The Citadel 31, Davidson 12
DAVIDSON, N.C. - The Citadel claimed the final four bouts to secure a 31-12 victory over Davidson in Southern Conference wrestling action Saturday afternoon in BelkArena.
A decision in Davidson (3-12, 0-4 SoCon) senior Tyler Mullen's favor (4-1) pulled the Wildcats within one (13-12) but three consecutive major decisions by Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (174 pounds), Josh Tuck (184) and Kelby Smith (197) tipped the match in The Citadel's (6-8, 2-2 SoCon) favor. No 15 Odie Delaney then won the heavyweight bout by forfeit for the Bulldogs for the final margin.
The two teams traded victories through the first six bouts. Despite a late challenge by Davidson junior Matt Zarth, Richard Alarcon Jr. held on for a 6-2 win. Freshman Anthony Elias came out strong at 133 pounds to answer for the Wildcats and even the match at 3-3 with an 8-4 decision over Kyle Casaletto. Jordan Dix then scored a major decision at 141 pounds to put The Citadel back ahead, 7-3.
Freshman Kevin Birmingham scored a pin at 149 pounds in 1:48 to give Davidson a 9-7 advantage, but Pierre Frazile answered with a pin at 157 pounds in 1:01 to put The Citadel ahead for good.
Davidson has just two dual meets remaining before the SoCon Championship tournament, which will be held on March 3 in Chattanooga, Tenn. The ‘Cats will host Gardner-Webb on Thursday, Feb. 16 before concluding the regular season Sunday, Feb. 19 at Appalachian State at 3 p.m. Senior Tyler Mullen will be honored prior to the Gardner-Webb match.
The Citadel 31, Davidson 12
125 Richard Alarcon Jr. (C) decision Matt Zarth (D) 6-2
133 Anthony Elias (D) decision Kyle Casaletto (C) 8-4
141 Jordan Dix (C) major decision Benjamin Hartshorn (D) 11-3
149 Kevin Birmingham (D) pinned Shane Lee (C) 1:48
157 Pierre Frazile (C) pinned Dan Hagemann (D) 1:01
165 Tyler Mullen (D) decision Michael Harper (C) 4-1
174 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (C) major decision Chris Cirenza (D) 13-4
184 Josh Tuck (C) major decision Ian Solcz (D) 12-2
197 Kelby Smith (C) major decision Eddie Isola (D) 13-2
285 No. 15 Odie Delaney (C) win by forfeit
No. 20 Virginia 29, Appalachian State 12
BOONE, N.C. - After clinching at least a share of the Southern Conference regular-season title on Friday, Appalachian State University wrestling lost its non-conference match against No. 20 Virginia, 29-12, at Varsity Gymnasium on Saturday.
The Mountaineers (11-4) were dealt their third loss to a ranked opponent, while the ACC dual-meet champion Cavaliers (9-1) remain dominant in the final weeks of the regular season.
Appalachian's Mike Kessler (Bay City, Mich./Western) put up strong fight against No. 7 Nick Nelson at 141 pounds, but the Cavalier's second-period reversal made the difference, and Nelson survived with a 3-0 decision.
Virginia rattled off two more wins and quickly built a 12-0 lead in the team standings.
ASU's 165-pounder, No. 15 Kyle Blevins (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa), squared off against No. 16 Nick Sulzer in the evening's only showdown of ranked wrestlers. While the two fought evenly for two periods, Blevins rode the duration of the third and tacked on two back points for the 4-0 edge.
The Cavaliers then pulled away, 18-3, with a pin at 197 pounds.
Senior Austin Trotman (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor), ranked No. 12 in the nation, built upon his reputation and came out firing at 184 pounds. While Nick Kidd did well to fend off a major loss, Trotman triumphed 8-3.
UVa remained in control for the rest of the evening, yielding only six points to Tony Gravely (Martinsville, Va./Magna Vista), who picked up his second-straight forfeit win.
After the final buzzer, the Cavaliers walked away with a comfortable 29-12 win, handing the Mountaineers just their fourth loss of the year.
With their 11-4 overall record, the Apps have notched double-digit dual wins for the first time since 2007-08. Even if ASU drops its final two duals, the Mountaineers will have the program's fewest losses since winning their last SoCon title in 2002-03 (11-2).
Appalachian State's season concludes with one final weekend of matches, as the Apps host Duke on Sat., Feb. 18 at 6 p.m. and Davidson in the season finale on Sun., Feb. 19 at 2 p.m.
