Barrow Claims Second Title of the Season at ?Shorty? Hitchcock Classic

Wrestling 11/23/2008 7:00:00 PM VMIKeydets.com

Barrow Leads Wrestling at Keystone Classic

PHILADELPHIA- Senior Leon Barrow placed fifth in the 285-pound weight class as the VMI wrestling team competed at the Keystone Classic on Sunday afternoon at The Palestra.

Barrow (Williamsburg, Va.), who earlier this season placed fifth at the King College Open, began his run on Sunday with a 4-3 win over Brown's Zach Zdrada. Barrow next faced off with Pitt's Zack Scheaffer, ranked seventh nationally, and was pinned at the 4:50 mark. The Keydet heavyweight then dropped a 7-5 decision to Penn's Tyler Blakely, before rebounding to win the fifth-place match 3-2 over Mercyhurst's Kenny Bluska.

“Leon had a couple of good wins, and Curtis did too, but other than that, our guys are continuing that rude awakening into Division I competition,” said VMI head coach John Trudgeon. “The competition was good, but we're just not where we need to be right now. In a technique-based sport like wrestling, we really need to develop our skills. We'll put the pedal to the metal and keep working hard to improve. We brought nine freshmen, four sophomores and a senior with us, and I'm hoping that we're learning some lessons along the way.”

Sophomore Curtis Moore (Stafford, Va.) lost a 2-0 decision to Pitt's Brock Mantella to begin his day at 184 lbs. In the consolation bracket, Moore scored a 2-0 decision of his own over conference foe Dennis Paiva of Appalachian State, then pinned Boston's Mike Platco in 6:25. Moore's run ended with a 3-2 loss in the consolation quarterfinals to Mercyhurst's Bryan Wolff.

At 133 lbs., freshman Tyler Hutchens, a placewinner at the Hokie Open last week, suffered an injury in his first match of the day, forcing a pair of medical forfeits. Fellow freshman Michael Bowman scored a 5-3 win over Appalachian State's Lawrence White at 133, before dropping his next two matches to seeded opponents.

The Keydets also had a pair of entrants at 149 lbs. Freshman Joe Munno scored his first collegiate pin in only 1:27 against Boston's Andrew Swank before losing a major decision to nationally-ranked Cesar Grajales of Penn. Redshirt-freshman Joel Hutchens scored a win in the 149-lb. consolation bracket, a 7-1 dispatching of American's Nick Pitas.

Other Keydets posting wins on the day included sophomore Doug Nesmith at 174 and freshmen Vinnie Gallo at 165 and Matthew Brock at 157, with Nesmith and Brock each posting their first collegiate pins in those victories.

The Keydets return to action in two weeks, competing in a tri-meet hosted by Gardner-Webb. On Thursday, Dec. 4, the Keydets will take on the host Runnin' Bulldogs and Spartanburg Methodist.

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