dunham - socon tourney 2024
Southern Conference

Wrestling

Dunham earns NCAA bid at SoCon Wrestling Championships

Completed Bracket | Gallery

BOONE, N.C. – VMI 133-pound wrestler Dyson Dunham punched a ticket to the NCAA Wrestling Championships by placing third in his weight class Saturday at the 2024 SoCon Championships held at App State's Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, North Carolina.
 
As the No. 5 seed entering the tournament, the sophomore from Haymarket, Virginia, qualified by topping No.4 seed Tyson Lane of Gardner-Webb twice on the day. In the opening round, he defeated Lane by a dominant 16-5 major decision. He advanced to the second round to face No. 1 seed Domenic Zaccone of Campbell where he fell by a 9-2 decision.
 
In the consolation bracket, Dunham defeated The Citadel's George Rosas by a 4-1 decision to advance to face Lane again in the 3rd-4th place match. Dunham won the bout by a hard-fought 8-5 decision to go 2-0 on the day versus Lane to qualify for the NCAA Championships.
 
He is the first NCAA qualifier since Neal Richards '19 wrestled in the 2020 tournament.

The NCAA Wrestling Selection Show will air on NCAA.com on Wednesday, March 13 at 8 p.m. ET. The 2024 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will be held at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Missouri, from March 21-23. 
 
VMI Head Coach Jim Gibson
"This is an incredible accomplishment for Dyson in just his second year. It's huge for him and our program to be represented on the biggest stage of college wrestling. He wrestled with confidence and tenacity today and cemented his spot in an elite category for the season."
 
Tournament Summary
As a team, VMI finished in seventh place at the SoCon Championships with 18.0 points ahead of Presbyterian College's 5.5 points. Braxton Lewis (174) and Josh Evans (197) also earned solid placements at the tournament with fourth-place finishes in their respective weight classes.

No. 24-ranked App State won the tournament with 114 points, with No. 22-ranked Campbell coming in second place with 97.5 points. Chattanooga was third with 63.5 points, followed by Gardner-Webb (49.5), The Citadel (44.5), Davidson (23), VMI (18.0) and Presbyterian (5.5). Eight of the individual champions were named to the all-conference team earlier this week and came into the championship as the No. 1 seed in their respective weight class.
 
Additional information from the tournament can be found on the SoCon Wrestling Championships Central page.

Completed Bracket

Team standings
1. Appalachian State – 114.0
2. Campbell – 97.5
3. Chattanooga – 63.5
4. Gardner-Webb – 49.5
5. The Citadel – 44.5
6. Davidson – 23.0
7. VMI – 18.0
8. Presbyterian – 5.5

Individual champions/NCAA qualifiers
125 – Brayden Palmer , Chattanooga
133 – Ethan Oakley, App State
141 – Isaiah Powe, Chattanooga
149 – Cody Bond, App State
157 – Tommy Askey, App State
165 – Will Miller, App State
174 – Austin Murphy, Campbell
184 – Tomas Brooker, App State
197 - Levi Hopkins, Campbell
HWT – Taye Ghadiali, Campbell
 
Additional NCAA allocations
133 – Domenic Zaccone, Campbell
133 – Dyson Dunham, VMI
149 – Jeffrey Boyd, The Citadel
165 – Domonic Baker, Campbell
 
Southern Conference Coach of the Year
JohnMark Bentley, App State
 
Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler
Taye Ghadiali, 285, Campbell
 
Pinnacle Award (student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team)
Cody Bond, Sr., App State

VMI Wrestlers at 2024 SoCon Championships
125
Tony Burke
lost to Campbell's Anthony Molton by tech fall, 2:31 (21-6)
tech falls Davidson's Enis Ljikovic, 5:35 (17-0)
lost to Chattanooga's Brayden Palmer by fall, 3:49
 
133
Dyson Dunham - Third place
maj. dec. Gardner-Webb's Tyson Lane, 16-5
lost to Campbell's Domenic Zaccone by decision, 9-2
dec. The Citadel's George Rosas, 4-1
dec. Gardner-Webb's Tyson Lane, 8-5 - wins third place to go to NCAAs
 
141
Patrick Jordon
dec. App State's Isaac Byers, 4-2
lost to GW's Todd Carter by decision, 11-5
lost to The Citadel's Jacob Silka by decision, 5-0
 
149
Ryan Vigil
lost to Chattanooga's Noah Castillo by dec., 12-7
lost to Davidson's Tyler-Xavier McKnight by SV-1, 5-2
 
157
Josh Yost
lost to App State's Tommy Askey by fall, 4:06
lost to The Citadel's Hayden Watson by fall, 5:40
 
165
Caleb Chandler
lost to App State's Will Miller by maj. dec., 17-4
lost to Chattanooga's Kamdyn Munro by fall, 2:01
 
174
Braxton Lewis - Fourth place
maj. dec. GW's Sam Mora, 13-3
lost to Chattanooga's Sergio Desiante by dec., 8-4
maj. dec. The Citadel's Brodie Porter, 14-3
lost to App State's Luca Uliano by fall, 5:22
 
184
Toby Schoffstall
lost to App State's Tomas Brooker by tech fall, 6:20 (19-4)
lost to GW's Jha'Quan Anderson by maj. dec., 17-3
 
197
Josh Evans - Fourth place
lost to App State's Carson Floyd by maj. dec., 10-1
dec. Davidson's Cameo Blankenship, 4-0
dec. GW's Josh McCutchen, 14-13
lost to App State's Carson Floyd by maj. dec., 12-3
 
285
Tyler Mousaw
lost to Davidson's Jake Fernicola by dec., 3-1
lost to The Citadel's Ben Stemmet by dec., 9-5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Players Mentioned

Josh Evans

Josh Evans

Sophomore
Tyler Mousaw

Tyler Mousaw

Junior
Tony Burke

Tony Burke

Freshman
Dyson Dunham

Dyson Dunham

Freshman
Braxton Lewis

Braxton Lewis

Freshman
Ryan Vigil

Ryan Vigil

Freshman
Josh Yost

Josh Yost

Junior
Caleb Chandler

Caleb Chandler

157' 0"
Freshman
Patrick Jordon

Patrick Jordon

Freshman
Toby Schoffstall

Toby Schoffstall

Freshman

Players Mentioned

Josh Evans

Josh Evans

Sophomore
Tyler Mousaw

Tyler Mousaw

Junior
Tony Burke

Tony Burke

Freshman
Dyson Dunham

Dyson Dunham

Freshman
Braxton Lewis

Braxton Lewis

Freshman
Ryan Vigil

Ryan Vigil

Freshman
Josh Yost

Josh Yost

Junior
Caleb Chandler

Caleb Chandler

157' 0"
Freshman
Patrick Jordon

Patrick Jordon

Freshman
Toby Schoffstall

Toby Schoffstall

Freshman