CHARLESTON, S.C. – Jacob Godinez and Clayton Bass each recorded pins Thursday as SIUE wrestling beat The Citadel 31-9 at McAlister Field House.
SIUE, competing at the site of next month's Southern Conference Championship, got off to a flying start in the opening matches with a pair of major decisions. SIUE's Freddie Rodriguez defeated Charles Kearney 15-5 at 125 pounds. John Muldoon added a dominant victory at 133 pounds for the Cougars with a 16-3 win over Andrew Szalwinski.
The Cougars improved to 4-10 overall and 4-2 in the SoCon. The Citadel dropped to 2-9 overall and 1-4 in the SoCon.
Douglas Gudenburr got The Citadel on the board with a 6-4 win over Trevor Feagans at 141, but John Fahy kept the Cougars cruising at 149 pounds with a 6-2 win over Tyler Buckiso.
After The Citadel’s Aaron Walker took a 10-5 decision over Karsten Van Velsor at 157, Bass gave SIUE fans a clear-cut victory at 165 pounds with a fall in 4 minutes, 23 seconds over Ruston Hill II. After SIUE's Jake Residori blanked Martin Duane 18-0 for a technical fall at 174 pounds, Godinez pumped up the Cougar bench with his first SoCon triumph, a pin at the third-period buzzer over Chandler Sambets.
At 197, the Bulldogs’ Sawyer Root claimed a 3-2 win over Jake Tindle before SIUE’s Jake McKiernan closed out the dual with a 4-3 win over Joseph Bexley. It was McKiernan's team-leading 22nd victory of the season.
SIUE continues its road trip Saturday at Campbell. The Citadel will continue conference play Sunday at Chattanooga.
SIUE 31, The Citadel 9
125: Freddie Rodriguez (SIUE) over Charles Kearney (The Citadel) (MD 15-5)
133: John Muldoon (SIUE) over Andrew Szalwinski (The Citadel) (MD 16-3)
141: Douglas Gudenburr (The Citadel) over Trevor Feagans (SIUE) (Dec 6-4)
149: John Fahy (SIUE) over Tyler Buckiso (The Citadel) (Dec 6-2)
157: Aaron Walker (The Citadel) over Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) (Dec 10-5)
165: Clayton Bass (SIUE) over Ruston Hill II (The Citadel) (Fall 4:23)
174: Jake Residori (SIUE) over Martin Duane (The Citadel) (TF 18-0 5:00)
184: Jake Godinez (SIUE) over Chandler Sambets (The Citadel) (Fall 7:00)
197: Sawyer Root (The Citadel) over Jake Tindle (SIUE) (Dec 3-2)
285: Jake McKiernan (SIUE) over Joseph Bexley (The Citadel) (Dec 4-3)