LEXINGTON, Va. – The Gardner-Webb wrestling team (2-2, 1-0 SoCon) defeated VMI (1-1, 0-2 SoCon) 34-9, in its Southern Conference opener Thursday evening in the Pit at Cormack Hall.

This is the third straight season that GWU has won its conference opener.

The Runnin' Bulldogs won eight of the 10 matches that were contested Thursday, including winning two matches by major decision as well as securing a pin at 184.

Gardner-Webb got off to a quick 8-0 start as Cortez Starkes and Tyler Ziegler won the first two matches by major decision at 125 and 133, respectively. Starkes defeated Dalton Henderson 12-3 to open the match at 125 and Ziegler followed with a win at 133 over Bennie Pachello, 13-5.

Ryan Hull followed Ziegler with a 10-4 win at 141 over Hunter Starner, while Ryan Mosley battled Emmitt Kelly in a hard-fought match at 149, but ultimately it was Mosley that would come out on top, winning the match 7-5 in sudden death.

Neal Richards gave VMI its first win of the evening, defeating Kyle Ash 10-6 at 157, while Shabaka Johns pinned Alex Bennett to pick up six big points for the Keydets at 165.

Following the VMI victory at 165, Gardner-Webb reeled off four straight wins to seal the match. Brett Stein defeated Mark Darr 9-8 at 174 and Hunter Gamble pinned Derek Thurman at 184.

Gray Jones and Boyce Cornwell picked up wins for the Dogs in the final two matches, with Jones picking up a win at 197 via a pin, while Cornwell defeated Sivaatasi Mathias 19-3 to send Gardner-Webb to the 34-9 victory.

Gardner-Webb returns to action next weekend (Dec 11-12) for two matches, when it travels to Buffalo, N.Y., to face Buffalo and competes in the Cleveland State open the following day.

VMI returns to action next Thursday, Dec. 10, with a 7:30 p.m. SoCon matchup with Chattanooga at Cormack Hall.

Gardner-Webb 34, VMI 9
125        Cortez Starkes (Gardner-Webb) over Dalton Henderson (VMI) (MD 12-3)
133        Tyler Ziegler (Gardner-Webb) over Bennie Pachello (VMI) (MD 13-5)
141        Ryan Hull (Gardner-Webb) over Hunter Starner (VMI) (Dec 10-4)
149        Ryan Mosley (Gardner-Webb) over Emmitt Kelly (VMI) (SV-1 7-5)
157        Neal Richards (VMI) over Kyle Ash (Gardner-Webb) (Dec 10-6)
165        Shabaka Johns (VMI) over Alex Bennett (Gardner-Webb) (Fall 4:30)
174        Brett Stein (Gardner-Webb) over Mark Darr (VMI) (Dec 9-8)
184        Hunter Gamble (Gardner-Webb) over Derek Thurman (VMI) (Fall 3:45)
197        Gray Jones (Gardner-Webb) over Taylor Thomas (VMI) (Fall 0:47)
285        Boyce Cornwell (Gardner-Webb) over Sivaatasi Mathias (VMI) (TF 19-3 0:00)