GWU wrestling completes action at The Citadel Open

CHARLESTON, S.C. – A handful of Gardner-Webb wrestlers kicked off their 2012-13 season at The Citadel Open on Saturday at McAlister Field House in Charleston, S.C. The event included more than 275 wrestlers from 25 schools from around the Southeast region.

Sophomore Davante Andujar (6-0) and freshman Austin Trott (5-0), who wrestled unattached, both posted first-place finishes in their respective weight classes of 149 and 157 pounds.

Andujar defeated fellow Gardner-Webb teammate Ryan Mosley (4-1), who also wrestled unattached, 2-1 in the championship round to earn his first-place finish, while freshman Mosley took second place at 149 pounds.

GWU’s Trott pinned TJ Duncan in the championship round at 4:39 to win his bracket at 157 pounds.

Along with Mosley, fellow newcomer Gray Jones (4-1) posted a second-place finish at 184 pounds, as Taylor Mcgiffen of Campbell 3-2 edged the freshman in the championship round.

Fellow newbies Kyle Ash (6-1), Hunter Gamble (4-1) and Boyce Cornwell (4-1), who all wrestled unattached, each posted third-place finishes at 165, 174 and 197 pounds, respectively, while GWU freshmen Cortez Starkes(5-2) and Tyler Ziegler (3-2) each posted multiple wins on the day at 125 pounds.

Seven GWU grapplers will be in action Sunday at the Hokie Open in Salem, Va. Live results will be available at www.hokieopen.com.

 

The Citadel wraps up competition at The Citadel Open

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel wrestling team finished up its annual season-opening tournament, The Citadel Open, on Saturday at McAlister Field House. The event included more than 275 wrestlers from 25 schools from around the Southeast region.

Nicholas Grossi led the way for the Bulldogs as the freshman went 2-2 on the day, recording pins against William Mitchell (UCF, 4:53) and Ryan Jacobs (Life University, 1:00) to lift him into the championship semifinal round.

In his third bout of the day, Grossi dropped a 4-3 decision to Justin Tribble (Limestone-Unattached) to drop him into the wrestle-back semifinal match for third place. In that match, the freshman battled with Tyler Radford (Appalachian State-Unattached) for three rounds before falling by a 9-8 decision to take fourth place in the 197-pound weight class.

The Bulldog starters will see their first action of the season Sunday when they compete in the Hokie Open.

 

VMI opens season at The Citadel Open

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The newcomers to the Virginia Military Institute wrestling program got their first taste of collegiate grappling this weekend, faring quite well at Saturday’s The Citadel Open, hosted by VMI’s Southern Conference rival The Citadel.

Rookies Mark Darr and Emmitt Kelly reached the semifinals of the championship portion of the brackets at 165 and 141 pounds, respectively.

Darr, who comes to VMI from Woodbridge, Va., came out in his first collegiate competition on fire, winning his first three matches by fall. In the first round, Darr stuck Sean Mann of UCF in the first minute of the second period. In the next round, Darr once again got an early pin in the second period, pinning Brewton-Parker’s Justin Perin in 3:25. Darr rounded out his winning streak with a pin of Cumberland’s Jacob Shirley in 4:45.

In the 165 pound semifinals, Darr found himself on the wrong side of a high scoring matching, dropping a 13-10 decision against Campbell University’s Paul Duggan, who went on to be the class’s runner-up. In the wrestleback semifinals, Darr’s afternoon was ended by Gardner-Webb University’s Kyle Ash, who was wrestling unattached, with a 12-5 decision.

At 141 pounds, Kelly enjoyed a first-round bye and won his second round match 8-4 over Darton’s Adrian Martin. In the next round, the Keydet blanked Shorter’s Jesse Jone’s 5-0 before posting a 12-0 major decision over Saint Andrew’s Sterling Perry in the quarterfinals. In the championship semifinals, Kelly was bumped by Ryan Mosley, wrestling unattached for Gardner-Webb, falling by major decision 14-4. In the wrestleback semifinals, Kelly suffered a first-period pin against Limestone’s Devon Jackson, who wrestled unattached.

At 133 pounds, Andriy Onufrieynko fell 10-5 in his first round match with UCF’s Nicolas Anthony, but bounced back in the wrestleback bracket, dropping Shorter’s Jonathan Rodriguez 7-3 in the first round. In the second round of the wrestlebacks, Onufrieynko clashed with a familiar face in teammate Brandon Goodwyn. Onufriyenko knocked out Goodwyn, 12-6. In the third round, the newcomer bested Michael Nelems, wrestling unattached for The Citadel, 10-3. Onufriyenko’s afternoon was ended in the wrestleback quarterfinals, as South Florida’s Ryan Hall pinned him in 5:57.

Having traveled with the newcomers to Charleston, S.C., the returning VMI wrestlers will travel to Salem, Va., for Sunday’s Hokie Open, hosted by Virginia Tech. Action at the Salem Civic Center is set for 9 a.m. Results and live action can be found at HokieOpen.com

 

Campbell opens season at The Citadel Open

CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Fighting Camels traveled to The Citadel Open Saturday to compete against wrestlers from 25 schools around the southeast region. Freshmen Eric Montoya, Grant Blumenthal, Cody Ryba and Taylor McGiffen were the champions of their respective weight classes.

Montoya was 6-0 on the day, including two technical falls and major decisions to win the 125-pound class.

Blumenthal won the 149-pound division, after recording five wins. Ryba won four bouts before claiming the championship at 174 pounds, recording one major decision.

McGiffen went 5-0, earning two major decisions, to win the 184-pound championship.

