Appalachian State places five at Roadrunner Open
FRESNO, Calif. – After dropping matches to CSU Bakersfield and Illinois on Friday, Appalachian State saw five Mountaineers place at the Roadrunner Open on Sunday in Fresno.
Dylan Cottrell continued his red-hot start to the season and remained unbeaten on the year. Cottrell received a first-round bye followed by a second-round decision win over Stanford’s Josh Lauderdale. Cottrell breezed through the quarterfinal with a major decision victory against Bakerfield’s AJ Fierro. A tiebreaker victory in the semifinal sent the 149 defending champion to the final. In the final, Cottell won a 10-7 decision over Kyle Langenderfer (Illinois) to earn his second straight Road Runner Open title.
Coming off of two victories at the tri-dual on Friday, heavyweight Denzel Dejournette continued his hot streak at the Road Runner Open. Dejournette won his opening-round matchup with a 19-4 tech fall of Bakersfield’s Steven Wood, followed by a hard-fought 5-4 decision against Chad Lopez of Illinois. In the quarterfinal, Dejournette pinned Sam Alnassiri at the 6:05 minute mark. Dejournette then moved on to the final after a tie breaker victory in the semifinal. The Winston-Salem, N.C., native pinned Brooks Black (Illinois) en route to claiming first place.
In the 125 bracket, Dominic Parisi cruised through the first two rounds with back-to-back pins. Parisi continued the dominant start to his tournament with a major decision again Yoshito Funakoshi (Cal Poly) in the quarterfinal. Oregon State’s Ronnie Besser ended Parisi’s run to first place with a 9-5 decision in the semifinal. In the consolation bracket, Parisi again was dominant, winning by major decision and then pinning Funakoshi to claim third place.
Michael Longo received a first-round bye before pinning Austin Solari (Grand Canyon) at the 4:39 mark in the second round. In the quarterfinal, Longo was defeated by Nick Lawrence (Purdue) via a 7-1 decision. Longo won his next three matches in the consolation bracket to earn a spot in the third-place match. UNC’s Troy Heilmann edged Longo in a close 7-5 decision, leaving the California native in fourth place at 141.
After a first-round bye in the 165 bracket, redshirt freshman Nick Kee won his opening match against Matt Nora (Illinois) with a 10-5 decision. Kee then dropped a 5-1 decision the following round to Jim Wilson (Stanford). The Laurinburg, N.C., native earned three straight decision victories to have a chance for third place. Purdue’s Patrick Robinson pinned Kee 3:41 into the bout, leaving Kee in fourth place.
At 133, Vito Pasone and Jacob Grigg each added one victory in the championship bracket. Nick Vetell recorded two victories in the 184 bracket before dropping a quarterfinal decision to Taylor Meeks (Oregon State).
Javon Johnson, Zack Strickland, Collin Johnson, Kacee Hutchinson, Marcus Johnson and Tyler Radford all wrestled two matches but did not record any wins.
Forrest Przybysz sustained an injury in his opening match and was unable to continue.
The Mountaineers are back in action next Sunday in Philadelphia, Pa., for the Keystone Classic.
Campbell’s Heino takes second at Wolfpack Open
RALEIGH, N.C. – Campbell sophomore Ville Heino continued his strong start to the 2014 season, earning a second-place finish in the 184-pound weight class at the Wolfpack Open on Sunday afternoon.
Heino moved to 8-3 in open matches this season.
Freshman Ben Cruz, sophomore Ned Batts and seniors Garrison Matthews and Daniel Luty also took part in the open. Along with Heino, the five Campbell wrestlers combined for an 8-8 record.
In addition to Cruz, Batts, Matthews, Luty and Heino, 13 Campbell wrestlers competed as unattached participants.
Redshirt junior Nathan Kraisser—competing as an unattached wrestler— finished first in the 133-pound weight bracket. Redshirt sophomore Drew Walker, also wrestling unattached, clinched fifth place in the 133 weight bracket.
Davidson’s Birmingham finishes third at Wolfpack Open
RALEIGH, N.C. – Senior Kevin Birmingham placed third to highlight the Wildcats’ performance while Philip Elias reached the semifinals and Ian Solcz advanced to the quarterfinal of their respective weight classes at the Wolfpack Open on Sunday.
