The Citadel wraps competition at Nittany Lion Open

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Citadel’s Ugi Khishignyam and Turtogtokh Luvsandorj earned third-place finishes at the 149- and 174-pound weight classes, respectively, while Bulldog heavyweight Odie Delaney nabbed fourth place at the Nittany Lion Open on Sunday on the campus of Penn State University.

Khishignyam, who is currently ranked sixth in the country by Intermat Wrestling, opened the day with three consecutive wins. The Mongolia native took down Boston University's Tyler Scotton by a 7-5 decision before posting a 4-2 decision over Penn State's Zachary Beitz and a 6-3 win over Maryland's Shyheim Brown.

Khishignyam needed just one more win to a land a spot in the championship bout, but North Carolina's No. 17-ranked Evan Henderson edged out a 4-3 win to land Khishignyam a spot in the third-place bout. In that match, the Bulldog grappler earned his fourth win of the day and 13th of the season when he won by forfeit over Cornell's Joseph Stanzione.

In the 174-pound division, Luvsandorj, who was wrestling unattached, captured two quick decisions over Central Michigan's Anthony Bill (2-1) and Campbell's Matthew Cox (2-0). The Bulldog senior's tough stretch continued in his third bout when Luvsandorj earned a 3-1 sudden victory over Pittsburgh's Patrick Tasser.

In a similar situation to his teammate, Luvsandorj needed one more win to get in the championship but was tripped up by Penn State's No.3-ranked Matthew Brown by major decision (9-0).

Luvsandorj bounced back nicely in the third-place match, earning a 6-0 decision over Old Dominion's Billy Curling.

Delaney, who is currently ranked No. 13 in the nation in the heavyweight division, dominated his first two bouts, taking down Maryland's Carl Bucholtz and Old Dominion's Danny Davis with 8-1 decisions in each of the matches. Delaney tacked on a 5-3 sudden victory win over Lehigh's Douglas Vollaro to land the Bulldog senior in a tough semifinal match against Penn State's James Lawson.

Lawson moved on after earning the 2-1 sudden victory to move Delaney in the third-place bout, where he was topped by Penn State's Jonathan Gingrich in a 14-1 major decision.

Delaney's three wins on Sunday improve his career record to 91-37 with 47 pins as the senior chases the 100-win and 50-pin plateau.

The Bulldogs will open Southern Conference action on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in a dual match against Davidson at McAlister Field House.

 

Campbell competes at Nittany Lion Open

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Campbell wrestlers competed in their second open of the year at the Nittany Lion Open hosted by Penn State on Sunday. Freshman Eric Montoya placed eighth in the 125-pound division, the best finish by a Camel on the day.

The event featured approximately 500 wrestlers from more than 30 teams representing the East Coast and Midwest.

Montoya finished 4-3 on the day to finish eighth out of 42 individuals in the 125-pound class.  He recorded two major decisions and two pins, including a 3:51 fall over Lock Haven’s Kaleb Lemaire, who wrestled unattached. He fell in the seventh-place match 8-3 to Max Soria of Buffalo.

At 133 pounds, redshirt junior Tanner Bidelspach fell in the second round, while freshman Michael Dahlstrom, wrestling unattached, dropped matches in the second round and first wrestleback round.

Redshirt juniors Gabe Gardner and Brent Jorge, as well as sophomore Jordan Tolbert, represented CU at the 141-pound spot. Gardner fell in the first round to William Switzer, unattached for Lehigh, 11-3. Jorge, wrestling as a Camel for the first time and unattached, went 2-2, posting decisions over Penn State’s David Batkowski (unattached) and Clarion’s John Matacic. Tolbert, also wrestling unattached, finished 3-2 on the day. He pinned Maryland’s Shane Arechiga in 1:03 and defeated Pitt’s Jake Keller 9-3 and Clarion’s  Blake Morder 10-6.

In the 149-pound spot, freshman Cory Wagner (unattached), sophomore Daniel Luty, and redshirt freshman Thomas LeBarre all fell in their respective first-round matches.

Sophomore Ryan Krecker posted a technical fall over Ray Schlitt of Bucknell, 17-2 in 3:14 at the 157-pound spot before falling in his final two matches. Redshirt junior Brad Merriman also wrestled at 157, falling to Navy’s John Keck 4-3.

At 165 pounds, sophomore Garrison Matthews fell in his first match, and classmate Paul Duggan went 1-2.

Campbell had three wrestlers at 174. Freshman Taylor McGiffen posted a 2-2 record on the day, while redshirt senior Matt Cox went 1-2. Redshirt freshman Cody Ryba fell in his only match of the day.

Redshirt freshman James Cook represented the Camels at 184. He went 2-2 on the day. He posted an 8-3 decision over Virginia Tech’s Sam Law and pinned Nassau’s Daniel Sutherland in 3:58.

Senior John Merickel wrestled at 197 pounds, going 1-2 in the open.

Rounding out the day, sophomore heavyweight Joe Nolan fell in his only match of the day.

Campbell will travel for the next two competitions. On Dec. 16, the team will make the trip to Reno, Nev., to face several opponents in the Reno Tournament of Champions. To round out their road trip, the Camels will compete at the Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2. in Chattanooga, Tenn.