No. 20 Virginia (9-1) 29, Appalachian State (11-4) 12
Feb. 11, 2012 | Boone, N.C. | Varsity Gymnasium
141: No. 7 Nick Nelson (UVa) dec. Mike Kessler (ASU), 3-0
149: Gus Sako (UVa) maj. dec. Savva Kostis (ASU), 15-5
157: Jedd Moore (UVa) tech. fall Chip Powell (ASU), 19-4 (7:00)
165: No. 15 Kyle Blevins (ASU) dec. No. 16 Nick Sulzer (UVa), 4-0
174: Vinny Waldhauser (UVa) pinned Jesse Johnson (ASU), 4:05
184: No. 12 Austin Trotman (ASU) dec. Nick Kidd (UVa), 8-3
197: Ryan Malo (UVa) maj. dec. Paul Weiss (ASU), 10-2
285: Derek Papagianopoulos (UVa) dec. Joe Cummings (ASU), 5-2
125: Tony Gravely (ASU) won by forfeit
133: Joe Martinez (UVa) maj. dec. Brett Boston (ASU), 16-6
No. 22 Northwestern 32, Campbell 5
North Carolina 31, Campbell 10
BUIES CREEK - Campbell dropped two matches on Saturday night to #22 Northwestern and North Carolina, falling to 11-16 overall in dual match competition this season. Northwestern improved to 10-4 with wins over Campbell and North Carolina, while UNC moves to 4-14 with a split of dual matches.
CU fell to Northwestern 32-5 in the Camels' opener. After the Wildcats took pins in each of the first two bouts, Jordan Tolbert (Olney, Md.) dropped a narrow 5-3 overtime decision.
Mark Hartenstine (Easton, Pa.) put Campbell on the scoreboard with his 4-2 decision win at 149 pounds. Northwestern took the next four matches before John Weakley (Cleveland, Ohio) squared off against NU's John Schoen in the 197-pound bout. Schoen sent the match to overtime after securing a takedown as time expired in the third period. Weakley responded with the match-securing takedown twenty seconds into the extra period.
Mike McMullan, ranked 12th-nationally for the Wildcats, secured a 6-2 decision over Joe Nolan (Jackson, N.J.) to give Northwestern the 32-5 dual match victory.
#22 Northwestern 32, Campbell 5
125: #10 Levi Mele (NU) pinned Grabiel Soto (CU) 3:53; NU 6-0
133: Jameson Oster (NU) pinned Joey Rizzolino (CU) 1:12; NU 12-(-1)
141: Colin Shober (NU) dec. Jordan Tolbert (CU) 5-3 (OT); NU 15-(-1)
149: Mark Hartenstine (CU) dec. Pat Greco (NU) 4-2; NU 15-2
157: #2 Jason Welch (NU) tech fall Daniel Luty (CU) 6:32; NU 20-2
165: Pierce Harger (NU) dec. Paul Duggan (CU) 8-2; NU 23-2
174: #13 Lee Munster (NU) dec. James Cook (CU) 5-2; NU 26-2
184: Marcus Shrewsbury (NU) dec. John Merickel (CU) 5-3; NU 29-2
197: John Weakley (CU) dec. John Schoen (NU) 9-7 (OT1); NU 29-5
285: #12 Mike McMullan (NU) dec. Joe Nolan (CU) 6-2; NU 32-5
*Campbell received a one-point unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the 133-pound bout.
North Carolina took a 31-10 team victory in the Camels second match of the evening. UNC won the first four bouts of the nightcap before Nick Rex took a thrilling 6-5 decision at 157 pounds. Rex moves to 17-11 individually this season with the win.
James Cook took an 8-6 decision at 174 pounds to draw the Camels within 19-6. Cook now carries a 19-7 individual record in his redshirt freshman campaign. Joe Nolan ended the match on a high point for CU, earning an 8-0 major decision victory over Frank Abbondanza to give the match its final margin.
North Carolina 31, Campbell 10
125: Brian Bokoski (UNC) pinned Grabiel Soto (CU) 1:20; UNC 6, CU 0
133: Brock LiVorio (UNC) major dec. Joey Rizzolino (CU) 14-6; UNC 10, CU 0
141: Evan Henderson (UNC) dec. Jordan Tolbert (CU) 8-1; UNC 13, CU 0
149: Nick Heilmann (UNC) dec. Mark Hartenstine (CU) 5-1; UNC 16, CU 0
157: Nick Rex (CU) dec. Jon Burns (UNC) 6-5; UNC 16, CU 3
165: Kyle Kiss (UNC) dec. Ryan Krecker (CU) 3-0; UNC 19, CU 3
174: James Cook (CU) dec. Alex Utley (UNC) 8-6; UNC 19, CU 6
184: Thomas Ferguson (UNC) pinned Matt Cox (CU) 4:59; UNC 25, CU 6
197: John Schoen (UNC) pinned John Merickel (CU) 1:08; UNC 31, CU 6
285: Joe Nolan (CU) major dec. Frank Abbondanza (UNC) 8-0; UNC 31, CU 10