SALEM, Va. – In one of the premiere opening tournaments on the east coast, Virginia Military Institute's Juan Adams claimed a sixth-place finish at the 2012 Hokie Open, hosted by Virginia Tech and hosted at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va.

In a class with more than 40 wrestlers, Adams took sixth in the heavyweight division in a field that included Southern Conference champion Odie Delaney, with Adams opening his 2012-13 campaign with four wins.

Adams, who is coming of a successful sophomore campaign last season, took advantage of a first-round bye, knocking Rutgers University's Terrance Jean-Jacques to the wrestleback bracket with a 4-1 second-round victory. Adams continued his winning ways with a 7-2 victory in the third-round over United States Air Force Academy's Jared Erickson.

After reaching the quarterfinals in the championship bracket, Adams suffer a setback, falling in 57 seconds against eventual champion Nick Gwiazdow of NC State, who was wrestling unattached this weekend.

Adams bounced back, landing in the fifth round of the wrestleback bracket and edging out Travis Porter of Southern Conference Gardner-Webb University. Adams met another Southern Conference opponent in Kevin Malone, who grapples for UT Chattanooga, with Adams claiming a 5-0 decision over the Moc. To speed up the bouts, Adams' scheduled match was Delaney was not contested, with Adams meeting Rutgers' Bill Smith in the fifth-place bout. Smith pinned Adams, claiming fifth while the Keydet took sixth.

At 141 pounds, VMI's Ryan Goodsell collected a first-round win over Indiana University's Kris Kerwin with a 5-1 decision. In the second round, Goodsell suffered a technical fall against University of North Carolina's Evan Henderson, who went on to take third. In the wrestle back second round, Goodsell's afternoon was ended by Duke University's Tanner Hough with a 4-0 decision.

Urayoan Garcia, who took fourth-place at last year's Southern Conference championships, fell in his first round match against Ohio University's Kyle O'Donnell in the 197 pound weight class. Garcia responded in his next match, the wrestleback first round, with a 6-1 decision over Indiana's Tarek Alarui, but fell in the wrestleback second round 7-6 against Virginia Tech's Darren Hankins.

The Keydets return to action next Sunday as they head to Raleigh, N.C. for the Wolfpack Open, hosted by North Carolina State University.

VMI Results:
141 Pounds
First Round: Ryan Goodsell (VMI) DEC Kris Kerwin (Indiana) 5-1
Second Round: Evan Henderson (North Carolina) TECH FALL Ryan Goodsell (VMI) 17-2
Wrestleback Second Round: Tanner Hough (Duke) DEC Ryan Goodsell (VMI) 4-0

157 Pounds
First Round: Immanuel Kerr-Brown (Durham-Unattached) DEC Michael Burnett (VMI) 4-3
Wrestleback First Round: Matt Stephens (Blacksburg-Unattached) DEC Michael Burnett (VMI) 8-2

165 Pounds
First Round: Brian Dorsey (Duke Wrestling Club) DEC Van Grimes (VMI) 4-0
Wrestleback First Round: Van Grimes (VMI) DEC Brooks Morrison (Virginia Tech) 7-3
Wrestleback Second Round: Van Grimes (VMI) WBF Zach Howerton (Newberry) 6:11
Wrestleback Third Round: Anthony Volpe (Rutgers) WBF Van Grimes (VMI) 0:55

174 Pounds
First Round: Trey Adamson (Duke) DEC John Dommert (VMI) 11-4
Wrestleback Second Round: Colin Hedash (Appalachian State) DEC John Dommert (VMI) 8-5

197 Pounds
First Round: Kyle O'Donnell (Ohio University) DEC Urayoan Garcia (VMI) 8-5
Wrestleback First Round: Urayoan Garcia (VMI) DEC Tarek Alarui (Indiana) 6-1
Wrestleback Second Round: Darren Hankins (Virginia Tech) DEC Urayoan Garcia (VMI) 7-6

285 Pounds
First Round: Juan Adams (VMI) BYE
Second Round: Juan Adams (VMI) DEC Terrance Jean-Jacques (Rutgers) 4-1
Third Round: Juan Adams (VMI) DEC Jared Erickson (Air Force) 7-2
Quarterfinals: Nick Gwiazdow (NC State-Unattached) WBF Juan Adams (VMI) 0:57