SIUE downs Campbell in SoCon action
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – When it came down to the final match of the day, senior Chris Johnson wanted to make the most of it for the SIUE wrestling team.
Johns posted an 8-0 major decision at heavyweight over Campbell's Jere Heino, giving SIUE a 24-18 victory over the Camels. SIUE finished the Southern Conference season with a 3-3 record, good enough for its best-ever finish in fourth place.
SIUE had to come from behind in the match after Campbell raced out to an 11-0 lead after two matches. The Cougars won the next three matches with decisions by Trevor Feagans at 141 pounds, John Fahy at 149 pounds and Erik Travers at 157 pounds. That put the match at 11-9 heading into the break that introduced SIUE's four seniors to the crowd – McMahon, Johnson, Brandon Brindley and Derek Nagle.
Campbell regained some momentum with a 3-2 victory by Paul Duggan over SIUE's Nate Higgins at 165 pounds.
SIUE took its first lead of the match as a team when McMahon pinned Alex Vosburgh in 4 minutes, 27 seconds. McMahon, an NCAA qualifier last season, is now 6-1 this season after sitting out most of the season with an injury.
Jake Tindle also earned a big victory with a 19-3 technical fall over Austin McNeil at 197 pounds.
SIUE closes out the regular season next week with a dual Friday at Purdue followed by the US Western National Open on Sunday in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
SIUE 24, Campbell 18
125 - Collin Stewart (Campbell) over Joe Antonelli (SIUE) (TF 19-2 6:12)
133 - Nathan Kraisser (Campbell) over Dakota Leach (SIUE) (Fall 4:51)
141 - Trevor Feagans (SIUE) over Zack Barker (Campbell) (Dec 6-3)
149 - John Fahy (SIUE) over Kaleb Warner (Campbell) (Dec 8-4)
157 - Erik Travers (SIUE) over Quentin Perez (Campbell) (Dec 3-1)
165 - Paul Duggan (Campbell) over Nate Higgins (SIUE) (Dec 3-2)
174 - Connor McMahon (SIUE) over Alex Vosburgh (Campbell) (Fall 4:27)
184 - Ville Heino (Campbell) over Derek Nagel (SIUE) (MD 22-8)
197 - Jake Tindle (SIUE) over Austin McNeil (Campbell) (TF 19-3 5:27)
285 - Chris Johnson (SIUE) over Jere Heino (Campbell) (MD 8-0)
Gardner-Webb downs Cleveland State, falls to No. 22 Ohio
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – Gardner-Webb wrapped up its regular-season dual schedule with a split Saturday afternoon, whipping Cleveland State 29-9 before falling in a tightly contested 22-13 match with No. 22 Ohio in Paul Porter Arena.
Ohio (12-3) topped Cleveland State by a 31-11 score in the morning match.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs (9-6) added to its program single-season mark for dual wins with its victory of Cleveland State (7-7). It was GWU’s first win over the Vikings in the two programs’ second meeting.
Against Cleveland State, No. 33 Cortez Starkes and Tyler Ziegler got things rolling with a pair of decisions before the Vikings’ Mike Carlone rallied with a decision at 141 pounds to stem the tide.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs took control from there, getting back-to-back major decisions from No. 32 Chris Vassar (12-2) and Ryan Mosley (13-4) for a 14-3 team lead. Austin Trott – who won the 2014 Cleveland State Open at 165 pounds – made quick work of Chas Busz on Saturday, recording a pin in just 40 seconds to put Gardner-Webb in front 20-3.
Brett Stein followed with a 16-5 major decision at 174 pounds, thoroughly dominating his bout from the early stages. No. 33 Hunter Gamble recorded a technical fall at 184 pounds, blanking Justin Worthington 16-0 in 6:32. That pushed the ‘Dogs in front 29-3 with two bouts remaining.
The Vikings’ Sam Wheeler, ranked No. 31 nationally and coming off a morning win over Ohio’s No. 12 Phil Wellington, found the going tough early against Gray Jones at 197 pounds but recorded a takedown in the final minute for a 6-4 decision.
Heavyweight Riley Shaw, ranked No. 17 nationally, took a 10-3 decision over No. 33 Boyce Cornwell in the final weight class.
