Men's Wrestling | 11/18/2024 1:04:00 PM
Bristol, TN - A long week of wrestling for the Big Blue concluded with a pair of silver medals being won at the King Open in Bristol, TN on Sunday evening. Freshman Larry "Ryder" Rhodes and Junior Greg Dennard lead the Bluefield State men's wrestling program by working their way through a pair of 32 man brackets to make the finals of the annual event hosted by King University.
Rhodes opened the tournament with a second period fall, and followed that up with three decision victories, including an overtime win in the quarterfinals and a 6-5 nail biter in the semi-finals. In the finals he fell in a nip and tuck 5-4 decision to a nationally ranked opponent from West Liberty.
The smallest heavyweight in the division, Dennard used his speed and toughness to grind out four victories to make his way to the finals. The Junior from Florida was especially effective in the top position, holding his larger opponents down and riding them throughout the event. In the finals Dennard made a tactical error and fell behind early against Silva from the University of the Cumberlands, and had to take some risks to get back into the match.
Freshman Moses Eads of St. Albans, WV, went 5-1 on the day and earned one of the bronze medals awarded at 141 lbs. Eads opened with a first-round technical fall, and followed that up with a come from behind over-time victory to make the quarterfinals. After dropping a close 2-0 decision, Eads came back and earned three consecutive falls to finish out the event.
Also winning multiple matches at the daylong event were freshman Kairyn Hall of Glen Burnie, MD and Junior pinning specialist Enrique Sanchez, who added another two pins to his team leading collection of falls. Sayfore Sieh, a sophomore eligibility-wise, moved up from his usual 157 lb. weigh to 165 and won three matches, including a pair of technical falls, to add to the teams win total at the event.
Coach Gardner's thoughts:
"We had a long week. Long days of travel, early mornings and late nights, and having to make weight three times. This was meant to be the toughest week of our season, and it certainly was. This was designed to really test the guys, to force them to compete in a situation that isn't ideal. The idea was to create an environment where they had to fight hard and dig down to prevail. If you want to be great you have to learn how to compete hard when things aren't ideal. This was a great chance to test ourselves."
"Ryder is so tough. He attacks hard and he doesn't give up points easily, even in tough situations. He's tough on top, and he's scrappy on his feet. I was excited to see him use a hold we had worked on in a specific leg attack position to pull out an overtime win in the quarterfinals. He's smart, he's coachable, and he's a first-rate young man."
"Greg had a good week. In the finals he made one mistake and then had to come from behind, which was a tough task. He's tough as heck on top, but what really sets him apart is that he's smart. As an engineering student he's super analytical in the way he approaches matches. It gives him an advantage over guys who have no real plan."
"I'm pleased overall with where we've gotten to as a program at this point in the year. We've come a long way from last year. I have some metrics that I want these guys to meet and exceed from week to week and competition to competition. So far, they are meeting and exceeding those expectations. I'm looking for progress, and we are making progress every week. The guys are seeing improvement, individually and as a team. The system is effective. Hopefully the more we find success the more they'll buy into what we are trying to do as a program."
