Feb. 10, 2005

Boone, NC - Senior Ruebon Daniels (Summerville, S.C.) finished a perfect 5-0 campaign in Southern Conference action by defeating defending conference champion Billy Linane (Kissimmee, Fla.) 3-2, as Appalachian State University grappled its way to a thrilling 21-21 tie against The Citadel Thursday night in Varsity Gym.

Appalachian quickly fell behind 3-0 as the team had to forfeit in the 125-pound division giving The Citadel's Andrew McDonald (Forest City, Iowa) his eighth win of the season.

Sophomore Terreyl Williams (Durham, N.C.) took to the mats for the Mountaineers at 133 pounds as he faced defending Southern Conference champion and Wrestler of the Year Ryan McClester (Lugoff-Elgin, S.C.). In a close match throughout, McClester was able to score a one-point escape with seconds remaining in the match to earn the 1-0 victory and push the Bulldogs lead to 6-0. Freshman Michael Arias (Okmulgee, Okla.) etched his name into the win column as he defeated senior Jason Jones (Port Jervis, N.Y.) for his ninth win of the season and tacked on three points to boost the Citadel to a 9-0 lead.

The Citadel's Levi Duyn (Venice, Fla.) increased the team lead by a substantial margin when he pinned senior Tim Paul (Fayetteville, N.C.) for his 17th win of the season. With the loss, the Mountaineers were facing an uphill battle as it trailed 12-0.

ASU was able to generate a spark when freshman Neal Martin (Cobleskill, N.Y.) tallied his second-straight conference victory as he pinned freshman Jacob Allman (Concord, N.C.). The Citadel's lead was quickly trimmed to 15-6.

Sophomore Ajay Foreman (Chesapeake, Va.) notched the second win of the night for Appalachian as he defeated Braxton Harrison (Summerville, S.C.). With the win, Foreman improves to 9-13 overall in the 2005 campaign and Appalachian moved into striking distance.

Defending SoCon Champion at 165 pounds Dan Thompson (Howard City, Mi.) picked up his 11th win of the season as he defeated Appalachian's Corey Pendergrass (Winston-Salem, N.C.) by a score of 10-4.

Appalachian rattled off three-straight victories to conclude the meet beginning with a pinfall victory by senior Sean McIntosh (Sherrils Ford, N.C.) in the 184-pound division. McIntosh built a 12-0 lead in the first period of his match before scoring the pinfall at 5:50 in the second.

Rockey Richey (El Reno, Okla.) recorded his 10th win of the season as he defeated freshman Aaron Brown (Matthews, N.C.) and set up what would be a deciding final match between Daniels and Linane.

The heavyweight match started furiously with both men earning escape points. The action gradually slowed down with each grappler recording one point before regulation in a 2-2 deadlock. In the first overtime period, Daniels was able to prevent Linane from scoring. Daniels was then able to score in the second overtime to earn the 3-2 victory and knot the meet at a 21-21 time.

With the tie, The Citadel moves to 2-5-1, 1-1-1 SoCon. The Bulldogs will host both North Carolina and Central Michigan on Sunday. The action starts in McAlister Field House at noon when the Tarheels and Chippewas face each other. The Citadel will then face Central Michigan at 2:00pm and UNC at 4:00pm.

Appalachian 21, The Citadel 21

125-McDonald (Cit.) forfeit victory

133-McClester (Cit.) dec. Williams (ASU), 1-0

141-Arias (Cit.) dec. Jones (ASU), 5-3

149-Duyn (Cit.) fall Paul (ASU), 2:10

157-Martin (ASU) fall Allman (Cit.), 5:50

165-Foreman (ASU) dec. Harrison (Cit.), 4-1

174-Thompson (Cit.) dec. Pendergrass (ASU), 10-4

184-McIntosh (ASU) fall Caldwell (Cit.), 4:19

197-Richey (ASU) dec. Brown (Cit.), 5-3

Hwt.-Daniels (ASU) dec. Linane (Cit.), 4-2