Campbell places four at Hokie Open
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Campbell finished with four wrestlers placing in the Hokie Open on Sunday. Seventeen Camels competed, 13 as unattached wrestlers, with seven taking part in the freshman-sophomore brackets.
Freshman Matthew Olauson placed the highest for the Camels in the freshman-sophomore competition, taking second place in the 184-pound bracket, falling to Alec Schenk, 3-1, in the finals match.
Freshman Logan Dean placed fourth in the 165 bracket (freshman-sophomore), and freshman Ben Cruz finished in fifth place (freshman-sophomore) competing in the 197 weight-class bracket.
Sophomore Ville Heino also placed for the Camels, taking sixth place in the 184 weight class.
The Camels will be back in action Saturday at 2 p.m. as they travel to American.
Three place for The Citadel at Hokie Open
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Citadel sophomore Joe Bexley brought home third place in the heavyweight classification of the freshman/sophomore division at the Hokie Open in Blacksburg, Va., on Sunday afternoon at Rector Field House.
Bexley opened with a technical fall victory over Jackson Price (Gardner-Webb) and followed with a default victory over Robert Gray (unattached). In the third round, Bexley suffered his only setback of the afternoon, a 2-0 loss to Logan Rimmer (Notre Dame College). He rebounded in the finals with a 2-0 victory against Daniel Adkins (Newberry) to bring home third place.
The Citadel also got a solid outing from Aaron Walker, who placed second in the 157-pound division. Walker began his day with a 15-9 decision against David Wesley (NRV Mat Club). After winning by fall at the 0:25 mark against Southern Conference foe BJ Crozier (VMI), Walker reached the finals by earning an injury default against Nick Brachetta (Virginia Tech-unattached).
Walker's day concluded with an 11-6 loss by decision to Tommy Gantt (NC State-unattached) in the finals.
Fellow Bulldog Joaquin Marquez (125) finished sixth in the Open Division of Hokie Open after a fifth-round loss to William Mason (Virginia) by a 4-1 decision.
Marquez's day began with 9-1 major victory against Brendan Calas (NC State). In his second match, he fell shy of Nick Hermann (Virginia) by an 11-10 score. Marquez responded with a 14-6 major decision over Joshua Markham (Old Dominion-unattached) in the third round and followed that with a 4-0 decision against Cody Karns (North Carolina), setting up the match with Mason.
The Citadel also had four unattached representatives at the Pembroke Open, including Cabell Thoma, who finished in sixth place in the 174-pound division on Sunday in Lumberton, N.C.
Thoma's afternoon got off to a solid start with a 3-1 sudden victory over Daniel Bomar (St. Andrew's) in the second round. He then captured a win by fall over Henry Olgers (South Carolina) at the 4:01 mark of the third round.
Thoma overcome a loss by decision in the championship quarterfinals to Terrence Zaleski (UNC Pembroke) by earning a decision over Rocco Hladney (Coker) in the sixth round of the wrestlebacks. He notched his third win by virtue of a 4-2 decision over Adam Fitzwater (Ferrum) in the quarterfinals of the wrestleback. His afternoon culminated with a disqualification against Matthew Ostermiller (Limestone).
The Citadel returns to action on Nov. 16 when it hosts in-state rival Anderson in its first dual match of the 2014-15 campaign.
Three place for Gardner-Webb at Hokie Open
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Tyler Zeigler, Chris Vassar and Austin Trott each placed in the top six in their respective weight class Sunday at the 2014 Hokie Open against a challenging field.
Ziegler finished fifth in the 133-pound open tournament, Vassar took sixth at 141 pounds and Trott won the third-place match at 165 pounds.
Ziegler dropped his opening bout to Virginia’s George DiCamillo but rallied to win four consecutive matches – topping Appalachian State’s Vito Pasone by a 9-6 margin in the fifth-place battle. He took a major decision over Campbell’s Trent Campbell (9-1) to start that rally.
Vassar – a highly regarded redshirt freshman – pinned Appalachian State’s Javon Johnson in just 1:32 to get off to a strong start before falling at the hands of North Carolina’s Joey Ward in 3:59. He rebounded with wins over VMI’s Emmitt Kelly (6-4, OT) and The Citadel’s Aaron Hansen (15-0, tech fall) before falling by a 5-2 score to Duke’s Grant Leeth in the fifth-place match.
Trott pinned VMI’s Shabaka Johns (4:27) in his first bout before Virginia Tech’s Chad Strube pinned Trott in 5:07. Trott rebounded to post a 16-2 major decision over Virginia’s Garrett Peppelman in the third-place match. Peppelman, a freshman, was the nation’s top-ranked wrestler at 160 pounds last year at Central Dauphin (Pa.) High.
Ryan Mosley posted a 4-2 mark at 149 pounds Sunday and Brett Stein did the same at 174 pounds.