Starkes faced off with No. 28 Shakur Laney in the first weight class of Saturday’s finale against Ohio and the two battled until the final horn, with Laney escaping with a 4-3 decision.
Ziegler posted a 5-1 decision over Zak Hassan at 133 pounds to even the team score, but the Bobcats picked up a key bonus point with a major decision by Noah Forrider at 141 pounds.
Vassar completed his afternoon with a second victory, scoring a takedown in the first overtime period for a 3-1 win over Cullen Cummings, cutting Ohio’s lead to 7-6.
Mosley was up to the challenge against No. 24 Spartak Chino at 157 pounds but fell in another nail biter, 4-3, and nearly pulled the upset with a near takedown in the final seconds. The call stood after a brief video review, giving the Bobcats a 10-6 edge.
Trott pulled a mild upset at 165 pounds, moving to 4-2 against opponents currently ranked in the NCAA coaches’ panel top 33. He recorded a near fall in the late stages to break a scoreless tie against No. 24 Austin Reese and held riding time for a 5-0 decision – trimming Ohio’s lead to one point (10-9).
No. 26 Andrew Romanchik collected a 5-0 decision over Gamble in a pivotal match at 184 pounds, scoring a reversal to get his scoring underway after a well-contested early battle. Gamble would not be able to get on the board, with a late takedown and riding time providing the final margin.
Wellington, ranked 12th nationally, sealed the match with a pin of Jones in 2:16. Cornwell rebounded from his earlier loss with a major decision over Jesse Webb, controlling the match from start to finish for an 8-0 score.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs will now begin preparations for the 2016 Arby’s Southern Conference Championship, which will be held on Saturday, March 5, in Asheville, N.C. (Kimmel Arena).
Gardner-Webb 29, Cleveland State 9
125: No. 33 Cortez Starkes (GWU) vs. John Martin (CSU); 6-3 – 3-0
133: Tyler Ziegler (GWU) dec. Evan Cheek (CSU); 3-1 (SV-1) – 6-0
141: Mike Carlone (CSU) dec. Ryan Hull (GWU); 10-3 – 6-3
149: No. 32 Chris Vassar (GWU) major dec. Nick Montgomery (CSU); 12-2 – 10-3
157: Ryan Mosley (GWU) major dec. John Vaughn (CSU); 13-4 – 14-3
165: Austin Trott (GWU) fall Chas Busz (CSU); (0:40) – 20-3
174: Brett Stein (GWU) major dec. Nathan Wynkoop (CSU); 16-5 – 24-3
184: No. 33 Hunter Gamble (GWU) tech. fall. Justin Worthington (CSU); 16-0 (6:32) – 29-3
197: No. 31 Sam Wheeler (CSU) dec. Gray Jones (GWU); 6-4 – 29-6
285: No. 17 Riley Shaw (CSU) dec. No. 33 Boyce Cornwell (GWU); 10-3 – 29-9
No. 22 Ohio 22, Gardner-Webb 13
125: No. 28 Shakur Laney (OU) dec. No. 33 Cortez Starkes (GWU); 4-3 – 0-3
133: Tyler Ziegler (GWU) dec. Zak Hassan (OU); 5-1 – 3-3
141: Noah Forrider (OU) major dec. Ryan Hull (GWU); 15-5 – 3-7
149: No. 32 Chris Vassar (GWU) vs. Cullen Cummings (OU); 3-1 (SV-1) – 6-7
157: No. 24 Spartak Chino (OU) dec. Ryan Mosley (GWU); 4-3 – 6-10
165: Austin Trott (GWU) dec. No. 24 Austin Reese (OU); 5-0 – 9-10
174: No. 10 Cody Walters (OU) dec. Brett Stein (GWU); 6-3 – 9-13
184: No. 26 Andrew Romanchik dec. No. 33 Hunter Gamble (GWU); 5-0 – 9-16
197: No. 12 Phil Wellington (OU) fall Gray Jones (GWU); (2:16) – 9-22
285: No. 33 Boyce Cornwell (GWU) major dec. Jesse Webb (OU); 8-0 – 13-22