Bulldog Wrestling Places Eighth at Virginia Duals

Hampton, Va. – Turtogtokh Luvsandorj, Kelby Smith and Odie Delaney all went a perfect 5-0 over the weekend as The Citadel wrestling team placed eighth out of 14 teams at the Virginia Duals held at the Hampton Coliseum. The Bulldogs opened the second day of action with a 22-15 win over North Carolina before dropping a 19-18 heart-breaker on a tiebreaker to North Dakota State and losing in the seventh-place bout to the University of Buffalo 24-15.

Against the Tar Heels, the Bulldogs opened an early 7-0 lead as Richard Alarcon posted a 12-1 major decision at 125 and Kyle Casaletto held on for a 9-8 decision at 133. North Carolina took three out of the next four matches to knot the score at 10-10, but Luvsandorj posted a 3-0 decision at 174 to give the Bulldogs a 13-10 lead. A technical fall victory gave the Tar Heels a 15-13 lead, before Smith and Delaney posted wins in the top two weight classes. Smith scored a 7-5 decision and Delaney picked up his first of three pins on the day at the 1:21 mark.

North Dakota State opened a 15-3 lead, winning five of the first six matches in the following bout. Luvsandorj cut into the deficit with a pin at the 2:51 mark and after a decision loss at 184, Smith picked up a 6-3 decision to make the score 18-12 heading to the heavyweight matchup. Delaney proceeded to pin Evan Knutson at the 1:59 mark to even the score at 18-18. The Bison gained the win on the first tiebreaker criteria, total wins, six to four.

In the seventh-place bout against Buffalo, the Bulldogs fell behind early and could not catch up. Casaletto, Luvsandorj, Smith and Delaney all posted victories, including a pin in just 42 seconds by Delaney to improve to 14-2 on the season. 

The Bulldogs return to action Friday, Jan. 20, as they open the Southern Conference portion of the schedule with a dual meet against Appalachian State at 7:00 p.m.

The Citadel 22, North Carolina 15
125 – Richard Alarcon (Citadel) over Brian Bokoski (North Carolina) Major 12-1; 4-0 Citadel
133 – Kyle Casaletto (Citadel) over Brock LiVorio (North Carolina) Dec 9-8; 7-0 Citadel
141 – No. 14 Evan Henderson (North Carolina) over Jordan Dix (Citadel) Dec 10-4; 7-3 Citadel
149 – Seth Vernon (Citadel) over Jon Burns (North Carolina) Dec 4-2; 10-3 Citadel
157 – No. 19 Corey Mock (North Carolina) over Pierre Frazile (Citadel) Dec 1-0; 10-6 Citadel
165 – Kyle Kiss (North Carolina) over Mike Harper (Citadel) Major 12-4; 10-10 Tied
174 – No. 18 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (Citadel) over Alex Utley (North Carolina) Dec 3-0; 13-10 Citadel
184 – Thomas Ferguson (North Carolina) over Josh Tuck (Citadel) TF 18-2; 15-13 UNC
197 – Kelby Smith (Citadel) over Zac Bennett (North Carolina) Dec 7-5; 16-15 Citadel
285 – Odie Delaney (Citadel) over Frank Abbondanza (North Carolina) Pin 1:21; 22-15 Citadel 

North Dakota State 18, The Citadel 18 (NDSU advances on total wins tiebreaker, 6-4)
125 – No. 19 Trent Sprenkle (North Dakota State) over Richard Alarcon (Citadel) Dec 10-4; 3-0 NDSU
133 – Justin Solberg (North Dakota State) over Kyle Casaletto (Citadel) Dec 5-2; 6-0 NDSU
141 – Jordan Dix (Citadel) over Tyler Diamond (North Dakota State) Dec 6-4; 6-3 NDSU
149 – Mark Erickson (North Dakota State) over Seth Vernon (Citadel) Dec 3-1; 9-3 NDSU
157 – No. 11 Steven Monk (North Dakota State) over Pierre Frazile (Citadel) Dec 1-0; 12-3 NDSU
165 – Tyler Johnson (North Dakota State) over Mike Harper (Citadel) Dec 8-1; 15-3 NDSU
174 – No. 18 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (Citadel) over Joe Garner (North Dakota State) Pin 2:51; 15-9 NDSU
184 – Mac Stoll (North Dakota State) over Josh Tuck (Citadel) Dec 7-6; 18-9 NDSU
197 – Kelby Smith (Citadel) over John Gusewelle (North Dakota State) Dec 6-3; 18-12 NDSU
285 – Odie Delaney (Citadel) over Evan Knutson (North Dakota State) Pin 1:59; 18-18 Tied

Buffalo 24, The Citadel 15 (Seventh-Place Match)
125 – Max Soria (Buffalo) over Richard Alarcon (Citadel) Dec 2-0; 3-0 Buffalo
133 – Kyle Casaletto (Citadel) over Justin Farmer (Buffalo) Dec 6-4; 3-3 Tied
141 – Kevin Smith (Buffalo) over Jordan Dix (Citadel) Pin 2:59; 9-3 Buffalo
149 – Blake Roulo (Buffalo) over Seth Vernon (Citadel) Dec 3-2; 12-3 Buffalo
157 – Clay Reeb (Buffalo) over Pierre Frazile (Citadel) Dec 3-1; 15-3 Buffalo
165 – Mark Lewandowski (Buffalo) over William Connell (Citadel) TF 16-0; 20-3 Buffalo
174 – No. 18 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (Citadel) over Dom Montesanti (Buffalo) Dec 4-3; 20-6 Buffalo
184 – Jake Waste (Buffalo) over Josh Tuck (Citadel) Major 9-1; 24-6 Buffalo
197 – Kelby Smith (Citadel) over Justin Heiserman (Buffalo) Dec 6-4; 24-9 Buffalo
285 – Odie Delaney (Citadel) over Jedd Mason (Buffalo) Pin 0:42; 24-15 Buffalo 

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