LEXINGTON,
Va. – Odie Delaney earned his conference-leading 15th pin to help lead The
Citadel wrestling team to a 25-9 win over military rival VMI in the Southern
Conference finale on Friday evening in Cocke Hall. The Bulldogs improved to 6-5
overall with a 5-2 conference mark.
Delaney, who is currently ranked 13th in the nation in his weight
division, took down VMI's Mike LaPrade by fall for the second time this season
to extend his winning streak to 12 matches. The two met earlier in the season
at the Virginia Duals.
The win secured Delaney's third season without suffering a loss in
conference dual action as the redshirt senior holds a 7-0 SoCon mark for the
year and is 20-3 for his career. With 115 wins, Delaney now sits just three
victories shy of passing Travis Piccard ('06) for second-most in school
history.
Three other Bulldog grapplers escaped conference dual action unscathed as
redshirt freshmen Aaron Hansen, seventh-ranked Ugi Khishignyam and Matt Frisch
all collected wins on Friday.
Frisch (25-13) posted his team-leading eighth major decision, and second
over Ted Gottwald, when he closed out the 157-pound bout with a 10-2 advantage.
Khishignyam handed VMI's Ryan Goodsell his first conference loss of the
season in a 6-2 decision, while Hansen posted a 6-1 win over Andriy Onufriyenko
in the 133-pound match.
Khishignyam’s win was his conference-leading 34th as the Mongolia native
prepares for a challenging matchup against sixth-ranked Evan Henderson on
Sunday when the Bulldogs take on North Carolina at the UNC Duals.
Henderson handed Khishignyam one of his three defeats on the season in a
4-3 decision at the Nittany Lion Open.
Josh Tuck notched his second consecutive sudden victory win when the
senior took down Jonathan Jones to earn the 3-1 advantage. The win was Tuck's
fourth consecutive and improved his SoCon mark to 4-2.
Jack Duane and Joaquin Marquez posted wins in the 125- and 174-pound
bouts, respectively, as the Bulldogs cruised past the Keydets for the sixth
consecutive time.
Zeb Stewart, Mark Darr and Urayoan Garcia each won by decision for the
Keydets.
The Citadel (6-5, 5-2 SoCon) jumped out to a 9-0 lead before Stewart’s
victory at 149 pounds. Two bouts later, with the Bulldogs leading 13-6, Darr
gave the Keydets new life with his 9-4 decision at 165 pounds. VMI’s fate was
sealed in the 184 match, but Garcia grabbed three more points for VMI in the
ensuing match with his 8-6 sudden victory win at 197 pounds.
The Citadel will close out its regular-season slate on Sunday at the UNC
Duals when the Bulldogs head to Chapel Hill, N.C., to take on Duke at noon and
UNC at 2 p.m.
VMI (1-13, 1-3 SoCon) returns to The Thunderdome on Wednesday for its
final home dual of the season, hosting Southern Conference foe Appalachian
State. Action is set for 7:30 p.m. in Cocke Hall.
The
Citadel (6-5, 5-2 SoCon) 25, VMI (1-13, 1-3 SoCon) 9
125:
Joaquin Marquez (CIT) DEC Armando Herrera (VMI) 8-2 (3-0)
133: Aaron Hansen (CIT) DEC Andriy Onufriyenko (VMI) 6-1 (6-0)
141: Ugi Khishignyam (CIT) DEC Ryan Goodsell (VMI) 6-2 (9-0)
149: Zeb Stewart (VMI) DEC Jordan Dix (CIT) 2-1 (9-3)
157: Matt Frich (CIT) MAJ DEC Ted Gottwald (VMI) 10-2 (13-3)
165: Mark Darr (VMI) DEC Vincent Bellaran (CIT) 9-4 (13-6)
174: John Duane (CIT) DEC John Dommert (VMI) 3-2 (16-6)
184: Josh Tuck (CIT) SV-1 Jonathan Jones (VMI) 3-1 (19-6)
197: Urayoan Garcia (VMI) SV-1 Marshall Haas (CIT) 8-6 (19-9)
285: Odie Delaney (CIT) WBF Michael LaPrade (VMI) 4:34 (25-9)