Charleston, S.C. The 2009 Southern Conference Wrestling Championships will take place March 7 in McAlister Field House, hosted by The Citadel. Bulldog head coach Rob Hjerling hopes to have a large turnout for this year's championship from all wrestling enthusiasts in the Lowcountry.

The Bulldogs have had one of their best seasons in years with a record of 9-6-1. One of the leading contributors to the team's success is the 197-pound Destin, Fla. native Odie Delaney. True freshman Delaney has a 5-0 record in Southern Conference action with fourteen pins this season. Delaney was also named to the All-Conference team on March 3 as well as the Bulldog's 125-pound Tyler Sim.

The NCAA released the allocation of qualifiers list Feb. 26. The Southern Conference was slotted 11 bids to the national championship in St. Louis, Mo. The winner in each weight class for the SoCon tournament will receive a bid to nationals. In the 141-pound weight class, two bids were given for the first and second place recipients. 

Also having a successful season is 125-pound Sim. Sim is a junior at The Citadel from Washington, Pa. Going into the championship Sim has a 4-1 record in SoCon action and 19-13 overall this season. Sim started off the season a little rough with an 0-9 record. Things turned around when Sim competed in the Southern Scuffle tournament on Dec. 29. Sim went on a streak of 18-4 and was also named as a Southern Conference Wrestler of the Week along side teammates Keith Koziel and Delaney. The Bulldogs were the only team this season to have three grapplers to receive the Wrestler of the Week honors.

Sim as well as teammate Delaney were named to the All-Conference team for the 2008-09 season. The awards were voted on by the leagues head coaches. Redshirt freshman J.C. Oddo and true freshman 133-pound Richard Alarcon joined teammate Delaney as members of the Southern Conference All-freshman team. 

“I am very pleased for these individuals and look forward to our guys competing in the championships. The success our guys have had and how young they are, shows promise for our program,” Hjerling stated.

The 2009 SoCon Wrestling Championships get underway this Saturday, March 7, with first round matches beginning at 11:00 a.m. in Charleston, S.C. at McAlister Field House. Coach Hjerling and The Citadel wrestling program would like to invite all alumni, cadets and wrestling enthusiasts of all ages to join them to rally around the Bulldogs. For all results from the Southern Conference Championships and all information on the Bulldog wrestling team and Bulldog athletics, please visit CitadelSports.com.