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LEXINGTON,
Va. – The Keydets of VMI wrestling
snapped a five-match losing skid on Thursday night, collecting the team's first
Southern Conference win of the season, knocking off winless Davidson 30-9.
It
was a packed house at The Thunderdome, filling every section of seating and the
upper track ringed with cadets.
“It
was a great atmosphere here tonight. First of all, I'd like to thank the Corps
for coming out to the match,” said VMI head man John Trudgeon, who guided his
team to its third straight win over Davidson. “It's a great venue when they
(the Corps) are here. I'm certainly appreciative of them coming out and support
the wrestling team.
The
match began at 285, but the Wildcats (0-7, 0-2 SoCon) forfeited the weight
class, followed by a VMI (2-5, 1-1 SoCon) forfeit at 125 pounds. The Keydets
built their lead winning four straight matches (133, 141, 149, 157) followed by
wins in the final three bouts of the night.
“The
last two outings we've had, we really stepped up the competition,” said
Trudgeon, referring to the Mat Town USA Invitational and the Pitt Duals. “It
was tough, we had some good performances but some of those matches we just didn't
find a way to win and we found a way to win tonight.”
Things
went VMI's way early and the Keydets never relented, beginning at 133 pounds
with Ryan Goodsell's narrow 7-5 decision over Matt Zarth to break a 6-6 tie
and put the Keydets up 9-6. Goodsell benefitted in the match from over three
minutes of riding time to earn the extra point.
The Keydets continued to roll at 141 pounds as
Zeb Stewart notched an 8-3 victory over Kevin Birmingham. At 149 pounds, David
Yost put up the Keydets' first bonus points of the evening, controlling the
Wildcats' Scott Ray 13-1. Michael Burnett kept things going at 157 pounds with
his first major decision of the season with a 9-0 blanking of CT Talevi.
After
dropping the 165 pound match, VMI bounced back with a surprising 11-0 victory
from Matthew Brock, who logged his 20th win of the season. Of his 20
victories, 16 have been by decision, including his previous 10 wins before
tonight. It is the most points Brock has scored all season, coming at the
expense of Chris Cirenza.
VMI
got another double-digit point total at 184 pounds from John Dommert, who
wrestled down a weight class to replace the injured Conor Black. Dommert held
his own, collecting a 10-4 win over Ian Soclz, giving Dommert his first win at
184 pounds since the season-opening Hokie Open on Nov. 6.
Stepping
onto the mat for the first time for VMI, 197-pounder Urayoan Garcia got his
career of with a close call. In the final 30 seconds of his match with Ed
Isola, Garcia gave up an escape and a takedown, resulting in an 8-8 tie.
But
the Keydet had stockpiled over three minutes of riding time and was awarded one
final point and his first victory for VMI.
Reversals
were crucial for VMI on Friday, logging seven throughout the match, including a
pair from Dommert. The only weight classes VMI did not tally a reversal in were
149 and 174 pounds.
The
Keydets have a short resting period before heading to Fairfax, Va. to clash
with George Mason and Cleveland State at the Patriot Duals. VMI is slated to
open with Cleveland State at 9 a.m. and host George Mason at 10:30 a.m. Both matches will
be contested in George Mason's Recreation Athletic Complex.
Agate:
VMI (2-5, 1-1 SoCon) - 30
Davidson (0-7,
0-2 SoCon) - 9
Attendance: 562
Match Began at
285 Pounds
Bout-by-Bout Winner def. Loser Type
Score – Running Score: (VMI-EMU)
285 – Andrew Embree (VMI) Wins by Forfeit
(6-0)
125 – Phillip Elias (DC) Wins by Forfeit
(6-6)
133 – Ryan Goodsell (VMI) def. Matt Zarth (DC) Dec. 7-5 (9-6)
141 – Zeb Stewart (VMI) def. Kevin
Birmingham (DC) Dec. 8-3 (12-6)
149 – David Yost (VMI) def. Scott Ray (DC)
Major Dec. 13-1 (16-6)
157 – Michael Burnett (VMI) def. CT Talevi
(DC) Major Dec. 9-0 (20-6)
165 – Tyler Mullen (DC) def. Carry Joseph
(VMI) Dec. 4-2 (20-9)
174 – Matthew Brock (VMI) def. Chirs Cirenza (DC) Major Dec. 11-0 (24-9)
184 – John Dommert (VMI) def. Ian Soclz (DC) Dec.
10-4 (27-9)
197 – Urayoan Garcia (VMI) def. Ed Isola (DC) Dec. 9-8 (30-9)
