ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The VMI wrestling team had eight placewinners at the 16th Annual USAA All-Academy Championships, contested at the Halsey Field House in Annapolis, Md. on Saturday.
Five Keydets managed third-place finishes in their weight classes, including John Pope (125 lbs.), David Yost (141 lbs.), Michael Long (149 lbs.), Conor Black (165 lbs.) and Josh Wine (285 lbs.). VMI also scored fourth-place showings from Joe Munno (157 lbs.), Andrew Szymborski (174 lbs.) and Ronnie Ellsworth (197 lbs.).
"We got off to a really poor start to the tournament," said VMI head coach John "Rocky" Trudgeon. "We just weren't sharp at all those first couple of rounds, and unfortunately, we paid the price in the team score. You score your points in the winner's bracket, and we didn't do that today. Later on, in the consolations, I thought we wrested well. We turned around some matches that we lost against The Citadel a couple of weeks ago. We advanced eight to the third-place matches and won five of them. We just have to get back at it, watch the tape, see the mistakes we made and correct them. Hopefully we learned some lessons today, and we need a good week of practice to get ready for two big SoCon matches next weekend."
Navy captured the team title for the second year in a row, as the Midshipmen had finalists in each of the ten weight classes, including six champions. Air Force placed second in the team standings, just ahead of The Citadel. Merchant Marine placed fourth while claiming an individual champ for the second straight season, while VMI came in fifth. Coast Guard and Norwich rounded out the team standings, while Army was unable to make the trip to Annapolis due to weather concerns.
Pope's day began with a technical fall loss to eventual 125-pound champion Aaron Kalil of Navy, before he bounced back to avenge a defeat earlier this year to The Citadel's Richard Alarcon, winning 5-4 in the Consolation Semifinals. Pope then outlasted Merchant Marine's Jordan Alfaro, 8-6, winning the bout in the first sudden victory period to claim third place.
Yost started his day at 141 lbs. with a 4-1 defeat of Merchant Marine's Garrick Skubon, but then was pinned by eventual champ Cole VonOhlen of Air Force. In the consolation bracket, Yost defeated Coast Guard's Fred Green, 5-1, then knocked off The Citadel's Nick LaFevre, 4-2 after dropping a dual decision to the Bulldog last month.
Long's run at 149 lbs. began after the Keydet lost a 12-4 major decision to Navy's Glen Shober, who also went on to claim his bracket's title. Long then won a 10-3 decision over Norwich's Joe Eon to reach the Consolation Final, where he defeated Air Force's Gabe Martinez, 8-2.
Black lost a 7-2 decision in his first 165-pound match, sending him to the consolation bracket. There he was the recipient of a pair of medical forfeits, as both Norwich's Clayton Brittingham and Air Force's Justin Shadrix bowed out.
Wine pinned his first opponent of the day, Coast Guard's Paul Hah-Rauch, in 2:34, but then suffered his first loss of the season to a familiar opponent, falling 3-0 to The Citadel's Odie Delaney, who Wine defeated 12-5 just three weeks ago. Wine rebounded by pinning Merchant Marine's Judd Connell in 2:15, then scoring an 8-4 decision against Air Force's Steve Larson, bringing his record on the season to 17-1.
"Josh just didn't wrestle very well in the early match, and just didn't give himself a chance to win against a good opponent," said Trudgeon. "Josh came back and wrestled well against a couple of tough opponents, and that was good to see."
After Munno was pinned by eventual champ Bryce Saddoris at 157 pounds, but came back with a 15-3 major decision victory over Air Force's Darren Stowe and a 10-4 win over Coast Guard's Andy Snyder to reach the Consolation Finals. There, he dropped a decision to The Citadel's Turtogtokh Luvsandorj for the second time in a month, this time falling 14-8.
Szymborski was another Keydet to suffer a first-round loss to his bracket's eventual champ, as Navy's Mike Billings won a 6-1 decision. Szymborski won a 3-1 decision over Merchant Marine's Justin Diesel to reach the third-place match, but was forced into a medical forfeit, ending his run at 174 pounds.
Ellsworth opened his day with an 8-3 dispatching of Coast Guard's Troy Robison, but was then pinned by Navy's Charles Carafano in the Championship Semifinals. Ellsworth came back with a 3-2 decision over The Citadel's Justin Sparrow, but then fell 3-1 to Air Force's Neil Delaney to finish his day.
Each Keydet competing on the day won a match, as both Luke Todd (133 lbs.) and Vinnie Gallo (184 lbs.) claimed victories. Todd won a 14-6 major decision against Norwich's John Dasilva, while Gallo's lone win of the day came via pin, taking down Norwich's Michael Monica in 2:24.
The Keydets return to action next weekend, taking on two SoCon opponents on back-to-back days. VMI will travel to UNC Greensboro on Saturday, Feb. 13, then take on UNC Greensboro on Sunday afternoon.
