VMI Rallies Back to Vanquish Gardner-Webb 22-15 in SoCon Wrestling Action

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VMI Rallies Back to Vanquish Gardner-Webb 22-15 in SoCon Wrestling Action

LEXINGTON, Va.  – After a back-and-forth dual match in the early going, the VMI wrestling team pulled out a 22-15 Southern Conference decision over Gardner-Webb, giving the Keydets a second-straight win for the first time this season.

“We knew it was going to be a good match and they (Gardner-Webb) have a nice team and their guys are really similar to ours,” said VMI head coach John Trudgeon, who guided his team to its third-straight win over the Runnin' Bulldogs. “I knew we would be up against at a couple of weight classes, their 157-pounder was at the national tournament last year and I thought Mike Burnett wrestled a really solid match against him.”

In front of a standing room only crowd at The Thunderdome, the Keydets battled back from a 6-0 deficit after forfeiting 125 pounds. But the key to the comeback was in the upper weight classes, where VMI logged victories in four of five final matches.

The Keydets (4-6, 2-1 SoCon) cut the deficit early with a Ryan Goodsell victory at 133 pounds. The Keydet was taken down with just 16 seconds left in the bout, tying the action at 3-3, but he quickly turned Robert Golde for a reversal and grabbed a 5-3 decision.

VMI took its first lead of the night after Zeb Stewart put together a domination performance, blanking Alex Hamm 10-0 and putting the Keydets on top 7-6. Stewart's 10-point night was aided heavily by his first round where he got a take down in the final minute, turning Hamm towards his back for three near-fall points.

The Runnin' Bulldogs (4-7, 1-3 SoCon) picked up six points on two decisions at 149 and 157 pounds, but VMI bounced back at 165 pounds after Carry Joseph got an early takedown and another three near fall points to bolster his 8-2 decision while adding four minutes of riding time. Joseph's win cut the VMI deficit back down to just two, 12-10 in favor of GWU.

Senior Matthew Brock got VMI back in control as he stuck Aaron Rabin in the second period, logging his fifth win by fall of the season. The victory, Brock's 23rd of the year, was his eighth straight, including his second pin in the last three matches.

In the 184 pound bout, John Dommert won VMI's third straight match 5-2 over the Bulldogs' Jason Porter. A key to Dommert's success was two and a half minutes of riding time, which started with a first-period takedown. Starting the third period on bottom, Dommert hit one of VMI's five team reversals to secure the win.

Down 19-12, but not out, Gardner-Webb picked up a win at 197 pounds and cutting back to a one-bout deficit. The Bulldog win in the second to last match cut the Keydet lead to 19-15.

In the final bout of the evening, VMI's Juan Adams got hit first career win for VMI and did so with riding time to notch a 3-2 decision over Justin Kozera.

“All nine guys laid it out there for us tonight, even the guys who ended up not getting the result they wanted,” said Trudgeon of the squad's victory.

The Keydets have a quick turnaround before their next match as they head to Charleston, S.C. on Sunday to take on the Bulldogs of The Citadel. Action is set for 2 p.m. at the Bulldogs' McAlister Field House. The match will be web streamed, with a link to the stream on VMIKeydets.com.

Agate:

VMI (4-6, 2-1 SoCon) 22
Gardner-Webb University (4-7, 1-3 SoCon) 15
Attendance: 521

Bout-by-Bout Winner def. Loser Type Score  – Running Score: (VMI-GWU)
125 Michael Slaughter (GWU) wins by Forfeit (0-6)
133 Ryan Goodsell (VMI) def. Robbie Golde (GWU) Dec. 5-3 (3-6)
141 Zeb Stewart (VMI) def. Alex Hamm (GWU) Major Decision 10-0 (7-6)
149 Davante Andujar (GWU) def. David Yost (VMI) Dec. 6-3 (7-9)
157 Alex Medved (GWU) def. Michael Burnett (VMI) 6-3 (7-12)
165 Carry Joseph (VMI) def. Justin Guthrie (GWU) Dec. 8-2 (10-12)
174 Matthew Brock (VMI) def. Aaron Rubin (GWU) Fall 3:35
184 John Dommert (VMI) def. Jason Porter (GWU) Dec. 5-2 (19-12)
197 Travis Porter (GWU) def. Urayoan Garcia (VMI) Dec. 7-2 (19-15)
285 Juan Adams (VMI) def. Justin Korzera (GWU) Dec. 3-2 (22-15)

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Players Mentioned

Juan Adams

Juan Adams

Sophomore
Mike Burnett

Mike Burnett

Junior
John Dommert

John Dommert

Junior
Urayoan Garcia

Urayoan Garcia

Freshman
Ryan Goodsell

Ryan Goodsell

Junior
Carry Joseph

Carry Joseph

Freshman
Zeb Stewart

Zeb Stewart

Freshman
David Yost

David Yost

Senior

Players Mentioned

Juan Adams

Juan Adams

Sophomore
Mike Burnett

Mike Burnett

Junior
John Dommert

John Dommert

Junior
Urayoan Garcia

Urayoan Garcia

Freshman
Ryan Goodsell

Ryan Goodsell

Junior
Carry Joseph

Carry Joseph

Freshman
Zeb Stewart

Zeb Stewart

Freshman
David Yost

David Yost

Senior