LEXINGTON, Va. – Joe Antonelli led three SIUE wrestlers with falls Saturday as SIUE collected its first Southern Conference victory of the season at VMI 39-7. SIUE fell 21-15 to George Mason, which also downed VMI, 26-18.
SIUE improved to 1-7 for the season and 1-1 in SoCon action. VMI fell to 0-6 overall and 0-3 in the SoCon.
Four SIUE wrestlers were double winners overall. Jake McKiernan, Jake Tindle, Jake Residori and Clayton Bass each won twice, including a 1:02 pin by McKiernan over VMI's Thomas Shea-Roop at heavyweight.
Antonelli provided the fastest pin of the day for the Cougars in 53 seconds over VMI's Michael Hulcher at 133 pounds. Trevor Feagans added a pin at 141 pounds in 4:18 over VMI's John Reed.
With two wins on the day, VMI sophomore Neal Richards continued to shine for the Keydets as he improved to 16-2 on the year and has now won nine consecutive bouts dating back to Nov. 20. VMI wrestled without the services of senior 125-pounder Dalton Henderson (15-6 season record), who was forced to forfeit his matches due to injury.
In VMI’s match against Mason, the Patriots jumped out to a commanding 20-0 lead after four bouts following Henderson’s forfeit, a loss by fall at 133 and a technical fall in the 149-pound class. Richards put VMI on the board with a hard-fought 8-5 decision over Mason’s Matt Raines to trim the disadvantage to 20-3.
After Cade Kiely earned a 7-3 decision over GMU’s Daniel Mika at 165, senior 174-pounder Shabaka Johns was given six free team points as his opponent forfeited due to an injury earlier in the day. Down 20-12 with three bouts to go, the Keydets rallied as Chris Beck earned a 4-1 decision at 184 and Taylor Thomas registered a 3-2 riding time decision over GMU’s Matt Meadows.
With the chance of a come-from-behind victory in the heavyweight class, VMI’s Shea-Roop was pinned in the third period as the Patriots secured the win by a 26-18 tally.
SIUE 39, VMI 7
125 - Freddie Rodriguez (SIUE) wins by forfeit
133 - Joe Antonelli (SIUE) over Michael Hulcher (VMI) (Fall 0:53)
141 - Trevor Feagans (SIUE) over John Reed (VMI) (Fall 4:18)
149 - John Fahy (SIUE) over Stevan Smith (VMI) (TF 16-1 5:30)
157 - Neal Richards (VMI) over Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) (MD 15-7)
165 - Clayton Bass (SIUE) over Cade Kiely (VMI) (Dec 5-1)
174 - Jake Residori (SIUE) over Shabaka Johns (VMI) (Dec 7-0)
184 - Christopher Beck (VMI) over Jacob Godinez (SIUE) (Dec 3-1)
197 - Jake Tindle (SIUE) over Taylor Thomas (VMI) (MD 14-0)
285 - Jake McKiernan (SIUE) over Thomas Shea-Roop (VMI) (Fall 1:02)
George Mason 21, SIUE 15
125 - Ibrahim Bunduka (GMU) dec. Freddie Rodriguez (SIUE), 21-15
133 – Lio Quezada (GMU) dec. Joe Antonelli (SIUE), 7-4
141 - Tejon Anthony (GMU) dec. Trevor Feagans (SIUE), 7-2
149 - Sahid Kargbo (GMU) dec. John Fahy (SIUE), 5-2
157 - Matthew Raines (GMU) pinned Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE), 6:07
165 - Clayton Bass (SIUE) dec. Daniel Mika (GMU), 5-0
174 - Jake Residori (SIUE) inj. default Patrick Davis (GMU), 2:09
184 - Austin Harrison (GMU) dec. Jacob Godinez (SIUE), 3-0
197 - Jake Tindle (SIUE) dec. Matt Meadows (GMU), 5-2
285 - Jake McKiernan (SIUE) dec. Matthew Voss (GMU), 6-1
George Mason 26, VMI 18
125 - Ibrahim Banduka (GMU) wins by forfeit
133 - Lio Quezada (GMU) over Michael Hulcher (VMI) (Fall 6:29)
141 - Tejon Anthony (GMU) over John Reed (VMI) (Dec 13-7)
149 - Sahid Kargbo (GMU) over Alex Rinehart (VMI) (TF 19-3 3:12)
157 - Neal Richards (VMI) over Matt Raines (GMU) (Dec 8-5)
165 - Cade Kiely (VMI) over Daniel Mika (GMU) (Dec 7-3)
174 - Shabaka Johns (VMI) over Patrick Davis (GMU) (For.)
184 - Christopher Beck (VMI) over Austin Harrison (GMU) (Dec 4-1)
197 - Taylor Thomas (VMI) over Matt Meadows (GMU) (Dec 3-2)
285 - Matt Voss (GMU) over Thomas Shea-Roop (VMI) (Fall 6:13)