by Hugh Kellenberger
Staff Writer
Appalachian State University Wrestling suffered a brief scare
Tuesday night, but ended up steam-rolling Davidson College
39-9 at Varsity Gym.
Patrick Coman got things started out right for the Wildcats,
outwrestling Guy Gibson for the technical victory at 125
lbs. Coman came out fighting, earning a 4-1 lead after the
first period. The two then buckled down and went to work
on each other, with only a one-point escape for Coman to
show for it in the next two periods. Gibson falls to 6-6
for the year, while Coman moves a step closer to .500, at
13-14.
In a battle of two freshmen at 133 lbs, Jim Avola scored
an overtime pin to give Davidson an early 9-0 lead. Terreyl
Williams (14-14) scored a two-point takedown to grab the
lead 5-4 with just ten seconds left in the bout. However,
Avola scored one point for riding time and took it to overtime.
There, Avola (7-9) dominated before quickly grabbing the
pin.
“We didn’t start off real well. They’re
pretty tough down there,” Appalachian State head coach
Paul Mance said. “Their kid is probably a little better
than us at 125, but we should have won 133.”
Scott Ervin got the proverbial monkey off of the Mountaineer’s
back in the 141 lbs match, earning a major decision victory
to close the gap to five. Ervin (18-10) collected back point
after back point against Matt Leonard (9-15), with a total
of 11 out of his 18 points collected pushing Leonard on his
back.
Jason Jones (26-6), a Mountaineer co-captain, came in a heavy
favorite at the 149 lbs match, going against Ryan Lafrese.
Jones came out with two quick 'fireman’s carries' to
lead 9-2 after one period. He rolled through the next two
periods, winning 14-3 to cut Davidson’s lead to 9-8.
Carl Elliot took the lead for good with his 7-2 victory at
157 lbs over Adam Sperling. Elliot (10-14) took an early
6-2 lead before Sperling (10-12) mounted a small comeback.
In the 165 lbs match, Lee Roper (18-9) ran all over Marcus
Boyd (11-13) to give the Mountaineers a 17-9 advantage. With
43 seconds left in the first period and already up 7-2 on
points, Roper scored a pin over the freshman.
Dominic Buckman continued the Mountaineer’s winning
streak, scoring a major decision victory over Mark O’Hair.
Buckman (13-8) and O’Hair (15-14) fought hard for the
first two minutes with neither gaining an advantage. Buckman
then scored on a 2-point takedown and the rout was on. A
granny roll gave him two points for the reversal to put him
up 5-1, and then scored a three point near fall and two point
reversal to close the match with a score of 10-3.
O’Hair is the reigning Southern Conference Wrestler
of the Week.
Aaron Barnette’s forfeit victory at 184 lbs gave ASU
a 27-9 and a sure victory.
In another lopsided match-up, the freshman All-American Josh
Carroll went up against Jayson Powers (5-22) of Davidson.
Carroll (5-1) ran out to an 8-3 lead before going for the
pin fall. He got that pin with just 10 seconds left in the
first period.
“Coach Mance has been telling me to be more aggressive
and push myself. That’s what I tried to do tonight,”
Carroll said. “I am still not in great shape, but hopefully
by the end of the year I will be.”
Carroll missed the fall semester with family issues.
David Hazell came out and put the icing on the cake for Appalachian
State, dropping Kevin Klein like a sack of potatoes 59 seconds
into the first period for the pin. Hazell improves to 13-7
on the season, while Klein falls to 2-8.
“I just came out, clubbed him and grabbed a single
leg, that was the end of it,” Hazell said.
Appalachian State remains undefeated at home in the 2003-2004
season. They improve to 4-2 on the season, 2-2 in SoCon action.
Davidson falls to 3-8, 0-5 in SoCon play.
ASU will return to Varsity Gym on Sunday at 2 p.m. to take
on the Keydets from the Virginia Military Institute.
|
