BOONE, NC – On the same day as 10 other competitors featured in Southern Conference action at Campbell, nine additional members of the Presbyterian College men’s wrestling program submitted their names into the field at the Appalachian Open on Saturday afternoon, finding a couple of breakout performances from underclassmen Ryan Moon and David Bertrand in the highly competitive tournament.
Luna – a freshman who had been hit with injury complications earlier in the campaign – suited up for the first time since The Citadel Open over two months ago in Saturday’s Appalachian State-hosted bracket, duplicating his progress from that tourney and the season-starting Princeton Open before that with a sixth-place finish next to three wins.
Bertrand, meanwhile, a sophomore shown to be on the rise with 10 victories to his name over his second stint, raced through his first three matches to land in the 184-lb. semifinal series where he would ultimately end up in fourth place. Two of those W’s came via technical fall and standard decision, emphatically following up on a 1:56 pin obtained against VMI nearly a full week back.
Exiting the 133-lb. pool in favor of 141 for the time being, Luna secured his three wins by an added margin of eight points, downing fellow SoCon competitor Tyler Lamon (Gardner-Webb) before doing the same to Florida’s Alfonso Vargas and Virginia’s Evan Buchanan. In each of his three tournament showings as a rookie, the Californian left with a 3-2 mark to further prove the immense level of freshman/sophomore depth littered throughout the PC roster.
Three unimpeded wins by Bertrand give another signal of things to come for the youthful program, embarking on his most efficient tournament effort thus far in Boone by defeating North Carolina’s Wilson Major and Chattanooga’s Landon Lewis. A forfeit advancement brought the Georgia native to the final four in the 184 class, building off a 2-for-4 performance at Princeton and an additional W at the F&M Open earlier this month when in the multi-team setting.
RESULTS
125 – Brayden Adams (0-2)
Peyton Fenton (Virginia) def. Brayden Adams (PC) by MD, 8-0
Jeffrey Jacome (Gardner-Webb) def. Brayden Adams (PC) by MD, 13-2
141 – Ryan Moon (3-2), 6th please
Ryan Moon (PC) def. Tyler Lamon (Gardner-Webb) by Dec., 5-1
Kyren Butler (Virginia) def. Ryan Moon (PC) by Dec., 10-4
Ryan Moon (PC) def. Alfonso Vargas (Florida) by Dec. 7-4
Ryan Moon (PC) def. Evan Buchanan (Virginia) by Dec., 3-2
Riley Edwards (Appalachian State) def. Ryan Moon (PC) by Dec., 4-1
141 – Dakota Price (0-2)
Thomas Termini (The Citadel) def. Dakota Price (PC) by Fall, 2:14
Alan Diaz (Virginia Tech) def. Dakota Price (PC) by MD, 18-9
157 – Payton Hornsby (0-2)
Mason Stefanelli (Virginia) def. Payton Hornsby (PC) by Fall, 2:27
Nicholas Sanko (Virginia) def. Payton Hornsby (PC) by TF, 16-0
157 – Joshua Williams (0-2)
Ethan Barrett (VMI) def. Joshua Williams (PC) by TF, 19-2
Thomas Snipes (The Citadel) def. Joshua Williams (PC) by TF, 16-0
174 – Reed Douglas (0-2)
Will Miller (Appalachian State) def. Reed Douglas (PC) by MD, 11-0
Adam Ortega (The Citadel) def. Reed Douglas (PC) by Fall, 2:15
184 – David Bertrand (3-2), 4th please
David Bertrand (PC) def. Major Wilson (North Carolina) by TF, 22-7
David Bertrand (PC) def. Landon Lewis (Chattanooga) by Dec., 12-5
David Bertrand (PC) def. Chopper Mordecai (Appalachian State) by Forfeit
Hadyn Danals (Virginia) def. David Bertrand (PC) by Fall, 1:49
Sam Fisher (Virginia Tech) def. David Bertrand (PC) by Fall, 4:48
184 – Caleb Roe (1-2)
Caleb Roe (PC) def. Joe Zovistoski (Appalachian State) by Dec., 7-2
Sam Fisher (Virginia Tech) def. Caleb Roe (PC) by MD, 19-8
Aiden McCafferty (NC State) def. Caleb Roe (PC) by Fall, 1:56
197 – George Hopkins (0-2)
Krystian Kinsey (Virginia) def. George Hopkins (PC) by Fall, 1:56
Joshua McCutchen (Gardner-Webb) def. George Hopkins (PC) by Fall, 1:58
UP NEXT
The remainder of the program director Mark Cody‘s team’s schedule consists of three more SoCon dates before postseason competition rears its head from Boone, NC in early March. The first of that trio will be the last Templeton Gym appearance of the year for PC, who will take on Gardner-Webb at 1:00 just over two weeks from now.
The February 12 Clinton matchup will denote Senior Day for Presbyterian, who will look to send their veterans off on a high note against a GW squad who grabbed two straight wins over Queens and The Citadel last weekend, having their sights set on three separate league outings before they make the visit to PC.