Cardiac Keydets Pick Up Tight SoCon Wins at Davidson

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Cardiac Keydets Pick Up Tight SoCon Wins at Davidson

DAVIDSON, N.C. -- Fans of the Virginia Military Institute wrestling team can breath a little easier after a pair of matches Friday. The Keydets picked up a pair of Southern Conference wins, with both bouts coming down to the heavyweights to decide a winner.

In its first match, VMI edged South Illinois University Edwardsville 21-18, followed by a 21-16 win over host Davidson College. The wins improved VMI to 6-5 overall on the season and 3-1 in the SoCon, the most overall wins for the Keydets since going 6-8 in 2007-08 and most conference victories since a 3-2 season in 2006-07.

The win over Davidson was VMI's 70th since the programs first met in 1921, the first year of varsity wrestling at the Institute while improving the Keydets to 70-1-1 all-time against the Wildcats.

Three Keydets went 2-0 on the day as Dalton Henderson won by fall and forfeit at 125 pounds, Shabaka Johns improved his winning streak to seven with a decision and a major decision and Juan Adams logged a decision and a technical fall, both of which sealed victories for VMI.

In the first match of the day, the decision came down to heavyweight. The third-meeting between VMI and SIUE featured three ties during the final six bouts, including an 18-18 deadlock after the 197 pound match. The Keydets improved to 2-1 all-time against the Cougars after Juan Adams picked up a 2-0 win over Chris Johnson, earning an escape and picking up riding time for the victory.

The day started well for VMI as Henderson collected his seventh win by fall, sticking Nathan Day in the first period, stopping the clock at 2:18. VMI picked up another six points at 133 as Hunter Starner received a forfeit, giving the Keydets a 12-0 lead.

The Cougars won the next three bouts, including two that included bonus points. At 141 pounds, Emmitt Kelly was edged 5-2.

At 165 pounds, the Keydets got back on track with an 8-6 decision by  Johns, who backed his win with three takedowns of Connor McMahon. Johns added a point to his total with a over a minute of riding time, countering McMahon's two reversals in the third period.

The 174 pound bout was a classic, but Cougar Jake Residori escaped in the first and second periods, while scoring a takedown in the third. Mark Darr had a takedown in in the first period, but his third-period escape was not enough.

Derek Thurman put together a solid 7-6 win at 184 pounds for the Keydets, balancing the match 15-15. The redshirt junior took Derek Nagel down three times in the first period, allowing the Cougar three escapes. Nagel escaped again in the second period before taking Thurman to the mat in the third. But the Keydet proved to be battle ready and escaped to earn a point and the 7-6 victory.

SIUE's Jake Tindle leveled the match at 18-18 after edging VMI's Urayoan Garcia 4-2. Garcia escaped in the first and third periods, but Tindle logged a takedown in the first, followed by an escape in the third, while accruing a minute of riding time for the 4-2 win.

The dual with the Wildcats, who fell 24-13 against SIUE as well, was another tight bout. VMI went up 6-0 after Henderson received a forfeit. Davidson took an 8-5 decision at 133 pounds, but the Keydets gained another three points at 141 pounds from Kelly.

Davidson won the next two weight classes, tying the match for the first time at 9-9. Johns boosted VMI's lead to four with a 14-4 major decision at 165 pounds, the sophomore's 18th win this season. Johns' win was aided by six takedowns, riding time and a point after Patric Devlin was hit with two stall warnings.

Darr further increased the lead with a narrow 3-2 victory over Nathaniel Powers. Riding time proved to be the difference after Darr scored a first-round takedown before Powers was awarded a penalty point and earned an escape to tie the match 2-2. Darr tallied more than a minute of riding time to pick up his ninth win this season.

But the Wildcats clawed their way back into the match, winning at 184 pounds by major decision and a sudden victory at 197 pounds. The seven points deadlocked the dual at 16-16 heading into the final bout of the day.

