CHARLESTON, S.C./SALEM, Va.-The VMI wrestling team opened up its 2010-11 this weekend, with cadet-athletes competing at the Citadel Open, as well as the Hokie Open. Several new, as well as old faces, impressed in the opening weekend of action.
On Saturday, 12 freshman made their collegiate debuts in Charleston, most notably Charles Gray, Rennie Merhige, James Clark, and Juan Adams.
Gray went 4-2 on the day, competing at 125 lbs. After picking up a win in the first-round, Gray dropped his second bout to Corey Hildebrant of Darton in a narrow 4-3 decision. Gray then rattled off three wins before falling to Newberry's Steve McLeod in the sixth-round of wrestlebacks to end his day.
Merhige began the day with a 13-8 setback to Riley Keen of Appalachian State. However, he bounced back in a big way, winning five-consecutive bouts, all by decision, to earn a berth in the wrestleback quarterfinals, where he dropped a narrow 5-4 decision to James Bennett of Darton.
Clark started his afternoon off with a decision over Darton's Terrence Martin, 13-6. After falling via a technical fall to Tyler Mullen of Davidson, he defeated James Bland of Shorter by pinfall, and Dallas Winters of Campbell 4-3. However, he was pinned by UNC-Pembroke's Kenny Lindsay in the sixth-round of wrestlebacks to end his afternoon with a 4-2 mark.
Adams went 3-2 on the day, but was extremely impressive in his victories, as all of his three were by pinfall. His day began with a defeat at the hands of Newberry's John Gibson, but followed the defeat with a pin of Spartanburg Methodists Robert Davis at the 2:09 mark of the match. Adams' next victim was Limestone's David Lopez, who he defeated at the 4:33 mark. His final victory of the day came in the fifth-round of wrestlebacks, as he defeated Kevin Gray of the Apprentice School in 2:26 before being pinned by Charlie Farr of Mercer in the sixth-round.
On Sun., Nov. 7 at the Hokie Open, nine Keydet upperclassmen began their seasons. A trio of Keydets took home winning records, beginning with David Yost at 141 lbs. The junior began by shutting out The Citadel's Jordan Dix 3-0, and followed up that victory with a 15-0 technical fall over North Carolina's Chris Woltz. His day concluded with a 6-4 loss to Rocco Wellek, who also represented North Carolina to earn a 2-1 tournament record.
Also impressing was redshirt-senior Michael Long, who took home a 3-1 record at 149 lbs. He began by knocking off Virginia's Tanner Hirstine by decision, 7-3. Following a tough loss to Virginia Tech's Chris Means by a 5-4 margin, he bounced back with consecutive victories over Kent State's TJ Keklak (9-5) and Chattanooga's Dean Pavlou, 8-1.
Junior Matt Brock, wrestling unattached at 165 lbs., went 3-2, and picked up his first win over Dakota Moore of King's College, 5-3. His ledger evened up after a 9-1 defeat to UNCG's Byron Sigmon, but then added consecutive victories over CWC's Dalton Temple, 10-0, and UNCG's Terrence Zaleski, 6-3. In his final bout, he suffered a 7-4 setback to Brandonn Johnson of Kent State.
Junior Joe Munno, taking on competition at 165 lbs., was the other Keydet to take home a win on the day, collecting a 1-2 record. After falling 7-4 to The Citadel's Tutrotokh Lavasandorj 7-4, he knocked off Ohio's Neal Williams 6-3 before having his tournament ended by UNCG's Brett Miller by a 17-10 score.
VMI will next hit the mat on Sun., Nov. 14, as selected members of the squad will head to the NC St. Wolfpack Open in Raleigh. The event is slated to be an all-day affair.
Hokie Open Individual Results
John Pope, 125 lbs.
L, Brett Kostern (Gardner-Webb) 11-6
L, Steve Mitcheff (Kent State) 13-5
Ryan Goodsell, 141 lbs.
L, Shawn Greevy (Chattanooga) 7-2
L, Danny Lopes (North Carolina) 8-0
David Yost, 141 lbs.
W, Jordan Dix (The Citadel) 3-0
W, Chris Woltz (North Carolina) 15-0
L, Rocco Wellek (North Carolina) 6-4
Michael Long, 149 lbs.
W, Tanner Hirstine (Virginia) 7-3
L, Chris Mears (Virginia Tech) 5-4
W, TJ Keklak (Kent State) 9-5
W, Dean Pavlou (Chattanooga) 8-1
Joe Munno, 165 lbs.
L, Turtogtokh Lavsandorj (The Citadel) 7-4
W, Neal Williams (Ohio) 6-3
L, Brett Miller (UNCG) 17-10
Bryce Garrison, 165 lbs.
L, Jon Forbes (Kings College) 4-2
L, Andre Petrsoski (North Carolina) Pin, 1:35
Matt Brock, 165 lbs.
W, Dakota Moore (Kings College) 5-3
L, Byron Sigmon (UNCG) 9-1
W, Dalton Temple (CWC) 10-0
W, Terrence Zaleski (UNCG) 6-3
L, Brandonn Johnson (Kent State) 7-4
John Dommert, 184 lbs.
L, Andrew Sanders (UNCG) 8-0
L, Jared Holliday (UNCG) 5-1
Ronnie Ellsworth, 197 lbs.
L, Joe Tymoszczuk (Kent St.) 8-3
L, Chris Penny (Virginia Tech) 10-1
