BOONE,
N.C. – The Citadel wrestling team used three decisions, two falls and a major
decision to dominate Appalachian State 25-13 and snap the Mountaineers'
11-match Southern Conference winning streak on Friday evening at Varsity
Gymnasium.
Jordan Dix and Matt Frisch set the tone for the Bulldogs in the 149- and
157-pound weight classes, respectively, collecting two quick wins to jumpstart
The Citadel to a 7-0 lead.
Dix earned a 7-4 victory over Zack Kechter, while Frisch followed up his
teammate with a dominant 9-1 major decision over Aaron Scott to improve his
record to 18-11 on the season.
Redshirt freshman Zack Strickland gave the Mountaineers some life at 165
pounds, cruising to a 13-5 major decision over The Citadel's Vincent Bellaran.
For Strickland, it was his third major decision in his last four bouts as he
moved to 9-0 in duals for the year.
Appalachian State redshirt freshman Colin Hedash won at 174 pounds,
controlling John Duane and earning the 11-5 decision.
Before the intermission, Appalachian State took its first lead when
sophomore Jake Johnson posted his second consecutive win, tallying a 6-1
decision over Josh Tuck.
The Citadel’s Marshall Haas came out and changed the momentum of the
match, recording a fall over Paul Weiss at the 2:23 mark. Odie Delaney followed
suit in the heavyweight bout, posting a pin in the final minute over Joe
Cummings to give the Bulldogs the 19-10 advantage.
Joaquin Marquez, who recently dropped from the 133-pound division to 125,
improved the score to 22-10 with a huge 6-5 decision over Domonic Parisi, who
entered the match with a 21-7 record.
Aaron Hansen followed up Marquez's upset victory with a 9-5 win over
Brett Boston.
With the match out of reach, Citadel coach Rob Hjerling decided to give
eighth-ranked Ugi Khishignyam a rest in the 141-pound bout. Freshman Drew
Ferguson stepped in and dropped a 5-0 decision to Chris Johnson.
The win improved the Bulldogs' record to 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the
conference, while the Mountaineers dropped their first conference match since
February 2011. Appalachian State fell to 6-3 overall and 3-1 in the SoCon.
The win is only The Citadel's seventh in the 49-match series; however the
Bulldogs have collected five of the previous 11.
The Bulldogs will host Campbell (2-6, 1-1 SoCon) Wednesday at 7 p.m. in
McAlister Field House. Appalachian State returns to action Wednesday when it
heads to Duke for a nonconference showdown. Action from Cameron Indoor Stadium
is set for 7 p.m.
The
Citadel 25, Appalachian State 13
149:
Jordan Dix (CIT) dec. Zach Kechter (APP), 7-4 (CIT 3-0)
157: Matthew Frisch (CIT) maj. dec. Aaron Scott (APP), 9-1 (CIT 7-0)
165: Zack Strickland (APP) maj. dec. Vincent Bellaran (CIT), 13-5 (CIT 7-4)
174: Colin Hedash (APP) dec. John Duane (CIT), 11-5 (TIE 7-7)
184: Jake Johnson (APP) dec. Josh Tuck (CIT), 6-1 (APP 10-7)
197: Marshall Haas (CIT) pinned Paul Weiss (APP), (2:23) (CIT 13-10)
285: Odie Delaney (CIT) pinned Joe Cummings (APP), (6:30) (CIT 19-10)
125: Joaquin Marquez (CIT) dec. Dominic
Parisi (APP), 6-5 (CIT 22-10)
133: Aaron Hansen (CIT) dec. Brett Boston (APP), 9-5 (CIT 25-10)
141: Chris Johnson (APP) dec. Drew Ferguson (CIT), 5-0 (CIT 25-13)