SPORTS

 

BOONE, N.C. – Davidson wrestling split their season opening tri-meet at Appalachian State, opening the year with a dual win over Southern Conference newcomer Bellarmine, 27-16, before falling to Preseason favorite App State, 38-0, Sunday afternoon at Varsity Gym.

Davidson junior Kyle Gorant quickly erased a 6-0 team deficit with a first period pin of Bellarmine’s Brandon Lucas at 133 pounds. The Coopersburg, Pa., native now has 11 career falls.

Freshmen Gavin Damasco and Bryce Sanderlin each opened their collegiate win accounts against Bellarmine. Damasco picked up a dominant decision at 141 pounds, 7-1, while Sanderlin gutted out a high-scoring 11-8 decision at 157.

Trailing 16-12 on the scoreboard, sophomore Gavin Henry kicked off three consecutive Wildcat wins with a second period fall over Easton Tobia at 184. Henry had three pins in just 14 bouts last season.

Returning to 197 for his junior campaign, Finlay Holston cruised to a 9-2 decision before classmate Mitchell Trigg sealed the win at heavyweight, forcing a disqualification for excessive stalls from an under-sized Darin Huff.

“We usually start the season in a tournament format, so I expected there to be some jitters for our guys, especially when many of them haven’t competed in nearly a year,” said head coach Andy Lausier. “Overall proud of the group and eager to improve.”

Despite the result, Davidson had some strong showings against SoCon favorite App State. Gorant was edged in an offensive battle, 12-8, while Damasco fell in a tight 6-4 decision. Henry, Holston and Trigg all had a chance in the third period, but ultimately fell.

Lausier’s overall thoughts on the dual with the Mountaineers, not bad.

“The score looked worse than our effort. App is a solid program and our lineup showed its youth against them. We need to excel at doing the little things extraordinarily well and believe in our offense late in a match when the score is close,” said the head coach in his fourth season at the helm of the Wildcats.

In extra matches, sophomore Noah Burstein picked up a major over Max Dansereau from Bellarmine, while junior Lachlan Rosato downed Knight Joshua Craig, 5-1.

Davidson hosts their lone meet of the year Saturday, Jan. 23 when Chattanooga and VMI visit Belk Arena. First bout is slated to start at 11 a.m.

Be sure to follow the Wildcat wrestling team on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram!

Davidson 27, Bellarmine 16
125: Adonis Boyd (BU) won by forfeit
133: Kyle Gorant (DC) fall over Brandon Lucas (BEL), 1:17
141: Gavin Damasco (DC) dec. over Chase Yost (BEL), 7-1
149: Mitch Collica (BEL) dec. over David Loniewski (DC), 5-3
157: Bryce Sanderlin (DC) dec. over Alex Rhine (BEL), 11-8 
165: Eric Beck (BEL) maj. dec. over Anthony Spera (DC), 10-2 
174: Devan Hendricks (BEL) dec. over Jaden Hardrick (DC), 7-1
184: Gavin Henry (DC) fall over Easton Tobia (BEL), 3:23
197: Finlay Holston (DC) dec. over Gavin Grime (BEL), 9-2 
285: Mitchell Trigg (DC) DQ over Darian Huff (BEL), 6:33

Exhibition
133: Noah Berstein (DC) maj. dec. over Max Dansereau (BEL), 16-5
Clayton Catanzarite (BEL) dec. over Erik Eva (DC), 9-3
Lachlan Rosato (DC) dec. over Joshua Craig (BEL), 5-1

App State 38, Davidson 0
125: Codi Russell (APP) winner by forfeit
133: Sean Carter (APP) dec. over Kyle Gorant (DC), 12-8
141: Anthony Brito (APP) dec. over Gavin Damasco (DC), 6-4
149: #14 Jonathan Millner tech. fall over David Loniewski (APP), 16-1, (7:00)
157: Cody Bond (APP) dec. over Bryce Sanderlin (DC), 5-0
165: #20 Will Formato (APP) tech. fall over Anthony Spera (DC), 17-0, (5:00)
174: Thomas Flitz (APP) maj. dec. over Jaden Hardrick (DC), 12-3
184: Julian Gorring (APP) dec. over Gavin Henry (DC), 6-4
197: Mason Fiscella (APP) dec. over Finlay Holston (DC), 9-5
285: Michael Burchell (APP) dec. over Mitchell Trigg (DC), 5-3

Exhibition
133: Tyler Kellison (APP) fall over Noah Burstein (DC), 0:36
157: Tommy Askey (APP) dec. over Will Baldwin (DC), 7-2 
285: Ramon Rodriguez (APP) dec. over Jake Fernicola (DC), 9-6
165: Heath Gonyer (APP) dec. over Garrett Stewart (DC), 6-1