Birmingham was impressive, winning three straight matches, including two pins and a sudden victory. His first victory came via a pin just 1:22 over Duke’s Marcus Cain. The senior then won in a sudden victory-1 over Taylor Misuna from Virginia Tech to advance to the quarterfinals, where the senior posted a fall over Beau Donahue from NC State at 2:37. In the semifinals, Old Dominion’s Alexander Richardson knocked off Birmingham. The Sicklerville, N.J., native rebounded with a fall over Cohl Fulk of NC State to finish in third place.
Elias also reached the semifinals with a pair of decisions at 125 pounds. The senior first knocked off unattached Anthony Bosco of North Carolina, 7-2, before taking out Newberry’s Josh Epperson in a hard-fought 8-7 decision. Elias finished with a 2-2 record after forfeiting in the semifinals and the third-place match to finish fourth overall.
Solcz registered a 3-2 decision over Virginia’s Chance McClure in round two to reach the quarterfinals of the 197 pounds. Solcz was pinned by Old Dominion’s Kevin Beazley at the 1:57 mark in the quarterfinals, to be knocked from the championship bracket, but rebounded with a pin over VMI’s Jake Tomlinson, a pair of decisions over McClure and Scott Marmoll of North Carolina to exit the tournament in fifth.
Other multiple winners for Davidson included 157-pounder Zach Colangelo (2-2) and 174-pounder Nathaniel Power (2-2).
Davidson returns to the mat Sunday, Nov. 23, when the Wildcats welcome Northern Ohio to Belk Arena.
VMI places two at Wolfpack Open
RALEIGH, N.C. – Two Virginia Military Institute wrestlers placed at the 2014 Wolfpack Open on Sunday, as Dalton Henderson took fifth at 125 pounds and Juan Adams finished sixth in the heavyweight division in the tournament hosted by NC State at Carmichael Gymnasium.
Overall, the Keydets went 18-29 on the day, paced by a 4-1 effort from Henderson, who improved to 10-3 on the season while tacking on another two wins by fall.
Henderson, who placed in a tournament for a second straight week after winning the 125-pound weight at the Hokie Open’s Freshman/Sophomore division, opened with a late pin over Newberry’s Trung Duong in 5:44, extending Henderson’s winning streak to seven matches. The Virginia Beach, Va., native suffered his first loss since Nov. 2 in the second round in overtime, 2-0, against Brendan Calas of NC State.
Henderson bounced back to finish the day on a 3-0 run, kicking off with a 3-1 decision over unattached North Carolina wrestled Tyrone Klump. The Keydet got his fifth win by fall this season as he stuck Duong again, this time in just 4:08. The sophomore capped his day with a 4-0 decision over Virginia Tech’s Brandon Olsen to take fifth place.
Adams took sixth place for a second straight week while going 3-2 on the day. After a first-round bye, Adams blanked North Carolina’s David Woody 5-0 before falling in sudden victory 3-1 against Virginia Tech’s Dan Garwood.
The redshirt senior came back in the consolation quarterfinals with a win by fall, his first of the season, after pinning Patton Gossett of Newberry in the first period, stopping the clock at just 38 seconds. Adams won a second straight match with a 3-1 sudden victory against North Carolina’s Matthew Moore. Adams’ bid for fifth place fell short as he was pinned in 1:09 in the final bout of the day against Matt Tourdot of Old Dominion.
The Citadel tops Anderson
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Citadel wrestling team used five falls and two technical falls to earn a decisive 42-11 win over Upstate rival Anderson on Sunday afternoon at McAlister Field House. The event also served as an opportunity for the team to honor the 2004 unit that won the Southern Conference title with a 13-3 overall record and a perfect 5-0 mark against league competition.
The victory is the Bulldogs’ first of the season, while Anderson slips to 1-4 overall. The Citadel also improved to 14-0-1 in its program history against the Trojans.
The Dogs' Joaquin Marquez opened the match with a 15-0 technical fall victory over Dylan Crossland in the 125-pound division.
Anderson quickly tied the match with a 15-0 technical fall by Zak Hale when he defeated Zach Young in the 133-pound division.
The Bulldogs moved back in front, 8-5, following an 11-4 decision from Nate Harper against the Trojans’ Keenan Simmons.
The first major upset of the day took place in the 149-pound weight class, as Anderson's Daniel Telhada earned a fall at the 4:32 mark over Matt Frisch. That victory gave the Trojans a brief 11-8 advantage.
