Wrestling 11/10/2008 2:00:00 PM VMIKeydets.com

Wrestling Boasts Nine Placewinners at King College Open

BRISTOL, Tenn.- The VMI wrestling team had placewinners in nine of the ten weight classes on Sunday, competing at the season-opening King College Open. Leading the way were sophomore Ronnie Ellsworth (197) and freshman David Yost (141), who each placed second in their respective weight classes.

Along with Ellsworth and Yost, other top finishers included sophomores Jayme Gordon (157) and Curtis Moore (184), who each placed third in their weight classes. Sophomore Johnathan Pope (125) and freshman Joe Munno (149) placed fourth in the tournament, while seniors Kyle Elgert (165) and Leon Barrow (285) joined freshman Tyler Hutchens (133) in finishing fifth.

“Overall, we got exactly the kind of start to the season that we envisioned,” said VMI head coach John Trudgeon. “We took everyone that we had healthy, which ended up being 25 guys, including 16 rats. Like any tournament, there were highs and lows. We went down there to get experience and to have success, and we did both of those. The competition was pretty good, we had a few guys that got in six matches, and a few more that got in five. It was nice to see some of the freshman that we'll depend on have success, and our returning third classmen wrestled some good matches. Now, we're looking forward to a big week of practice and we'll get ready to head down to Virginia Tech on Sunday.”

Ellsworth (Newport News, Va./Menchville) won two matches before dropping his finals match at 197. The lanky sophomore pinned his first opponent, Kyle Studer of Cumberland, in only 1:19, before knocking off Cumberlands' Rob Nusekabel 6-4, ranked fifth nationally at 184 in the NAIA. Ellsworth then dropped a 7-1 decision to Campbellsville's Glen Jackson, ranked third nationally in the NAIA at 197.

Yost (Broad Run, Va./Fauquier) ran off three consecutive decision at 141 to reach the finals. Yost defeated Campbellsville's Matt David 5-3 before taking out Kent Person of Carson-Newman 4-3. He then scored a 9-7 decision against Cumberland's Neil Birt before losing an 8-3 decision to Cumberland's Mikey Davis.

Gordon (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) picked up where he left off last season, posting a 42-second pin of Cumberland's Bryan DeCormier in his first match before dropping a 6-4 match to top-seeded Campbellsville's George Sheppard. Gordon, whose six pins in 2007-08 were the most of any VMI returner this season, picked up two more pins on his way to a third-place finish, pinning both Carson-Newman's Greg Hopkins and King's Shayne Funk.

Moore (Stafford, Va./Gar-Field) began his run by dispatching of Carson-Newman's Marcus Lopez 5-1 and King's David Johnson 5-0 before dropping a 9-5 decision to Cumberlands' Damien Stephenson in the Championship Semifinals. The sophomore then rebounded to post his first major decision of the season in a 12-0 win against King's Brandon Tressler, before knocking off Johnson once again, this time by a 5-3 margin.

Pope (Hoover, Ala./Hoover) won four of his six matches on the afternoon at 125, collecting a pin of Cumberland's Jason Hunlock in 4:23 and three tight decisions. Munno (Glen Allen, Va./St. Christopher's) did the same at 149, winning four matches while dropping two in his first collegiate competition.

The VMI wrestling team will host an intra-squad scrimmage at The Thunderdome, on post at VMI, on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m. The team then returns to action on Sunday, competing at the Hokie Open, hosted by Virginia Tech in Salem, Va.

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