Incoming Freshmen Record Powerful Performances At AAU Scholastic Duals
July 15, 2008 | Wrestling
ORLANDO, Fla. – Two Gardner-Webb wrestling signees, Travis Porter and Richie Spicel, had outstanding performances recently at the AAU Scholastic Duals in Orlando, Fla.
Spicel, who has been rated the top recruit from the state of Ohio and one of the top national recruits in the country, guided his Samsons team to an unblemished 13-0 record and a first-place finish at the tournament.
Porter, who is the younger brother of two-time NCAA Qualifier Dustin Porter, helped his team to a 13th-place showing at the prestigious event.
Both wrestlers garnered a bronze medal, as Spicel went 9-2 and Porter was 8-3 in 11 matches.
Grappling at 140 lbs. for most of the tournament, Spicel's only loss in the weight class came to a rival from the state of Ohio. Spicel, a Cleveland native, also lost one match wrestling up a weight class at 145.
However, many were in awe as he easily disposed of much of his competition. In his first match of the tournament, Spicel won by a 19-4 technical fall score. His team downed Arrichion in the dual match by a 58-9 score.
In his second match, Spicel knocked off Zach Wojdyla by a 17-6 score while helping the Samsons win 66-9. After dropping a 3-1 score to David Habit at 145 lbs., Spicel went back to the 140 lb. class and promptly pinned Colin Martucci of Steel Black. He then posted back-to-back wins in fine fashion, dismantling Lyman Mahaffy of South Dakota 12-4 before tallying his second technical fall of the tournament, a 19-3 victory over Eric Hart of Mawa Red.
Spicel then had three consecutive close matches, but came out victorious in each. He then knocked off Ryan Hand of Team Iowa 5-3 before edging Jordan Thomas of the Michigan Freeze 3-2. Facing another Michigan squad, Team Michigan Blue, Spicel downed Josh Rozeboom 4-3 in his ninth match. In what was his last victory of the competition, Spicel posted a 16-3 major decision victory over his counterpart that wrestled for the Pennsylvania Steel Gold team.
Porter, a native of Burton, Ohio, wrestled for the Akron Wizards at 215 lbs. at the showcase. He helped his squad to a 7-4 record during the competition.
Porter got things going by earning a forfeit victory in what would have been his first match against Vengeance WC. The Wizards won the dual match by a 63-9 count.
Against North Carolina, Porter won a 7-3 decision over Khiry Reid while his team won the dual match 27-20.
After suffering back-to-back narrow losses, Porter bounced back by pinning Paul Lattimer just 1;55 into the contest. His team, after having lost two straight, defeated the Ohio Lightning 44-18.
A loss to Austin Marrow of Keystone Brawlers Gold was just a minor setback as Porter then won his final five matches of the competition (his team also won all five dual matches).
Porter began the five-match winning streak with a win over Team Central Maryland's Alex Ingliatio. The Wizards won the dual match 50-21. Porter's pin of Nebraska White's Jacob Morten at the 3:27 mark helped Akron down the opposition 33-24.
He continued his winning ways with a 5-2 grinder over Team Florida National Guard's Eric Stroud. The Wizards won the dual match by seven, 35-28.
Porter's 11-1 win over his opponent from Pensylvania Steel Black helped the squad win by a 41-30 margin. In the final dual match of the competition, Porter won by forfeit.
The duo of Spicel and Porter are just two of the extremely talented incoming class that second year head coach Scott Shipman signed. Spicel and Porter, along with the rest of the Bulldogs, begin their season on Thursday, Nov. 11 at 7 p.m., at Liberty.
For full results of the AAU Scholastic Duals, click here.
