Feb. 24, 2004

Greensboro, NC - The Citadel wrestling team won the 2004 Southern Conference regular season championship with a 32-9 victory over UNCG Tuesday afternoon in Fleming Gym. The 2004 SoCon Championship is the first for a Bulldog grappling squad since The Citadel last won the title 37 years ago in 1967.

"The guys worked hard to earn everything they have received," stated Citadel coach Rob Hjerling. "Winning the regular season title is an indication of how far we've come in the last few years."

With the win, The Citadel moves to 12-3 with an undefeated SoCon record of 5-0.

"This is a great thing for The Citadel and the Bulldog athletic program," added Hjerling. "But we still have a lot to accomplish and we will continue to work hard to make an impact on the national scene. The match began at 149 where The Citadel's Travis Piccard (26-8) pinned Greensboro's Nate Berryman at the 4:30 mark to give the Bulldogs the early 6-0 advantage.

Sophomore Dan Thompson (22-10), the Dogs 157-pound wrestler added three team points for The Citadel with a 5-3 last-second win over UNCG's O.T. Johnson. With seven seconds to go in the match and down 3-1, Thompson used a reversal and scored two back points to come-from-behind to earn the victory over Johnson.

UNC Greensboro (9-6, 2-3 SoCon), who finished in a three-way tie for third with Appalachian State and VMI, got on the board, 9-3, with a 12-5 decision in the 165-pound match. Spartan grappler Keith Ritter took control of the match at the end of the first period and never allowed Bulldog Mike Martinez (16-22) to get on the scoreboard in the last two periods.

Up 9-3, 174-pound Bulldog Keith Clifton (30-9) used a technical fall to defeat the Spartans' Charles Jones 19-3, giving The Citadel a commanding 14-3 lead. Clifton, the 15th ranked wrestler in the nation by Intermat, secured the tech fall with the one-point riding time bonus and two back points in the last five seconds of the bout.

Greensboro attempted a comeback with a 9-5 decision at 184 as Joe Lowe defeated Bulldog sophomore John Dickerson (12-15) cutting The Citadel lead to 14-6. Ahead 5-1 at the 4:47 mark, Dickerson injured his leg and fought valiantly for the remainder of the match before falling to Lowe.

The Dogs tacked on three more points in the 197-match stretching the lead to 17-6 with four matches remaining. Senior Jordan Everett (17-14) earned the 4-3 decision over Daren Burns to put The Citadel ahead by 11.

At heavyweight, junior Billy Linane (23-11) used a one-point escape to down Spartan heavyweight John Kimble 1-0. With the match tied at zero, Linane escaped Kimble's grasp and held off a UNCG rally to push the Bulldogs advantage to 20-6.

The Citadel sealed the conference title and the dual match victory with a fall by 125-pounder Ryan McClester (35-5). One minute and 23 seconds into the match, McClester, who is ranked 14th by the Wrestling Mall and was named the Southern Conference Wrestling of the Week earlier in the day, pinned Kyle Terrell clinching the Bulldogs' first title since 1967 and giving the Citadel grapplers a 26-6 lead.

With the fate of the match in hand, Sean Markey (32-6) pinned David Johnson at the 2:04 mark of the 133-pound bout giving Hjerling's squad a commanding advantage 32-6. Markey, who is ranked 19th in the country by the Wrestling Mall, clinched his 52nd career pin and 22nd of the season with the fall over the UNCG 133-pounder.

UNCG did not surrender and showed Coach Tom Shifflet that they would not give up as 141-pound Kevin Artis defeated Bulldog freshman Levi Duyn (31-16) with a 6-1 decision. With the win, Artis completed the season with an undefeated dual record of 14-0.

The Citadel will travel to Gardner-Webb this evening to take on the Bulldogs 7 pm in Boiling Springs. The match against G-W will wrap-up the season for the Cadets. Following the Bulldogs final dual, Hjerling's club will begin to prepare for the Southern Conference Tournament at Mat Jam, which will be held at UVA in Charlottesville, VA on March 6.

The Citadel 32, UNC Greensboro 9

149 Travis Piccard (CIT) fall Nate Berryman - 4:30, 6-0

157 Dan Thompson (CIT) dec. Keith Ritter, 5-3, 9-0

165 Keith Ritter (UNCG) dec. Mike Martinez, 12-5, 9-3

174 Keith Clifton (CIT) tech fall Charles Jones, 19-3, 14-3

184 Joe Lowe (UNCG) dec. John Dickerson, 9-5, 14-6

197 Jordan Everett (CIT) dec. Daren Burns, 4-3, 17-6

HWT Billy Linane (CIT) dec. John Kimble, 1-0, 20-6

125 Ryan McClester (CIT) fall Kyle Terrell - 1:23, 26-6

133 Sean Markey (CIT) fall David Johnson - 2:04, 32-6

141 Kevin Artis (UNCG) dec. Levi Duyn, 6-1, 32-9