Gardner-Webb returns to Virginia next week for three matches against top-25 teams – taking on Virginia (Nov. 15) and both Virginia Tech and North Dakota State (Nov. 16) in dual matches.
Chattanooga places six at Hokie Open
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team had six individuals place at the Hokie Open on Sunday. The Mocs kicked off the 2014-15 season with the annual tournament in Blacksburg, Va.
Seniors Sean Boyle (125) and Nick Soto (133) finished second in their brackets, while sophomores Sean Mappes (174), John Shrader (184) and Scottie Boykin (197) ended up third. Sophomore Jared Johnson claimed fifth place at heavyweight.
Boyle went 2-1 in his Chattanooga debut. The senior transfer from Michigan enters the season No. 16 in the Intermat rankings at 125. He opened with a 12-0 major decision over Gardner-Webb’s Cortez Starkes. He followed that with an 11-4 decision over Virginia’s Nick Herrmann.
He went up against Virginia Tech’s fifth-ranked sophomore Joey Dance in the finals. He was leading 3-2 in the first when he got caught on his back and pinned.
Soto went 3-1 during his runner-up outing. He opened with a pin against Newberry’s Austin Williams (2:37) and followed that with a 10-6 decision over Campbell’s Tyler Walker. He slid by No. 18 Kevin Norstrem (Va. Tech) 2-1 in the semifinals, tweaking an injury in the match. That forced him to default in the finals against Virginia’s No. 10 George DiCamillo.
Mappes opened with back-to-back wins at 174, including a 12-6 decision over Gardner-Webb’s Aaron Rabin and a 3-1 win over The Citadel’s Kenneth Radford. He lost to Virginia Tech’s No. 13 Zach Epperly in the semis (13-2), but rebounded with a 6-2 win over Duke’s Brian Dorsey in the third-place match.
Shrader also made it to the semifinals at 184. He scored wins over The Citadel’s Jared Hemmings (fall 5:05), Virginia’s Will Schany (8-2) and Williams Coggins (forfeit). He lost to the Cavalier’s Tyler Askey (5-3) before defeating UVA’s James Suvak (3-2) to take third place.
Mappes and Shrader missed all or most of last season with injuries. Mappes was out all of last season, while Shrader competed early in the year before getting hurt.
Boykin narrowly missed the upset of the day on his way to finishing third at 197. After wins over Virginia’s Dustin Floyd (10-3) and North Carolina’s Chip Ness (10-6), he went up against Duke’s top-seeded and No. 5-ranked Conner Hartman. Boykin put up a great fight, falling in a nail-biter 2-0. He took third place when UVA’s No. 14 Zachary Nye forfeited.
Sophomore Jared Johnson battled his way through the backdraw for a fifth-place finish at heavyweight. His last match of the day was an impressive 13-5 major decision over VMI’s Juan Adams. Adams is the preseason pick to win the Southern Conference title at heavyweight.
A number of Mocs also competed in the Freshman-Sophomore draws. Highlights from those matches included Jordan Davis’ runner-up at 197 and Jared Browning’s third-place finish at 133.
Up next for Chattanooga is a trip to the Eastern Michigan Duals on Nov. 15. UTC will face Michigan State, Northern Illinois and Kent State in Ypsilanti, Mich., beginning at 11:30 a.m.
VMI’s Henderson with Freshman/Sophomore title at Hokie Open
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Backed by a strong showing from his teammates, Virginia Military Institute sophomore Dalton Henderson claimed the 125-pound title of the 7th Annual Hokie Open’s Freshman/Sophomore division, going a perfect 5-0 on the day.
The Keydets got place finishes from Shabaka Johns at 165 pounds in the Open Division, who took fifth, and Juan Adams, who took sixth at heavyweight. Jake Koch took fourth place at 184 pounds in the Freshman/Sophomore division.
Henderson opened his day with a first-round win over Newberry’s Jordan Simpson by forfeit before topping Alonzo Allen, who wrestled unattached Chattanooga, in the second round by a 13-6 count. The young Keydet continued his afternoon with a pin in the second period over Tyrone Klump, who was wrestling unattached from North Carolina.
In the semifinals, Henderson bested Notre Dame College’s Zon Fields 8-5 to reach the 125-pound title bout in the Freshman/Sophomore division. Another pin finished the day for Henderson, as he stuck Brandon Olsen, wrestling unattached from host Virginia Tech, in just 2:12.
Joining Henderson in the Freshman/Sophomore division, Koch kicked of his Hokie Open with a 9-4 decision over Gardner-Webb’s Payton Mills, followed by an 11-5 decision over Christopher Miller, wrestling unattached from George Mason.