The Citadel regained the lead with a 6-0 victory by Aaron Walker in the 157-pound class, as he downed Eric DeAngelis at 3:12.
Terrell Forbes, who squared off against Anderson's Jared Costa in the 165-pound division, snagged four points for the Dogs with a 13-1 major decision.
The Bulldogs added to their lead with wins by fall from Vincent Bellaran (174), Marshall Haas (197) and Joseph Bexley (285) as well as a victory by forfeit in a match featuring Jack Duane and Will Diamond in the 184-pound class.
The Citadel now heads to Annapolis, Md., to participate in the Navy Classic.
The Citadel 42, Anderson 11
125: Joaquin Marquez (CIT) tech. fall Dylan Crossland (AU), 15-0 (5:00)
133: Zak Hale (AU) tech. fall Zachary Young (CIT), 15-0 (5:54)
141: Nathaniel Harper (CIT) dec. Keenan Simmons (AU), 11-4
149: Daniel Telhada (AU) fall Matthew Frisch (CIT), 4:32
157: Aaron Walker (CIT) fall Eric DeAngelis (AU), 3:12
165: Terrell Forbes (CIT) maj. dec. Jared Costa (AU), 13-1
174: Vincent Bellaran (CIT) fall Trevontay Rhodes (AU), 4:34
184: Jack Duane (CIT) win by forfeit over Will Diamond (AU)
197: Marshall Haas (CIT) fall Nathaniel Brannen (AU), 2:25
285: Joe Bexley (CIT) fall Wyatt McCrackin (AU), 2:35
Gardner-Webb drops pair of duals
BLACKSBURG, Va. – Gardner-Webb dropped a pair of dual matches on a busy Sunday of wrestling action against top-25 competition, falling 36-4 to No. 12 Virginia Tech and 38-8 to No. 23 North Dakota State.
Redshirt sophomore Austin Trott picked up a pair of wins at 165 pounds on Sunday, both in impressive fashion. The 20th-ranked Trott blanked Virginia Tech’s David Bergida, 10-0, for a major decision and defeated North Dakota State’s Trevor Chavez via tech fall (15-0, 2:14).
Kyle Ash picked up a 9-5 decision over North Dakota State’s Steven Keogh at 157 pounds for a second GWU win in that match.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs (2-3) face another tough test next weekend, traveling to face NC State in Raleigh, N.C., on Nov. 22.
#12 Virginia Tech (2-0) 36, Gardner-Webb (2-2) 4
125: #5 Joey Dance (VT) maj. dec. Cortez Starkes, 15-4
133: #18 Kevin Norstrem (VT) dec. Tyler Ziegler, 7-2
141: Jerry Ronnau (VT) dec. Ryan Hull, 8-3
149: #2 Devin Carter (VT) maj. dec. Ryan Mosley, 19-7
157: Sal Mastriani (VT) fall Kyle Ash, 3:50
165: #20 Austin Trott (GW) maj. dec. David Bergida, 10-0
174: #13 Zach Epperly (VT) tech fall Christian Maroni, 16-1 (5:39)
184: Austin Gabel (VT) dec. Gray Jones, 7-3
197: Jared Haught (VT) tech fall Terry Henderson, 15-0 (3:41)
285: #12 Ty Walz (VT) dec. Justin Kozera, 5-3
#23 North Dakota State (1-1) 38, Gardner-Webb (2-3) 8
125: #13 Josh Rodriguez (NDSU) maj. dec. Cortez Starkes, 16-5
133: Justin Scherkenbach (NDSU) maj. dec. Tyler Ziegler, 9-1
141: #20 Mitch Bengtson (NDSU) fall Ryan Hull, 0:31
149: Clay Ream (NDSU) maj. dec. Ryan Mosley, 9-1
157: Kyle Ash (GW) dec. Steven Keogh, 9-5
165: #20 Austin Trott (GW) tech fall Trevor Chavez, 15-0 (2:14)
174: #14 Kurtis Julson (NDSU) fall Christian Maroni, 2:10
184: #13 Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) tech fall Gray Jones, 19-4 (7:00)
197: Colin Sohn (NDSU) fall Terry Henderson, 4:29
285: #10 Evan Knutson (NDSU) dec. Justin Kozera, 10-3