LEXINGTON, Va.- VMI used three pins and three forfeits on their way to a 39-12 non-conference victory against Delaware State on Wednesday evening at The Thunderdome. The Keydets improve to 6-5 overall, while the Hornets fall to 1-12-1 on the season.

With the Hornets forfeiting three of the first four weight classes and VMI senior Tyler Anthony pinning Kelvin Watford at 133, the Keydets took a 24-0 decision into the evening's fifth match, coming at 157. There, DSU redshirt-freshman Kyle Robinson pinned VMI freshman Andrew Dionne at the 4:08 mark, giving the Hornets their first win of the evening to cut the margin to 24-6.

Hornet sophomore Brandon Gardner won the night's first decision, besting Keydet freshman Jayme Gordon at 165. In that match, Gordon broke a scoreless tie late in the second period with a takedown, however fell behind 3-2 midway through the third period and could not escape as time expired.

VMI senior Dustin McCabe scored the Keydets' second pin of the evening in the second period of the 174 match. With a 2-0 lead and over a minute of riding time entering the second, McCabe began the second period in the down position. He was unable to escape until he reversed Kyle Skinner's hold in the center circle, pinning him at the 3:52 mark to push the VMI advantage to 30-9.

Keydet freshman Curtis Moore won his first career dual match at 184, running up a 9-2 decision over Hornet junior Derrick Loper. Hornet junior Shawn Nowrey countered with a 10-3 decision at 197 over Keydet freshman Ronnie Ellsworth.

The final match of the evening pitted DSU redshirt-freshman Ellis Hester against Keydet freshman Josh Wine. Wine continued his dominance at The Thunderdome, improving to 3-0 with three pins at home this season, doing so at the 2:54 mark of the first period to wrap up the night's action.

"Well, we only wrestled seven matches, so the team score is misleading," said VMI head coach John Trudgeon. "We won four of the seven matches, and had six true freshmen in the lineup tonight. Curtis Moore had a good win tonight, it's good for him to wrestle aggressively and get a win. There's a lot of work to do out there for us. It's good to have Tyler getting back to 100%, and then we've basically got Dave, Dustin and a bunch of young pups. We've got some big challenges this weekend against Duke and Appalachian State, but tonight, a win's a win and we'll take it."

The Keydets return to action this weekend, taking on Duke in Durham on Saturday before rounding out their Southern Conference schedule at Appalachian State on Sunday.

VMI 39, Delaware State 12
125- Jeremy Adams (VMI) wins by forfeit, VMI 6, DSU 0
133- Tyler Anthony (VMI) pins Kelvin Watford (DSU) 4:26, VMI 12, DSU 0
141- David Metzler (VMI) wins by forfeit, VMI 18, DSU 0
149- John Held (VMI) wins by forfeit, VMI 24, DSU 0
157- Kyle Robinson (DSU) pins Andrew Dionne (VMI) 4:08, VMI 24, DSU 6
165- Brandon Gardner (DSU) dec. Jayme Gordon (VMI) 3-2, VMI 24, DSU 9
174- Dustin McCabe (VMI) pins Kyle Skinner (DSU) 3:52, VMI 30, DSU 9
184- Curtis Moore (VMI) dec. Derrick Loper (DSU) 9-2, VMI 33, DSU 9
197- Shawn Nowrey (DSU) dec. Ronnie Ellsworth (VMI) 10-3, VMI 33, DSU 12
285- Josh Wine (VMI) pins Ellis Hester (DSU), 2:54, VMI 39, DSU 12

Attendance- 441