CHARLESTON, S.C. – The newcomers to the Virginia Military Institute wrestling program got their first taste of collegiate grappling this weekend, faring quite well at Saturday’s The Citadel Open, hosted by VMI’s Southern Conference rival The Citadel.

A pair of rookies, Mark Darr and Emmitt Kelly reached the semifinals of the championship portion of the brackets at 165 and 141 pounds, respectively.

Darr, who comes to VMI from Woodbridge, Va., came out in his first collegiate competition on fire, winning his first three matches by fall. In the first round, Darr stuck Sean Mann of Central Florida in the first minute of the second period. In the next round, Darr once again got an early pin in the second period, pinning Brewton-Parker’s Justin Perin in 3:25. Darr rounded out his winning streak with a pin of Cumberland’s Jacob Shirley in 4:45.

In the 165 pound semifinals, Darr found himself on the wrong side of a high scoring matching, dropping a 13-10 decision against Campbell University’s Paul Duggan, who went on to be the class’s runner-up. In the wrestleback semifinals, Darr’s afternoon was ended by Gardner-Webb University’s Kyle Ash, who was wrestling unattached, with a 12-5 decision.

At 141 pounds, Kelly enjoyed a first-round bye, utilizing the energy conservation, winning his second round match 8-4 over Darton’s Adrian Martin. In the next round, the Keydet blanked Shorter’s Jesse Jone’s 5-0 before posting a 12-0 major decision over Saint Andrew’s Sterling Perry in the quarterfinals. In the championship semifinals, Kelly was bumped by Ryan Mosley, wrestling unattached for Gardner-Webb, falling by major decision 14-4. IN the wrestleback semifinals, Kelly suffered a first-period pin against Limestone’s Devon Jackson, who wrestled unattached.

At 133 pounds, Andriy Onufrieynko fell 10-5 in his first round match with Central Florida’s Nicolas Anthony, but bounced back in the wrestleback bracket, dropping Shorter’s Jonathan Rodriguez 7-3 in the first round. In the second round of the wrestlebacks, Onufrieynko clashed with a familiar face in teammate Brandon Goodwyn. Onufriyenko knocked out good 12-6. In the third round, the newcomer bester Michael Nelems, wrestling unattached for The Citadel, 10-3. Onufriyenko’s afternoon was ended in the wrestleback quarterfinals, as South Florida’s Ryan Hall pinned him in 5:57.

Having traveled with the newcomers to Charleston, S.C., the returning VMI wrestlers will travel to Salem, Va. for tomorrow’s Hokie Open, hosted by Virginia Tech. Action at the Salem Civic Center is set for 9 a.m. Results and live action can be found at HokieOpen.com

VMI Results:

125 Pounds
First Round: Eric Montoya (Campbell) WBF Armando Herera-Dos Reis (VMI) 2:36
Wrestle Back First Round: Christopher Diaz Rivera (Limestone-Unattached) DEC Armando Herera-Dos Reis (VMI) 9-7

133 Pounds
First Round: Nicolas Anthony (Central Florida) DEC Andriy Onufriyenko (VMI) 10-5
Wrestleback First Round: Andriy Onufriyenko (VMI) DEC Jonathan Rodriguez (Shorter) 7-3
Wrestleback Second Round: Andriy Onufriyenko (VMI) DEC Brandon Goodwyn (VMI) 12-6
Wrestleback Third Round: Andriy Onufriyenko (VMI) DEC Michael Nelems (The Citadel-Unattached) 10-3
Wrestleback Quarter Finals: Ryan Hall (South Florida) WBF Andriy Onufriyenko (VMI) 5:57

First Round: Brandon Goodwyn (VMI) BYE
Second Round: Brian Thompson (North Carolina-Pembroke) DEC Brandon Goodwyn (VMI) 10-8
Wrestleback First Round: Brandon Goodwyn (VMI) MAJ DEC Anthony Thompson (Unattached) 16-7
Wrestleback Second Round: Andriy Onufriyenko (VMI) DEC Brandon Goodwyn (VMI) 12-6 

First Round: Joe Boswell (VMI) WBF Patrick Wells (Saint Andrews) 2:59
Second Round: Terrence Dugay (Limestone-Unattached) DEC Joe Boswell (VMI) 8-5
Wrestleback First Round: Joe Boswell (VMI) WBF Hunter Carroll (Campbell) 1:39
Wrestleback Second Round: Ryan Hall (South Florida) DEC Joe Boswell (VMI) 8-5

141 Pounds
First Round: Josiah Zodhiates (VMI) DEC Christian Chasmer (South Carolina) 7-3
Second Round: Daniel Weiner (Unattached) WBF Josiah Zodhiates (VMI) 1:59
Wrestleback First Round: Taylor Bristow (Brewton-Parker) WBF Josiah Zodhiates (VMI) 0:57 

First Round: Emmitt Kelly (VMI) BYE
Second Round: Emmitt Kelly (VMI) DEC Adrian Martin (Darton) 8-4
Third Round: Emmitt Kelly (VMI) DEC Jesse Jones (Shorter) 5-0
Quarterfinals: Emmitt Kelly (VMI) MAJ DEC Sterling Perry (Saint Andrew’s) 12-0
Semifinals: Ryan Mosley (Gardner-Webb-Unattached) MAJ DEC Emmitt Kelly (VMI) 14-4
Wrestleback Semifinals: Devon Jackson (Limestone-Unattached) WBF Emmitt Kelly (VMI) 1:31

165 Pounds
First Round: Mike Logan (VMI) MAJ DEC Thomas Flowers (Darton) 9-0
Second Round: Eddie Isherwood (Unattached) WBF Mike Logan (VMI) 4:10
Wrestleback Fourth Round: Mike Logan (VMI) DEC Ryan Buchanan (Limestone-Unattached) 3-2
Wrestleback Quarterfinals: Kyle Ash (Gardner-Webb-Unattached) MAJ DEC Mike Logan (VMI) 16-4

First Round: Mark Darr (VMI) WBF Sean Mann (Central Florida) 4:02
Second Round: Mark Darr (VMI) WBF Justin Sperin (Brewton-Parker)  3:25
Quarterfinals: Mark Darr (VMI) WBF Jacob Shirley (Cumberland) 4:45
Semifinals: Paul Duggan (Campbell) DEC Mark Darr (VMI) 13-10
Wrestleback Semifinals: Kyle Ash (Gardner-Webb-Unattached) DEC Mark Darr (VMI) 12-5