6-0)
133 - Jake Nelson (BAC) dec. Jeffrey Ogburn (APP), 7-2 (APP 6-3)
141 - Chris Johnson (APP) won by forfeit (APP 12-3)
149 - Aaron Scott (APP) won by forfeit (APP 18-3)
157 - Jake Varilek (BAC) won by fall over Jacob Freeman (APP), (2:34) (APP 18-9)
165 - Zack Strickland (APP) won by fall over Brandon Wilkins (BAC), (6:59) (APP 24-9)
174 - Colin Hedash (APP) dec. Joseph Maumoynier (BAC), 7-5 (APP 27-9)
184 - Jesse Johnson (APP) dec. Marcus Dwaileebe (BAC), 11-4 (APP 30-9)
197 - Paul Weiss won by fall over Chris Sloat (BAC), (1:53) (APP 36-9)
HWT -Joe Cummings (APP) dec. Kelly Baker (BAC), 3-2 (APP 39-9)