 

Chattanooga opens with three duals

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team opened the 2012-13 season with three dual matches at the University of Virginia on Saturday. The Mocs posted wins over Ohio and Anderson, while dropping its final match to the 16th-ranked Cavaliers.

Chattanooga started the day with a 21-12 win over Ohio. The Bobcats’ forfeit at 125 was followed by UTC wins at 133 and 141 to grab a 12-0 lead. Freshman Marvin Lopez had a 7-1 win in his collegiate debut at 133, while senior Dean Pavlou recorded a 6-1 victory at 141.

Ohio got on the board with Andrew Romanchik's 8-3 decision over junior Alex Hudson at 149. Sophomore Trey Stavrum answered for the Mocs with a 3-1 decision at 157. His takedown with 20 seconds left was the difference in the match.

Ohio closed the gap to 15-9 in the team score with wins in the next two matches. Harrison Hightower posted a one-point victory against freshman John Lampe at 165, while junior Jake Young lost in overtime at 174.

Seniors Robert Prigmore and Niko Brown put the match out of reach with wins at 184 and 197, respectively. Sophomore Kevin Malone was pitted against No. 9 Jeremy Johnson in the heavyweight match, losing a close 3-1 decision.

Chattanooga followed that up with a 37-6 win over Anderson in the second match. The Trojans kept it close early with wins in two of the first four matches. Leading 10-6, Stavrum's major decision at 157 put the Mocs on a six-match roll for the win.

UTC battled hard against No. 16 Virginia. Pavlou, Brown and Malone all posted wins, but the Mocs fell 26-9 in the team score. Pavlou had a 6-3 decision over David Wesley at 141. Brown won in overtime (4-2) against Michael Salopek, while Malone had a 3-1 victory over Derek Pagagianopoulos in the heavyweight match.

UTC stays on the road for Sunday's Hokie Open in Salem, Va. UTC opens its home schedule on Friday, Nov. 16, when No. 2 Iowa visits Maclellan Gym for a 7 p.m. match.

Chattanooga 21, Ohio 12
125: No. 14 Nick Soto (UTC) - Forfeit - Angelo DiSabato (Ohio) - UTC 6-0
133: Marvin Lopez (UTC) - Dec. 7-1 - Thomas McLaughlin (Ohio) - UTC 9-0
141: Dean Pavlou (UTC) - Dec. 6-1 - Kagan Squire (Ohio) - UTC 12-0
149: Andrew Romanchik (Ohio) - Dec. 8-3 - Alex Hudson (UTC) - UTC 12-3
157: Trey Stavrum (UTC) - Dec. 3-1 - Zach Rohr (Ohio) - UTC 15-3
165: Harrison Hightower (Ohio) - Dec. 5-4 - John Lampe (UTC) - UTC 15-6
174: Cody Walters (Ohio) - Dec. 2-1 (OT) - Jake Young (UTC) - UTC 15-9
184: Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Dec. 3-0 - Ryan Garringer (Ohio) - UTC 18-9
197: Niko Brown (UTC) - Dec. - 2-1 - Phillip Wellington (Ohio) - UTC 21-9
285: No. 9 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio) - Dec. 3-1 - Kevin Malone (UTC) - UTC 21-12

Chattanooga 37, Anderson 6
125: No. 14 Nick Soto (UTC) - Fall 0:43 - Keenan Simmons (Anderson) - UTC 6-0
133: Zachary Hale (Anderson) - Dec. 4-3 - Alex Ward (UTC) - UTC 6-3
141: Austin Sams (UTC) - MD 15-5 - Brandon Benitez (Anderson) - UTC 10-3
149: Dan Telhada (Anderson) - Dec. 6-1 - Jared Presley (UTC) - UTC 10-6
157: Trey Stavrum (UTC) - MD 18-5 - Kevin Johnson (Anderson) - UTC 14-6
165: Sean Mappes (UTC) - Dec. 4-0 - Nicholas Giulliette (Anderson) - UTC 17-6
174: Jake Young (UTC) - MD 10-0 - Jacob Allen (Anderson) - UTC 21-6
184: John Shrader (UTC) - MD 12-4 - Zackery Farmer (Anderson) - UTC 25-6
197: Niko Brown (UTC) - Fall 3:54 - Spencer Foucher (Anderson) - UTC 31-6
285: Caleb Denny (UTC) - Fall 2:10 - Zachary Newton (Anderson) - UTC 37-6

No. 16 Virginia 26, Chattanooga 9
125: No. 9 Matthew Snyder (Virginia) - Dec. 6-1 - No. 14 Nick Soto (UTC) - Virginia 3-0
133: Joseph Spisak (Virginia) - Dec. 6-2 - Marvin Lopez (UTC) - Virginia 6-0
141: Dean Pavlou (UTC) - Dec. 6-2 - David Wesley (Virginia) - Virginia 6-3
149: No. 10 Derek Valenti (Virginia) - Dec. 7-3 - Alex Hudson (UTC) - Virginia 9-3
157: Jedd Moore (Virginia) - Tech Fall 6:32 (25-9) - Trey Stavrum (UTC) - Virginia 14-3
165: No. 10 Nicholas Sulzer (Virginia) - MD 24-10 - John Lampe (UTC) - Virginia 18-3
174: No. 8 Jonathan Fausey (Virginia) - MD 12-4 - Jake Young (UTC) - Virginia 22-3
184: Stephen Doty (Virginia) - MD 9-1 - Robert Prigmore (UTC) - Virginia 26-3
197: Niko Brown (UTC) - Dec. 4-2 (OT) - Michael Salopek (Virginia) - Virginia 26-6
285: Kevin Malone (UTC) - Dec. 3-1 - Derek Papagianopoulos (Virginia) - Virginia 26-9