Keydet Grapplers Fare Well at W&L Invitational

Wrestling VMIKeydets.com

Keydet Grapplers Fare Well at W&L Invitational

LEXINGTON, Va. -- Sending a handful of the grapplers to gain experience, the Virginia Military Institute wrestling team fared well at the Washington & Lee Invitational, hosted by VMI's next door neighbor, Washington & Lee University at the Generals' Warner Center.

The Keydets sent five wrestlers to the Lexington event on Saturday. Overall, VMI placed seventh out of 10 teams, despite slim numbers and scoring 52.5 points. West Virginia Tech won the event with 114 points while the hosts took second with 100 points. Gettysburg College finished third with 93.5 points, followed by St. Andrew's University with 81.5 points. Ferrum College finished fifth with 67 points, edging University of Scranton's 62 points. Following VMI, Liberty University finished with 42.5 points while Bridgewater College capped its day with 25.5 points. Southern Virginia University finished in 10th with half of a point.

Overall, Jake Koch finished second for the Keydets at 184 pounds. After a first-round bye, Koch topped St. Andrew's grappler Brandon Dills 8-6 to reach the semifinals. Once in the penultimate round, Koch dispatched of teammate Hardy Hendren 5-2 to reach the title bout. However, W&L's Ron Tassoni won the division with a 12-1 major decision over Koch.

Hendren took third in the same weight close, winning his first match 7-1 over Gettysburg's Camden Stoops. In the quarterfinals, Hendren rolled to a 5-2 decision over Alex Cox before falling to Koch. In the consolation semifinals, Hendren bested Ferrum's Pat Wenzlaff in sudden victory 3-1. Hendren claimed the third spot on the podium with a 4-3 decision over Dills.

Taylor Thomas finished fifth overall for VMI at 184 pounds, enjoying a first-round bye, followed by a 12-2 major decision over Ferrum's Chris Carter. Thomas was haled in the semifinals by Tassoni and a 12-1 decision. Thomas fell in the consolation semifinals to Dills by fall in a time of 2:37. But the Keydet rebounded with a win by fall over Wenzlaff in the fifth-place bout in 4:05.

At 197 pounds, VMI put up Jake Tomlinson, who finished fifth over all. Like some of his teammates, Tomlinson enjoyed a first-round bye. The Keydet fell in his quarterfinal match by 10-8 sudden victory against Adam Bresson of Ferrum. Tomlinson bounced back to stick SVU's Caleb West in the first round, halting the clock at 1:31. In the consolation semifinals, Tomlinson was topped 7-3 against West Virginia Tech's Terry Nance, but finished strong with another first-round win by fall against St. Andrew's grappler Argie Burnette.

In the heavyweight division, VMI's Yousef Malik had a busy afternoon, wrestling in five matches. Malik kicked things off with a first-period pin against Liberty's Thomas Bartholomew, but pinned himself in the second round by Wyatt Norfolk of West Virginia Tech in 6:25. Malik won his next two bouts, including a second win by fall over Nick Tarchis of Gettysbury in 3:36 and a 5-0 blanking of Bridgewater's Stephen Lopez in the consolation second round. Malik's afternoon was cut short in the consolation third round by Devin Washington of St. Andrew's and a 6-3 decision.

As a team, VMI is back in action on Sunday as the Keydets take on a pair of foes in the nation's capital. VMI opens with Harvard University at 11 a.m. followed by a 1 p.m. dual with host American University in a match to be streamed on PatriotLeague.tv.

Agate:
184 Pounds
First Round: Taylor Thomas (VMI) BYE
Quarterfinals: Taylor Thomas (VMI) MAJ DEC Chris Carter (Ferrum) 12-2
Semifinals: Ron Tassoni (W&L) MAJ DEC Taylor Thomas (VMI) 12-1
Consolation Semifinals: Brandon Dills (St. Andrew's) WBF Taylor Thomas (VMI) 2:37
Fifth-Place Bout: Taylor Thomas (VMI) WBF Pat Wenzlaff (Ferrum) 4:05

First Round: Jake Koch (VMI) BYE
Quarterfinals: Jake Koch (VMI) DEC Brandon Dills (St. Andrew's) 8-6
Semifinals: Jake Koch (VMI) DEC Hardy Hendren (VMI) 5-2
Championship Round: Ron Tassoni (W&L) MAJ DEC Jake Koch (VMI) 12-1

First Round: Hardy Hendren (VMI) DEC Camden Stoops (Gettysburg) 7-1
Quarter Finals: Hardy Hendren (VMI) DEC Alex Cox (Liberty) 5-2
Semifinals: Jake Koch (VMI) DEC Hardy Hendren (VMI) 5-2
Consolation Semifinals: Hardy Hendren (VMI) SV-1 Pat Wenzlaff (Ferrum) 3-1
Third-Place Bout: Hardy Hendren (VMI) DEC Brandon Dills (St. Andrew's) 4-3

197 Pounds
First Round: Jake Tomlinson (VMI) BYE
Quarterfinals: Adam Bresson (Ferrum) SV-1 Jake Tomlinson (VMI) 10-8
Consolation Quarterfinals: Jake Tomlinson (VMI) WBF Caleb West (SVU) 1:31
Consolation Semifinals: Terry Nance (West Virginia Tech) DEC Jake Tomlinson (VMI) 7-3
Fifth-Place Bout: Jake Tomlinson (VMI) WBF Argie Burnette (St. Andrew's) 2:29

285 Pounds
First Round: Yousef Malik (VMI) WBF Thomas Bartholomew (Liberty) 2:27
Second Round: Wyatt Norfolk (West Virginia Tech) WBF Yousef Malik (VMI) 6:25
Consolation First Round: Yousef Malik (VMI) WBF Nick Tarchis (Gettysburg) 3:36
Consolation Second Round: Yousef Malik (VMI) DEC Stephen Lopez (Bridgewater) 5-0
Consolation Third Round: Devin Washington (St. Andrew's) DEC Yousef Malik (VMI) 6-3
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Players Mentioned

Hardy Hendren

Hardy Hendren

Senior
Jake Koch

Jake Koch

Sophomore
Taylor Thomas

Taylor Thomas

Freshman
Jake Tomlinson

Jake Tomlinson

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Hardy Hendren

Hardy Hendren

Senior
Jake Koch

Jake Koch

Sophomore
Taylor Thomas

Taylor Thomas

Freshman
Jake Tomlinson

Jake Tomlinson

Freshman