Charleston, S.C. The Citadel fell short 25-16 today, Nov. 14, in their dual with Limestone.  The Bulldogs took four of the 10 matches, including a 12-4 major decision from redshirt senior Michael Arias and a pin in the second period of the heavyweight match by redshirt junior Allen Brown at the 4:48 mark. 

Coming off a good showing at the Pembroke Open and winning the championship title at The Citadel Open, 125-pound freshman, Paul Sanford was the first to put the Bulldogs on the board.  The first period featured shots, re-shots and counters from both opponents.  Unable to secure a takedown, Sanford chose the down position in the second period where he quickly scored his first three points.  The Cadet was able to hold on to the lead in the third period to get the 4-2 decision, making the score 3-0 Bulldogs.

Limestone fired back in the second match with a major decision from Daniel Clausing over The Citadel's Mike Fenton 9-1, allowing the saints to take the lead 4-3.  Bulldog veteran Michael Arias replied with a major decision of his own, defeating the Saints Joe Federspiel 12-4.  Arias wasted no time, scoring his first takedown in 15 seconds and escaping after choosing the down position in the second period in only two seconds.  The 141-pound grappler controlled the pace of the match, have the advantage for almost four minutes.  The win tacked four more points on to The Citadel's score and increased Arias' record to 8-1.

Derek Royster followed suite, wrestling a solid match against Limestone's Dustin Baynes.  With a steady pace, the Dog's sophomore 149-pound wrestler scored two takedowns in the first period and a third in the final period.  Securing the riding time point with 2:23 advantage time and scoring the only offensive points in the 149-pound match-up, Royster defeated Baynes 8-3 putting the Cadets in the lead 10-4.

157-pound freshman, Keith Koziel, wrestled a tough first period against the Saints Mickel Bush.  Koziel went up 4-0 entering the second period after many intense scrambles.  The young Bulldog was pinned 48 seconds into the period when he got caught battling for the advantage.

Facing his Limestone foe, Casey Bradley, for the second time already this season, freshman Brendan Prince wrestled an exciting 165-pound bout.  Bradley scored first and had the lead after the second period but Prince was warmed up and ready to score a few takedowns of his own in the third.  With the match tied Prince let Bradley escape one last time with hopes of getting another quick takedown, but time ran out as the two scrambled for the win, affording Bradley the 9-8 victory. 

The second rematch of the night came in the 197-pound weight class between The Citadel's John Buck and Limestone's Dave Bush.  Buck defeated Bush 7-4 at the Pembroke Open last Saturday.  Today's match was closer though as Buck only led by one going into the third period.  The grapplers fought for control with Bush coming out on time this time around 3-2, after a late takedown in the third.

Although the Saints went up by an insurmountable lead it did not mean that the dual was over.  Heavyweight Bulldog Aaron Brown took control of the 285-pound bout early taking Allen Runyon down twice in the first period.  En route to posting a relatively high score for a heavyweight match, Brown pinned Runyon with 12 seconds left in the second period.  After adding Brown's six team points the Bulldogs dropped a tough loss to the Saints 25-16.

The Bulldogs will be back in action Dec. 2 when they travel up to Pennsylvania to compete in the Penn State Open.  The will continue their dual meet season at home in McAlister Field House on Thursday, Dec. 13 at 7 p.m. when they will face Campbell.  Live audio and video of The Citadel's home matches can be viewed on Bulldog Insider at www.CitadelSports.com.  For all of the latest news on The Citadel wrestling team and Bulldog athletics visit wwwCitadelSports.com.

The Citadel 16, Limestone 25
125: Paul Sanford (Cit) dec. Ian Barker (LC), 4-2; Citadel leads 3-0
133: Daniel Clausing (LC) maj. dec. Mike Fenton (Cit), 9-1; Limestone 4-3
141: Michael Arias (Cit) maj. dec. Joe Federspiel (LC), 11-4; Citadel leads 7-4
149: Derek Royster (Cit) dec. Dustin Baynes (LC), 8-3; Citadel leads 10-4
157: Mikel Bush (LC) pin Keith Koziel (Cit), at 3:42; Tied 10-10
165: Casey Bradley (LC) dec. Brendan Prince (Cit), 8-9; Limestone leads 13-10
174: Joeseph Shreckhise (LC) dec. Derek Sickel (Cit), 10-3; Limestone leads 16-10
184: Daniel Scanlan (LC) pin Joe DeLisle (Cit), at 1:13; Limestone leads 22-10
197: Dave Bush (LC) dec. John Buck (Cit), 3-2; Limestone leads 25-10
HWT: Aaron Brown (Cit) pin Allen Runyon, at 4:48; Limestone leads 25-16