University Heights, OH – Bluefield State University men's wrestling competed in their last regular season event at the John Carroll Open on Saturday.
The wrestlers had their best performance of the year, with seven athletes reaching the semi-finals and seven place-winners, led by heavyweight champion Simeon Bryant. Bryant went 4-0 on the day with a pair of wins over DII powerhouse Gannon, DI Kent State, and Otterbein University. Bryant won matches by the scores of 10-3, 13-5, 7-6, and 4-2.
Kairyn Hall made his way to the finals on the strength of three wins, including a 12-3 major decision over RIT, a 12-6 over Ashland, and a semi-final victory by fall over Penn State. Hall dropped a narrow defeat in the finals.
Larry Ryder Rhodes continues to set the bar for accomplishments at B-State, increasing his team lead for victories to 25. Rhodes made the semi-finals on the strength of three wins before falling to the University of Michigan's eventual champion, then defeated a DI opponent from Edinboro in the consolation semi-finals, before falling to 4th place. Rhodes leads the team in wins for the second year in a row with 25, bringing his career win total to 55.
Seniors Greg Dennard and Enrique Sanchez also placed, both making the semis on the strength of strong early round victories. Dennard dropped an overtime match in the semi-finals and finished in 4th place. Sanchez finished 5th after a comeback win over Clarion University.
Coach Gardner's Thoughts:
"We finally broke through and had a champion at an event this year. We were close a few times this year, but fell short. Big Simeon did a nice job. He's developing some good leg attacks to go with some of his tricks, and his Granby roll escape is a sight to see. Kai has been consistent as well, earning his second season of 20 victories. He and Ryder are the first to have back-to-back 20-win seasons at B-state. Last year was the first time we had any 20 match-winners in school history, with four, and this year we have three, including the first back-to-backs, which shows that if you come to B-state, follow the process, you'll get a chance to win a bunch of matches."