Adams' bout was tight in the first period as the redshirt senior was hit with a penalty point but scored a takedown. The Texan cracked open the bout with an escape, takedown and three nearfall points, in addition to a penalty point. Adams locked up the technical fall in the third with a takedown and five total nearfall points, halting the match in 6:56 and giving VMI its second win of the day.

VMI continues a road-weary weekend as the Keydets head to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga on Sunday. VMI takes on the four-time defending Southern Conference champions at 2 p.m. at the Mocs' Maclellan Gym.

Agate:
Friday January 23, 2015 - at Davidson (SoCon Dual)
Belk Arena - Davidson, N.C.
VMI 21, SIUE 18
Wt. Winner Dec Type Loser Score (VMI-SIUE)
125: Dalton Henderson (VMI) WBF Nathan Day (SIUE) 2:18 (6-0)
133: Hunter Starner (VMI) Wins by Forfeit (12-0)
141: Trevor Feagans (SIUE) DEC Emmitt Kelly (VMI) 5-2 (12-3)
149: Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) TECH FALL Jack Krall (VMI) 18-3 (6:20) (12-8)
157: Sam Zimmerman (SIUE) MAJ DEC Sam Paulay (VMI) 17-4 (12-12)
165: Shabaka Johns (VMI) DEC Connor McMahon (SIUE) 8-6 (15-12)
174: Jake Residori (SIUE) DEC Mark Darr (VMI) 4-3 (15-15)
184: Derek Thurman (VMI) Derek Nagel (SIUE) 7-6 (18-15)
197: Jake Tindle (SIUE) DEC Urayoan Garcia (VMI) 4-2 (18-18)
285: Juan Adams (VMI) DEC Chris Johnson (SIUE) 2-0 (21-18)

Friday January 23, 2015 - at Davidson (SoCon Dual)
Belk Arena - Davidson, N.C.
VMI 21, Davidson 16
Wt. Winner Dec Type Loser Score (VMI-DC)
125: Dalton Henderson (VMI) Wins by Forfeit (6-0)
133: Anthony Elias (Davidson) DEC Hunter Starner 8-5 (6-3)
141: Emmitt Kelly (VMI) DEC Kevin Birmingham (Davidson) 11-4 (9-3)
149: James McCord (Davidson) DEC Jack Krall (VMI) 11-6 (9-6)
157: Alex Palinsky (Davidson) DEC Sam Paulay (VMI) 9-6 (9-9)
165: Shabaka Johns (VMI) MAJ DEC Patric Devlin (Davidson) 14-4 (13-9)
174: Mark Darr (VMI) DEC Nathaniel Powers (Davidson) 3-2 (16-9)
184: Scott Patrick (Davidson) MAJ DEC Derek Thurman (VMI) 8-0 (16-13)
197: Ian Soclz (Davidson) SV-1 Urayoan Garcia (VMI) 3-1 (16-16)
285: Juan Adams (VMI) TECH FALL Will Cooley (Davidson) 16-1 (6:56) (21-16)
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Players Mentioned

Juan Adams

Juan Adams

Redshirt Senior
Mark Darr

Mark Darr

Junior
Urayoan Garcia

Urayoan Garcia

Redshirt Junior
Dalton Henderson

Dalton Henderson

Sophomore
Shabaka Johns

Shabaka Johns

Sophomore
Emmitt Kelly

Emmitt Kelly

Junior
Jack Krall

Jack Krall

Freshman
Sam Paulay

Sam Paulay

Freshman
Hunter Starner

Hunter Starner

Freshman
Derek Thurman

Derek Thurman

Redshirt Sophomore

Players Mentioned

Juan Adams

Juan Adams

Redshirt Senior
Mark Darr

Mark Darr

Junior
Urayoan Garcia

Urayoan Garcia

Redshirt Junior
Dalton Henderson

Dalton Henderson

Sophomore
Shabaka Johns

Shabaka Johns

Sophomore
Emmitt Kelly

Emmitt Kelly

Junior
Jack Krall

Jack Krall

Freshman
Sam Paulay

Sam Paulay

Freshman
Hunter Starner

Hunter Starner

Freshman
Derek Thurman

Derek Thurman

Redshirt Sophomore