During the semifinal round, Koch was pinned in the third period by Campbell’s Matthew Olauson, who was unattached, in 5:57. Koch reached the third-place bout but was bested 13-5 by King College (Tenn.) foe Jesse Masters.
In the event’s open division, Johns finished the day 4-1, kicking things off with a 6-1 win over Newberry’s Lukas Gilmore. Johns’ lone setback came in the second round against Gardner-Webb’s Austin Trott, who won by fall in 4:27.
But Johns rebounded to outscore his next two opponents 14-1 over the next two bouts. Johns blanked Newberry’s Tyler Johnson 8-0, followed by a 6-1 decision over unattached Virginia wrestler Zak DePasquale. Johns claimed fifth place after beating Jake Faust of Duke, 8-3.
Adams, who came into the event ranked 33rd by WrestlingReport.com, went 3-2 on the day, opening with a strong technical fall over UNC’s Cory Daniel, who wrestled unattached, by a 16-1 count. In his next bout, Adams was edged 3-1 in overtime by Virginia Tech’s Daniel Garwood.
The native Texan bounced back to win his next two matches, beating Gardner-Webb’s Justin Kozera 5-2 and Virginia’s unattached Austin Greenwood 10-4. Adams finished sixth after Jared Johnson of Chattanooga won by a 13-5 major decision.
The Keydets continue the tournament season next weekend at the Wolfpack Open, hosted by NC State. Action is set for 9 a.m. in Raleigh, N.C.
SIUE goes 1-2 in opening quad
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – SIUE wrestling picked up a big 20-18 win over Northern Illinois to start the season at Huff Hall. SIUE dropped its other two matches 44-0 to No. 13 Illinois and 31-9 to Rider. The Northern Illinois win came in between the two losses.
This year’s team is the first SIUE team to defeat the Huskies since the 1991-92 season, when the Cougars were victorious 31-5. Northern Illinois came into Sunday's event with a 22-match winning streak against the Cougars.
Karsten Van Velsor applied the biggest victory with a first-period pin at 149 pounds over Sal Annoreno. It was the first of five straight wins for the Cougars as Erik Travers (157), Connor McMahon, Jake Residori, and Derek Nagel earned victories.
SIUE returns to action next Saturday at Ypsilanti, Michigan, when the Cougars take on Clarion, Lock Haven, host Eastern Michigan, and Ohio.
SIUE 20, NIU 18
125: Derek Elmore (N) pinned Kenny Baldridge, 1:44
133: Jordan Northrup (N) dec. Patrick Myers, 7-0
141: Tyler Argue (N) dec. Angelo Silvestro, 9-7
149: Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) pinned Sal Annoreno, 2:38
157: Erik Travers (SIUE) dec. Andrew Morse, 7-3
165: Connor McMahon (SIUE) dec. Shaun'Qae McMurtry, 5-4
174: Jake Residori (SIUE) maj. dec. Dylan Dobzanski, 16-2
184: Derek Nagel (SIUE) maj. dec. Quinton Rosser, 11-2
197: Shawn Scott (N) dec. Cole Rodgers, 3-2
HWT: Arthur Bunce (N) dec. Chris Johnson, 3-1
Rider 31, SIUE 9
125: JR Wert (R) tech. fall Cameron Kelly, 18-3
133: Robert Deutsch (R) dec. Patrick Myers, 4-1
141: Chuck Zeisloft (R) tech. fall Trevor Feagans, 24-7
149: BJ Clagon (R) tech. fall Karsten Van Velsor, 23-8
157: Chad Walsh (R) dec. Erik Travers, 4-1
165: Connor McMahon (SIUE) dec. Conor Brennan, 3-2 (OT2)
174: Jake Residori (SIUE) pinned Ryan Wolfe, 5-3
184: Clint Morrison (R) dec. Derek Nagel, 9-4
197: Donald McNeil (R) dec. Cole Rodgers, 6-1
HWT: Greg Velasco (R) dec. Chris Johnson 6-4 (OT3)
#11 Illinois 44, SIUE 0
125: #1 Jesse Delgado (I) pinned Kenny Baldridge, 6:35
133: Dominic Olivieri (I) dec. Patrick Myers, 5-1
141: Steven Rodrigues (I) maj. dec. Patrick Myers, 12-3
149: Kyle Langenderfer (I) tech. fall Angelo Silvestro, 18-3
157: #9 Isaiah Martinez (I) pinned Sam Zimmerman, 4:12
165: #13 Jackson Morse (I) pinned Connor McMahon, 4:30
174: Zac Brunson (I) maj. dec. Jake Residori, 9-0
184: #11 Nikko Reyes (I) dec. Jake Tindle, 8-2
197: Jeff Koepke (I) maj. dec. Cole Rogers, 10-2
HWT: Christopher Lopez (I) dec. Chris Johnson, 2-1 (OT2)