Citadel duo earns All-America status
DES MOINES, Iowa – The Citadel’s Ugi Khishignyam and Odie Delaney walked off the mats on Friday as All-Americans, a feat that only one previous Citadel wrestler has accomplished in the school's history, as day two came to a close at the 2013 NCAA Championships at Wells Fargo Arena.
Khishignyam guaranteed himself a spot on the 2013 All-America team on Friday morning when he topped third-seeded Mike Mangrum in a thrilling overtime battle in the quarterfinals, while Delaney collected three hard-fought wins in the consolation bracket to earn the coveted title.
The Bulldog tandem joins Dan Thompson (2006) as the only three All-Americans in Citadel history. The top eight wrestlers in each weight class achieve the status.
In the 141-pound quarterfinal, Khishignyam and Mangrum closed out regulation time knotted at one point apiece. An escape in overtime by Mangrum gave him a 2-1 lead until Khishignyam managed a takedown with just seven seconds left on the clock to take the 3-2 victory.
The win launched the Bulldog grappler into the semifinal round against undefeated Oklahoma wrestler Kendric Maple, making him the first Bulldog grappler ever to advance to the semifinal round in the NCAA Championship.
Thompson took seventh place in 2006 at 165 pounds. Khishignyam can finish no worse than sixth in the 141-pound division.
It took four NCAA Championship competitions, but redshirt senior Delaney fought his way through three tough bouts on Friday to earn the All-American title.
After dropping his second-round match to defending national champion Anthony Nelson of Minnesota on Thursday, Delaney landed himself in a Friday-morning bout with American's Blake Herrin.
The redshirt senior bounced right back, earning two escapes, a takedown and a riding time point to top Herrin 5-2.
In his next consolation bout, Delaney was pitted against familiar foe Levi Cooper of Arizona State. Cooper topped the Bulldog grappler 6-2 to open the 2012-13 dual slate, but Delaney earned his revenge at the Southern Scuffle with a 5-1 decision.
In Friday's match, Delaney managed a third-period fall on the Sun Devil grappler to move on to the All-America decider bout against fourth-seeded Chad Hanke of Oregon State.
The Santa Rosa Beach, Fla., product jumped all over Hanke, collecting a pair of takedowns and a three-point near fall before landing his second consecutive pin at the 4:22 mark to gain the win and secure his All-America title.
Delaney's heroic run came to a halt in the next bout, where Pitt's Zach Thomusseit topped the Bulldog grappler by fall. The loss landed Delaney in Saturday's seventh-place bout against Iowa State's Matthew Gibson.
In fitting fashion, a win in Saturday's bout would leave Delaney with 125 career wins, tying him for the most wins in program history with Sean Markey (2006).
Matches are slated to begin at 11 a.m. Saturday and will be televised on ESPNU. Finals bouts will be aired on ESPN at 8 p.m.
Appalachian State duo eliminated at NCAA Championships
DES MOINES, Iowa – After one of the most memorable days in Appalachian State University wrestling history, redshirt sophomore Dominic Parisi and redshirt freshman Zack Strickland combined for a 0-3 record, ending their campaigns at the 2013 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Wells Fargo Arena on Friday.
Parisi’s was the first to return to the mats on the second day, as he squared off against fourth-seeded Nicholas Megaludis of Penn State. Megaludis and Parisi met with matching 30-win seasons, but the Lion controlled throughout the bout, claiming a 10-2 major decision over Parisi.
The Concord, N.C., native moved to the wrestleback bracket, where he met Minnesota’s David Thorn, who entered the match with three straight victories in the wrestleback bracket. Parisi came up short and was unable to find much offense, falling to the Golpher, 9-2, eliminating Parisi from the tournament.
Parisi finished his season with a 30-15 record, the most on the active Appalachian roster. He was also the furthest SoCon representative in the 125-man field, finishing better than champion Nick Soto (Chattanooga) and runner-up Eric Montoya (Campbell).
After suffering his first loss on Thursday, Strickland had to make a run in the wrestleback bracket to find the podium. Unfortunately, Strickland’s day ended quickly, as he fell to Ohio State’s Mark Martin, 2-0. Strickland closed his season with a 25-12 record, as he was eliminated in the same round as Southern Conference champion Josh Condon of Chattanooga.
The Mountaineers closed their 2012-13 season, but the Mountaineers will return nine of their 10 starters next year. Appalachian also brings back one of the most highly touted freshmen classes in the program’s history.
Gardner-Webb’s Gamble’s season ends on NCAA second day
DES MOINES, Iowa – Gardner-Webb freshman Hunter Gamble saw his season come to an end on Friday as the Runnin’ Bulldog wrestler was handed a 7-0 loss to No. 10 seed Daniel Yates of Michigan in the second round of the consolation bracket at 174 pounds at the 2013 NCAA Division I National Championships.
Gamble, who was looking to keep his season alive and advance in the Championships, suffered an early two-point takedown in the first period.
After Yates (23-10) posted three points in the second round by way of a one-point escape and a second two-point takedown, Gamble continued to hang tough in the bout as the match moved into the third and final period.
Gamble would give up another one-point escape to Yates and was unable to score late, as riding time gave the grappler from the University of Michigan an extra point to give him a 7-0 win over the Runnin’ Bulldog first-year wrestler.
The freshman from Stockbridge, Ga., went 1-2 overall at the 2013 NCAA Division I National Championships, posting a first-round 5-3 decision over No. 9 seed Nathaniel Brown of Lehigh before suffering back-to-back losses to No. 8 seed Nick Heflin of Ohio State and Yates.
Gamble finished the year at 24-15 overall on the season and was the Runnin’ Bulldogs’ first-ever Southern Conference Champion.
Chattanooga’s run ends at NCAA Championships
DES MOINES, Iowa – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team ended its run in the NCAA Championships in consolation action Friday. The Mocs lost all three of their consolation matches on the afternoon.
Junior Alex Hudson took on No. 6 seed Dylan Ness of Minnesota in the 149-pound bracket. Hudson quickly scored a takedown to go up 2-0 in the first period. Ness reversed and caught Hudson on his back, earning a pin at the 2:30 mark. Hudson’s season ended with a 16-7 overall record and his first trip to the NCAAs.
Senior Josh Condon faced Nebraska’s Austin Wilson in his consolation second-round match. Condon started strong, posting a pair of takedowns and a reversal in the first period to go up 6-4. An escape in the second gave him a 7-4 lead going into the final frame. Wilson closed the gap to 7-5 after a quick escape. He used a takedown and three back points late in the period to win the 10-7 decision.
Condon ended his season with a 13-7 record and his second trip to the NCAAs. He finishes his UTC career with a pair of Southern Conference championships and a 52-24 overall record.
Senior Niko Brown took on Binghamton’s No. 7 seed Nathan Schiedel in the second round of consolations. Brown gave up a takedown early in the first but quickly escaped. He scored a takedown of his own moments later to go up 3-2. Schiedel controlled the rest of the match, outscoring Brown 10-1 over the next two periods. Brown gave up the fall with just under a minute left in the match.
Brown’s outstanding final season came to an end with a 30-5 overall record, just two wins shy of the single-season top-10 all-time at UTC. His career mark stands at 77-39, including two trips to the NCAAs and a SoCon championship.
The Mocs finished the NCAA Championships with two points and are tied for 55th overall. Competition concludes with Saturday’s action in Des Moines, Iowa.