Johns, Adams Take Fourth at Keystone Classic

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Johns, Adams Take Fourth at Keystone Classic

PHILADELPHIA -- For a third straight week, the Virginia Military Institute had at least two wrestlers place at an individual tournament as Shabaka Johns and Juan Adams took fourth place at 165 pounds and 285 pounds, respectively, during the 2014 Keystone Classic, hosted Sunday by the University of Pennsylvania.

The event, hosted at the historic Palestra in downtown Philadelphia, saw Johns and Adams finish with 3-2 records. This marks the third straight tournament in Adams placed after taking sixth the last two weekends at the Hokie Open and the Wolfpack Open. This is Johns' time placing at a tournament this year, following a fifth place finish at the Hokie Open.

VMI sent a lighter squad to the City of Brotherly Love as the team's juniors remained in Lexington for Ring Figure events over the weekend. The Keydets had just nine entrants in the annual event. As a team, VMI amassed 22.0 points, finishing 12th out of 14 teams. Northwestern won the event with 98.0, followed by Rider's 92.5 and an 89.0 from Eastern Michigan.

Johns enjoyed a first-round bye at 165 pounds before topping Southern Conference foe Nick Kee of Appalachian State 5-1. In the second round, Johns edged Eastern Michigan's Devan Marry 7-5 to advance to the semifinals.

In the penultimate round, Johns fell by major decision to Northwestern's Pierce Harger, the eventual runner up. But Johns rebounded in the consolation semifinals with a blanking of Eastern Michigan's Austin Geerlings, 3-0. The Keydet sophomore fell in the third-place bout 4-0 against Stanford's Jim Wilson for his best finish at a tournament this season.

At heavyweight, Adams too enjoyed a bye before taking down John Rizzo of Pittsburgh 5-0 in the second round. Adams continued to roll with a 4-1 win over Stanford's Josh Marchok before falling to Harvard's David Ng 4-2 in the semifinals.

Adams, who has lost back-to-back matches just once this season, bounced back in the consolation semifinals with a dominant 8-0 major decision over Eastern Michigan's Gage Hutchison. In the third-place bout, Adams was topped by an 8-3 decision against Stanford's Nathan Butler.

Agate
133 Pounds
First Round: Alonzo Shepherd (Indiana) MAJ DEC Hunter Starner (VMI) 10-1
Consolation Second Round: Vito Pasone (Appalachian State) WBF Hunter Starner (VMI) 2:14

165 Pounds
First Round: Shabaka Johns (VMI) BYE
Second Round: Shabaka Johns (VMI) DEC Nick Kee (Appalachian State) 5-1
Quarterfinals: Shabaka Johns (VMI) DEC Devan Marry (Eastern Michigan) 7-5
Semifinals: Pierce Harger (Northwestern) MAJ DEC Shabaka Johns (VMI) 9-1
Consolation Semifinals: Shabaka Johns (VMI) DEC Austin Geerlings (Eastern Michigan) 3-0
Third Place Bout: Jim Wilson (Stanford) DEC Shabaka Johns (VMI) 4-0

174 Pounds
First Round: Kayne MacCallam (Eastern Michigan) MAJ DEC Derek Thurman (VMI) 9-1
Consolation First Round: David Kocer (South Dakota State) MAJ DEC Derek Thurman (VMI) 11-3

184 Pounds
First Round: Matt Hawkins (VMI) BYE
Second Round: Matt Irick (Indiana) WBF Matt Hawkins (VMI) 2:05
Consolation First Round: Matt Hawkins (VMI) BYE
Consolation Second Round: Brady Ayers (South Dakota State) WBF Matt Hawkins (VMI) 6:32

First Round: Hardy Hendren (VMI) BYE
Second Round: Jake Masengale (Indiana) DEC Hardy Hendren (VMI) 13-7
Consolation First Round: Ville Heino (Campbell) MAJ DEC Hardy Hendren (VMI) 22-8

First Round: Michael Curby (Eastern Michigan) WBF Jake Koch (VMI) 4:02
Consolation First Round: Alen Turcinhodzic (Pittsburgh) WBF Jake Koch (VMI) 3:11

197 Pounds
First Round: Jake Tomlinson (VMI) BYE
Second Round: Ryan Solomon (Pittsburgh) WBF Jake Tomlinson (VMI) 0:36
Consolation First Round: Jake Tomlinson (VMI) BYE
Consolation Second Round: Mike Mirra (Bloomsburg) DEC Jake Tomlinson (VMI) 8-4

285 Pounds
First Round: Juan Adams (VMI) BYE
Second Round: Juan Adams (VMI) DEC John Rizzo (Pittsburgh) 5-0
Quarterfinals: Juan Adams (VMI) DEC Josh Marchok (Stanford) 4-1
Semifinals: David Ng (Harvard) DEC Juan Adams (VMI) 4-2
Consolation Semifinals: Juan Adams (VMI) MAJ DEC Gage Hutchison (Eastern Michigan) 8-0
Third-Place Bout: Nathan Butler (Stanford) DEC Juan Adams (VMI) 8-3

First Round: Yousef Malik (VMI) BYE
Second Round: Lucas Chestnut (Pittsburgh) MAJ DEC Yousef Malik (VMI) 10-1
Consolation First Round: Kacee Hutchinson (Appalachian State) TECH FALL Yousef Malik (VMI) 16-1
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Players Mentioned

Juan Adams

Juan Adams

Redshirt Senior
Hardy Hendren

Hardy Hendren

Senior
Shabaka Johns

Shabaka Johns

Sophomore
Jake Koch

Jake Koch

Sophomore
Hunter Starner

Hunter Starner

Freshman
Derek Thurman

Derek Thurman

Redshirt Sophomore
Jake Tomlinson

Jake Tomlinson

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Juan Adams

Juan Adams

Redshirt Senior
Hardy Hendren

Hardy Hendren

Senior
Shabaka Johns

Shabaka Johns

Sophomore
Jake Koch

Jake Koch

Sophomore
Hunter Starner

Hunter Starner

Freshman
Derek Thurman

Derek Thurman

Redshirt Sophomore
Jake Tomlinson

Jake Tomlinson

Freshman