Charleston, S.C. The Citadel wrestling team will compete in three Southern Conference matches this weekend as they will host UNC Greensboro on Saturday at 1 p.m. at McAlister Field House and then travel to Boone, N.C. to take on Appalachian State at 1 p.m. on Sunday followed by a match in Davidson, N.C. against Davidson at 6 p.m.
The Bulldogs will host Alumni Day on Saturday at McAlister Field House as they will welcome back and honor the three most accomplished wrestlers in the history of The Citadel, including 2006 NCAA All-American Dan Thompson. Thompson ('06) became the first wrestler in Bulldog history to be named an All-American after placing seventh at 165 pounds at the NCAA Championships in March of 2006. Thompson was also a two-time Southern Conference champion and NCAA qualifier. Current assistant coach Sean Markey will also be honored on Saturday. Markey ('05) was a three-time NCAA qualifier, and his 125 career wins and 60 career falls are both school records. The third former grappler to be recognized will be Ryan McClester. McClester ('05) was the 2004 Southern Conference Wrestler of the Year, a two-time SoCon Champion, and a three-time NCAA qualifier.
The match against the Spartans will begin at 1 p.m on Saturday. The Citadel enters the match with a mark of 3-5, 0-1 in the SoCon while UNC Greensboro is 7-3, 3-1 in the SoCon. The Spartans last were in action on Saturday, Feb. 3 as they won a dual match against George Mason 21-16. UNC Greensboro has defeated Appalachian State, VMI and Davidson in Southern Conference action, with their only loss coming in a 24-18 defeat to Chattanooga. The Bulldogs only SoCon match so far this season was at Chattanoga on Wednesday, Jan. 31 when they lost 36-6.
The Mountaineers are currently 5-15 overall and 1-3 in the SoCon. Appalachian State defeated Davidson in SoCon action on Wednesday night 22-21. Davidson has a mark of 5-9, 0-4 in the SoCon. Live video of the match against Davidson on Sunday at 6 p.m. will be available over the Internet by signing up for SoCon TV. More information on SoCon TV is available at www.soconsports.com.
The Citadel is coming off a fourth-place finish at the All-Academy Championships on Saturday, Feb. 3 as they had four placers in the tournament. Junior Darius Caldwell finished the tournament with a mark of 2-1 to place second at 174 pounds, junior Levi Duyn went 3-1 with three falls to finish third at 149 pounds, freshman Matthew Leach had a record of 2-2 and finished fourth at 133 pounds, and senior John Dickerson finished with a mark of 2-2 to end up fourth at 184 pounds.
Results from all of this weekend's wrestling action will be available at www.CitadelSports.com.
