« Ryan Mosley (149) earns NCAA bid
« Daniel Elliott named SoCon Co-Coach of the Year
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Gardner-Webb had two men advance to finals and six more wrestling for third place, keying a fourth-place team finish at the 2015 Southern Conference Wrestling Championships.
Ryan Mosley finished second at 149 pounds and earned one of the SoCon's three allocations to the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Gardner-Webb head coach Daniel Elliott earned SoCon Co-Coach of the Year honors after leading GWU to a 4-3 league mark in the regular season and a fourth-place tournament finish.
Gardner-Webb has seen at least one of its wrestlers qualify for NCAA nationals in each of the past three seasons.
Mosley (26-9) lost for the first time since January's Southern Scuffle, falling to The Citadel's Matthew Frisch in a tightly-contested 3-1 decision for the title. Mosley earned a quarterfinals bye as the top seed, and won by tech fall over Appalachian State's Javon Johnson (18-1) to advance to the finals.
Hunter Gamble took second at 184 pounds, falling to Davidson's Scott Patrick in the finals by a 13-8 score. Gamble, who qualified for nationals as a freshman two seasons ago, took a 3-0 decision over Appalachian State's Dominick Vetell in the quarterfinals and slipped past Chattanooga's John Shrader with a 4-2 win in the semifinal bout.
Mosley and Gamble were part of a strong start for Gardner-Webb, as the Runnin' Bulldogs went 8-2 to open the tournament, leading the field in team points after the quarterfinals.
Cortez Starkes dropped his semifinal match, but bounced back to win the third-place match, upsetting Appalachian State's Dominic Parisi with a 3-2 decision. Starkes upended VMI's Dalton Henderson in the quarterfinals (5-1), but fell to eventual SoCon champion Sean Boyle via major decision (10-2) in the semifinals.
Tyler Ziegler (133), Tyler Marinelli (157), Austin Trott (165), Brett Stein (174) and Boyce Cornwell (197) also won their quarterfinal bouts. Trott, who entered the event ranked in the NCAA Coaches' top-30, was upset in the semifinals, dropping a 9-4 decision to VMI's Shabaka Johns.
The redshirt sophomore rallied to post a dominant win in the consolation semifinals, recording a 19-3 tech fall victory over Chattanooga's Justin Lampe – but fell in the third-place match to top-seed Nick Kee of Appalachian State (Fall, 2:08).
Ziegler also advanced to the third-place match at 133 pounds, but lost a tight decision (6-4) to Davidson's Anthony Elias. Marinelli dropped an 8-4 decision in the third-place match at 157 pounds and Stein advanced to the third-place bout at 174 pounds before losing a 6-1 decision to SIU-Edwardsvile's Jake Residori.
Ryan Hull dropped his quarterfinals match at 141 pounds, but posted back-to-back consolation wins to advance to the third-place match. Hull dropped a high-scoring, 12-7, decision to VMI's Emmitt Kelly to take fourth place.
Final Team Standings
1. Chattanooga
2. Appalachian State
3. The Citadel
4. Gardner-Webb
5. SIU-Edwardsville
6. Davidson
7. VMI
125: Cortez Starkes (3-1) – 3rd Place
def. Dalton Henderson (VMI), 5-1
lost to Sean Boyle (UTC), 10-2 (major dec.)
pinned Nathan Day (SIUE), 2:17
def. Dominic Parisi (APP), 3-2
133: Tyler Ziegler (2-2) – 4th Place
won via forfeit over Hunter Starner (VMI)
lost to Vito Pasone (APP), 8-5
def. Clarence Arrington, Jr. (CIT), 1-0
lost to Anthony Elias (DAV), 6-4
141: Ryan Hull (2-2) – 4th Place
lost to Mike Longo (APP), 18-1 (tech fall)
def. Dustin Runzo (DAV), 11-7
def. Angelo Silvestro (SIUE), 10-5
lost to Emmitt Kelly (VMI), 12-7
149: Ryan Mosley (1-1) – 2nd Place
def. Javon Johnson (APP), 18-1 (tech fall)
lost to Matthew Frisch (CIT), 3-1
157: Tyler Marinelli (2-2) – 4th Place
def. Clayton Bass (SIUE), 17-0 (tech fall)
pinned by Aaron Walker (CIT), 6:41
def. Alex Palinski (DAV), 16-0 (tech fall)
lost to Austin Sams (UTC), 8-4
165: Austin Trott (2-2) – 4th Place
def. Patric Devlin (DAV), 16-0 (tech fall)
lost to Shabaka Johns (VMI), 9-4
def. Justin Lampe (UTC), 19-3 (tech fall)
pinned by Nick Kee (APP), 2:08
174: Brett Stein (2-2) – 4th Place
def. Nathaniel Powers (DAV), 14-3 (major dec)
lost to Forrest Pryzbysz (APP), 11-3 (major dec)
def. Mark Darr (VMI), 8-7
lost to Jake Residori (SIUE), 6-1
184: Hunter Gamble (2-1) – 2nd Place
def. Dominick Vetell (APP), 3-0
def. John Strader (UTC), 4-2
lost to Scott Patrick (DAV), 6-1
197: Boyce Cornwell (1-2)
def. Urayoan Garcia (VMI), 3-2
lost to Marshall Haas (CIT), 8-2
lost to Ian Solcz (DAV), 4-3
285: Justin Kozera (0-2)
lost to Joseph Bexley (CIT), 3-1 (SV-1)
lost to Jared Johnson (UTC), 11-0 (major dec)
