@GWUWrestling Has Three Men Earn 2016 All-Southern Conference Honors
March 02, 2016 | Wrestling
2016 Arby's SoCon Tournament Bracket | 2016 SoCon Tournament Seeds | @GWUWrestling
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Gardner-Webb saw three wrestlers claim spots on the 2016 All-Southern Conference Team Wednesday, the most for the program since joining the league in 2011-2012.
Chris Vassar (New Cumberland, Pa. / Cedar Cliff HS) at 149 pounds, Austin Trott (Kingsland, Ga. / Camden County HS) at 165 pounds and Hunter Gamble (McDonough, Ga. / Union Grove HS) at 184 pounds were part of the 10-man team.
Vassar, who enters the 2016 Arby's Southern Conference Tournament with a combined 13-6 overall record, went 5-1 against SoCon competition – and was 4-0 against SoCon foes at his current weight of 149 pounds. The redshirt sophomore is ranked No. 29 in the NCAA Division I Coaches' Panel Rankings and has a team-best RPI of No. 12 heading into the postseason.
He has won four matches in a row and six of his last seven – scoring bonus points in four of those bouts. Vassar enters this Saturday's action as the SoCon's top seed at 149 pounds.
Vassar has gone 28-9 in parts of two seasons as a starter for the Runnin' Bulldogs. He was ranked No. 1 nationally among non-starters at 141 pounds as a redshirt in 2013-2014, going 20-2 that season unattached.
Trott, a 2014 NCAA qualifier at 165 pounds, went 5-0 against SoCon foes this season and enters the tournament with a 14-5 overall mark. A 68-match winner in three seasons as a starter at 165 pounds, Trott also ended the regular season on a hot streak – winning four matches in a row and seven of his final eight. Three of those wins came against ranked opponents, including a 5-0 shutout of No. 24 Austin Reese (Ohio) in the regular season finale.
Trott is 68-23 in his three seasons to date (14-4 SoCon) and has won 11 of his last 12 Southern Conference bouts. He has 18 career wins via pin fall, with 10 of those coming last season. Trott finished third at the 2014 SoCon Tournament to earn his NCAA bid.
He enters the 2016 Tournament ranked No. 26 in the NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings and is the SoCon Tournament's top seed at 165 pounds.
Gamble, a 2013 NCAA qualifier at 174 pounds, moved up to 184 midway through last season and came into his own at the new weight class as a redshirt junior. He is tied for the team lead with 21 overall wins (21-8) and ranks fifth on a talented team with 20 takedowns.
Gamble had an eight-match win streak snapped in the regular season finale, but closed the season by winning 10 of his final 12 bouts. He has 58 total wins in his time at GWU, despite battling injuries early in 2014-2015.
Gamble went 27-7 as a redshirt in 2013-2014, one season after winning Gardner-Webb's lone individual Southern Conference title as a true freshman. Gamble won that title at 174 pounds, qualifying for the 2013 NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
Gamble holds the No. 33 spot in the NCAA Coaches' Panel Rankings and will be the No. 2 seed this Saturday at 184 pounds.
The trio helped Coach Daniel Elliott's squad post a school-record mark in dual match competition (9-6) and were a key part of the program's first two wins over nationally-ranked teams – a 22-18 win over No. 25 Appalachian State at home (Jan. 26) and a 19-18 road win at No. 24 Duke (Feb. 3).
That powered a 6-1 finish in the SoCon standings, which captured a share of the 2016 regular season trophy for the Runnin' Bulldogs. It marked the team's first regular season crown since joining the Southern Conference as an associate member for the 2011-2012 season.
Gardner-Webb will begin the 2016 Arby's Southern Conference Tournament on Saturday morning, March 5, in Asheville, N.C. The event will be held at Kimmel Arena (3,200) on the campus of UNC Asheville. Visit SoConSports.com for more information.
