Nov. 22, 2009

Four Hokies win titles at Navy Classic
Four Hokies won Navy Classic wrestling titles on Saturday, leading Tech to a second-place finish on Saturday in Annapolis, Md. Juniors Chris Diaz, Tommy Spellman, D.J. Bruce and sophomore Jesse Dong all collected individual titles on the day.

At 141 pounds, Diaz earned a major decision over Adam Healy of Bucknell, and dominated Eric Filipowicz of Navy, 7-1. In the championship bout, Diaz continued his stellar wrestling with a route of third-seeded Zachary Hancock of Bucknell, 8-2.

Dong won the 157-pound crown. Dong tallied major decisions over Bobby Barnhisel of Navy and Bucknell's Scott Sechler. After winning, 2-0, in the weight's semis over third-seeded Brantly Hooks of Bucknell, the Westerville, Ohio, native recorded his second-straight shutout in the title bout, defeating top-seeded Bryce Saddoris of Navy, 4-0.

No. 10 Maryland Second At Body Bar
Josh Asper and No. 3 Hudson Taylor won individual titles as the No. 10 University of Maryland wrestling team tied for second place at the Body Bar Invitational in Ithaca, N.Y., on Saturday.

Asper went 4-0 to claim the championship at 165 pounds. He opened with a 16-1 technical fall over Sli Bostelman of Kent State, followed that with a 14-3 major decision in his second match, then took 4-1 and 4-2 decisions to win the title.

Taylor, who had a crucial pinfall in the win over No. 4 Cornell on Friday, continued his dominance on the mat Saturday. Taylor won his first four matches by pinfall to cruise into the finals for a rematch against No. 5 Cam Simaz. Although he didn't get the pin this time, Taylor dispatched Simaz with a 7-2 decision for the title. With five pins this weekend, Taylor now has 66 in his career. The school record is 69 by Jake Stork (1999-2003).

Duke Competes at NC State Open
The Duke University wrestling team continued the 2009-10 season at the NC State Open today in Raleigh, N.C. The majority of the representatives from the Blue Devils wrestled unattached with A.J. Guardado leading the way with a fourth-place finish.

Competing at 149 pounds for the first time this season, Guardado breezed through his opening three matches with two major decisions and a narrow 7-5 decision to earn a spot in the semifinal. Guardado earned his first win by a 14-3 margin and captured the second bout convincingly 8-0. In the semifinal against Pierre Frazile of The Citadel, Guardado battled hard, but fell in a 3-2 decision. In the wrestleback bracket, the native of West Covina, Calif., registered another major decision 13-5 to reach the third-place match where he fell to Dean Pavlou 5-3 for fourth place overall.

Rookie David Henry had a solid showing, advancing to the quarterfinal of the wrestleback bracket. Winning his first two matches to move into the semifinal round, Henry fell to Brandon Wright of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to drop down to the wrestleback draw. He added one more win to his resume for a place in the quarterfinal round and fell in a tough overtime result. The unattached rookie is now 12-2 overall on the year.