ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Citadel wrestling team capped off the 2015 Southern Conference Championships by qualifying three for the NCAA Tournament, including individual league champions
Matt Frisch (149) and
Aaron Walker (157).
Overall the Dogs placed third as a team with 62 points, eight behind Appalachian State and 27 off the pace set by regular season champion Chattanooga. The duo of Walker and Frisch will be joined by teammate
Joaquin Marquez (125), who finished second in his classification and qualified for the NCAA Wrestling Championships on March 19-21 by virtue of an NCAA allocation.
Junior
Marshall Haas (197) and
Joe Bexley (Heavyweight) closed out the tournament by placing second in their respective classifications for the Bulldogs.
Walker, who had a bye as the No. 1 overall seed, began defense of his 157 classification crown with a win by fall at the 6:41 mark against Tyler Marinelli (Gardner-Webb). He followed that by defeating Appalachian State's Zac Strickland 6-1 in the championship bout.
Frisch mirrored Walker as he successfully defended his 149 crown for the second time in as many seasons. He got off to a solid start with a win over James McCord (Davidson) in first round match. Frisch then snagged a 9-3 second round victory against Chattanooga's Shawn Greevy. In a finals showdown with Ryan Mosely (Gardner-Webb), he notched a 3-1 win to give The Citadel its second individual title of the day.
Marquez, who brought home third place for the Bulldogs in the 125-pound bracket, posted a win by fall at 2:37 over Nathan Day (SIUE). His second round match featured a clash with Dominic Parisi (Appalachian State), who he defeated 3-1. Marquez's title run came to an end against Sean Boyle (Chattanooga), who grabbed a 10-1 victory in the finals.
Haas' afternoon opened with a 5-2 win over Tyler Radford (Appalachian State) as he advanced to face Boyce Cornwell (Gardner-Webb). The South Riding, Va., native quickly ousted Cornwell with an 8-2 victory, setting up a showdown with fourth seeded Jake Tindle (SIUE) in the championship match. Tindle emerged 4-2, keeping Haas from defending the 197-pound crown that he won in 2014.
Bexley, who entered the heavyweight division seeded fourth overall, advanced with a 3-1 sudden victory against Justin Kozera (Gardner-Webb). In the second round the agile Citadel grappler defeated No. 1 seeded Juan Adams (VMI) by fall at the 6:56 mark. However, Bexley's run came to an end with a slim 1-0 loss in the finals to Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State).
