PHILADELPHIA – Led by senior Dalton Henderson and sophomore Neal Richards, the VMI wrestling team took away several positives at the 2016 Keystone Classic hosted by Penn Sunday at The Palestra in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Both Henderson (125 pounds) and Richards (157) placed fifth in their respective weight classes in the open tournament, which featured multiple ranked wrestlers across the board.
Henderson opened with an 8-0 major decision over Drexel's Tanner Shoap before falling to Southern Conference nemesis Vito Pasone of Appalachian State, who earned a 14-6 major decision over the Virginia Beach native. Henderson bounced back with a 10-4 decision over Eastern Michigan's Armando Torres and a 12-0 major decision over Penn State's Patrick Higgins. He then lost to Drexel's Zack Fuentes by a close 4-2 decision, but qualified for the fifth-sixth place matchup where he was again pitted against Pasone. Pasone was medically unable to compete and Henderson took the fifth-place title in a forfeit.
“The Keystone Classic continues to bring in tougher competition each year, which is why we chose to make the trip to Philadelphia,” said VMI head coach Chris Skretkowicz. “Overall on the day we scored 3.5 points more than last year, with 3 starters not competing. Like any tournament, there are highs and lows throughout the day. I would like to have seen our younger guys push the pace a little more in their matches. I'm proud of Henderson and Richards for placing in this prestigious tournament.”
Richards opened the tourney with a bye before pinning Harvard's Thomas Dutton in 1:13 in the second round. The South Chesterfield, Virginia, native then earned a 13-3 major decision over Eastern Michigan's JJ Wolfe before bowing out of the championship bracket with a respectable 8-4 decision loss to No. 18 Maaziah Bethea of host Penn University. In the fifth-sixth place pairing, Richards claimed a medical forfeit victory over Pitt's Jake Wentzel.
The Keydets will not compete over Thanksgiving Furlough but resume action on Friday, Dec. 2 with an 8 p.m. dual at Franklin & Marshall in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
All Results
Dalton Henderson (125) - 5th Place
Maj. dec. Tanner Shoap (Drexel), 8-0
Lost to Vito Pasone (App State), maj. dec. 14-6
Dec. Armando Torres (EMU), 10-4
Maj. dec. Patrick Higgins (Penn State), 12-0
Lost to Zack Fuentes (Drexel), Dec. 4-2
MFF over Vito Pasone (App State), 0:00
Steven Midkiff (141)
Lost to Alec McKenna (Northwestern), Fall 2:03
Bye
MFF over Brandon Levesque (Sacred Heart), 0:00
Lost to Evan Fidelibus (Rider), Fall 0:32
Darren Ostrander (141)
Lost to Robert Lee (Pitt), Dec. 6-3
Bye
Lost to Aaron Kruk (Harvard), Dec. 6-2
John Reed (141)
Bye
Lost to Kade Moss (Penn State), Fall 5:00
Lost to Chris Martorello (Franklin & Marshall), Maj. dec. 8-0
Dolan Walsh (149)
Bye
Lost to Shayne Oster (Northwestern), Fall 2:45
Bye
Lost to Hunter Ladnier (Harvard), Tech fall 15-0 (3:57)
Stevan Smith (149)
Bye
Dec. Alex Harnsberger (Sacred Heart), 7-1
Lost to No. 19 Matthew Zovistoski (App State), Maj. dec. 10-0
Lost to Hunter Ladnier (Harvard), Fall 2:31
No. 20 Neal Richards - 5th Place
Bye
Pinned Thomas Dutton (Harvard), 1:13
Maj. dec. JJ Wolfe (EMU), 13-3
Lost to No. 19 Maaziah Bethea (Penn), Dec. 8-4
MFF over Jake Wentzel (Pitt)
Cade Kiely (165)
Lost to Austin Rose (Drexel), Fall 2:07
Bye
Tech fall Braxton Cody (Northwestern), 16-1 (5:25)
Lost to Caleb Livingston (Penn State), Dec. 9-3
Shabaka Johns (174)
Dec. Josh Young (Franklin & Marshall), 7-3
Dec. Owen Brooks (Drexel), 8-2
Lost to No. 13 Geno Morelli (Penn State), Fall 4:05
Lost to Ebed Jarrell (Drexel), Dec. 5-4
Jake Koch (184)
Lost to Christian Dietrich (Pitt), Fall 6:26
Bye
Lost to David Peters-Logue (App State), Fall 3:39
Chris Beck (184)
Lost to Mitch Sliga (Northwestern), Fall 2:55
Bye
Dec. Christian Dietrich (Pitt), 5-3
Lost to Kayne MacCallum (EMU), Dec. 8-1
Jake Tomlinson (197)
Lost to Jared Langley (EMU), Fall 3:44
Bye
Lost to Jalen Laughlin (Penn), Fall 1:37
Taylor Thomas (197)
Bye
Lost to No. 16 Frank Mattiace (Penn), Fall 1:48
Bye
Bye
Lost to Sasha Oliinyk (Sacred Heart), Maj. dec. 11-3
Sam Bouis (285)
Lost to Gage Hutchison (EMU), Fall 0:56
Dec. Corey Kerkesner (F&M), 4-2
Pinned Tommy Shea-Roop (VMI), 2:36
Lost to Cary Miller (App State), Dec. 7-2
Tommy Shea-Roop (285)
Bye
Lost to No. 11 Nick Nevills (Penn State), Fall 1:57
Lost to Sam Bouis (VMI), Fall 2:36
