Jan. 29, 2004

Charleston, SC - Citadel wrestler Sean Markey is a perpetual motion machine. He circles the mat relentlessly, performing a series of rolls, flips and handstands.

And then his match starts.

"He's very intense, and has very high expectations of himself," Bulldogs coach Rob Hjerling said.

Markey is not the only Bulldog with high expectations. His pin of Appalachian State's Terreyl Williams scored the clinching points Wednesday night as The Citadel scored a 22-14 win over the defending Southern Conference champion Mountaineers before several hundred fans at McAlister Field House.

The Bulldogs improved to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in the SoCon, and have three more conference matches coming up -- against 24th-ranked Chattanooga on Feb. 14, at rival VMI on Feb. 19 and at UNC Greensboro on Feb. 24, all leading to the SoCon tournament in March. A SoCon title this season would be The Citadel's first since 1967, and would be a major piece of the rebuilding job that Hjerling has done over the last five years. He's taken the Bulldogs from 2-11-2 and fifth place in the SoCon in his first season to 13-3 and third place last year.

This season, the Bulldogs have four wrestlers ranked in the top 25 in the nation in their weight classes, and as a team lurk just outside the top 25 at No. 27. They were ranked No. 25 earlier this season.

"The conference championship, that's our goal," said Markey, a sophomore with a 25-4 record and a No. 16 ranking at 133 pounds. "But that's just a step. We want to be in the top 20 and to keep climbing the ladder."

Three of the Bulldogs' four ranked wrestlers won their matches against App State (3-3, 1-1). Junior Ryan McClester, ranked No. 15 at 125 pounds, ran his record to 26-2 with a 4-1 win over Guy Gibson, and senior Keith Clifton (22-8), No. 19 at 174 pounds, took a 7-0 decision over Corey Pendergrass.

Citadel freshman Levi Duyn (20-11), ranked No. 19 at 141 pounds, lost by 14-2 to App State freshman Scott Ervin. Dan Thompson (157 pounds), John Dickerson (184) and heavyweight Billy Linane also had Bulldog wins.

"This was definitely a win we needed," Hjerling said. "We had some guys give some pretty good efforts, and I'm glad we pulled the win out. But we definitely have a long way to go heading to March. Fortunately, it's just January and we've got time for some guys to bounce back."

The Citadel clung to a 10-7 lead after five matches when Linane's 6-1 overtime victory over David Hazell started a string of three straight wins, capped by Markey's 17th fall of the season. Taken down early, Markey rebounded to pin Williams at the 2:29 mark.

"It was a good, close match, probably closer than it should have been," Markey said. "App State beat us by a point last year, and that was a tough loss to take. We were pretty depressed coming home from App State last year. Maybe they can go home a little worried this year."

The Bulldogs are at the All-Academy tournament at Navy Saturday.