East Stroudsburg, PA – Bluefield State University wrestling opened the season at East Stroudsburg on Sunday and were led by Suravive Robertson and Simeon Bryant.

Robertson pinned her way into the finals with a trio of first-period falls. In the finals, the decision was made to injury default rather than risk impacting the entire season for a single match. Robertson is coming off an injury redshirt season, so all decisions are made with her long-term health and postseason goals in mind.

Bryant went 6-1 on the day and finished with a bronze medal. After falling to the eventual champion in the first round, "Big Sim" responded with four pins, an injury default, and a 13-3 major decision. The freshman is coming off a successful redshirt season and is expected to hold down the 285 lbs. spot for years to come.

Other athletes earning multiple wins on the weekend include Kairyn Hall (157), Ryder Rhodes (125), Xavier Nguyen (141), Emma Flanagan (132), and Greg Dennard.

Coach Sam's thoughts: 

"This was a pretty brutal event. This was a large tournament. Wrestling went on for 14 hours. We had some good moments. We are pinning people, which is good, and scoring points. We need to improve our hand fighting and work on our bottom wrestling.  But the effort was there, and that's what I'm looking for. We blew a few matches we were winning, but we lost because we were being aggressive. You want your athletes to be aggressive, searching for the pins. They just need to know the difference between when there is "blood in the water" and when they are rushing into a trap.

Vivi [Suravive Robertson] and Big Sim [Simeon Bryant] embodied what we want—aggression, a killer instinct, and bravery. Neither are afraid to push the pace or willing to win by a narrow margin if they have the opportunity to score more points. We can help develop technique and tactics in practice, but bravery has to come from within. Those two have it in spades."