Ownbey, Giddens Grab Third Place Laurels At The Citadel Open

CHARLESTON, S.C. – Daniel Ownbey and Chris Giddens each rebounded from tough losses in championship bracket action with unblemished runs through the consolation bracket of the 141- and 285-pound tournaments, respectively, to grab third place honors and highlight action for UNCP at The Citadel Open on Sunday afternoon at the McAlister Fieldhouse.

Seven of eight Braves recorded at least two wins on the day, with Giddens tallying six individual victories, including four in the consolation bracket. Ownbey and 149-pounded Curt Jones each booked four wins, while Shon Topper won a trio of matches in his collegiate debut. Jake Ferguson and Chris Foy, who both competed in the 174-pound tournament, finished the day with 2-2 clips, as did 157-pounded Jake McKay.

Giddens eased past Georgia Southern's Kevin Brou by an 8-1 decision in his tournament opener, and then followed with a 4-1 win over Limestone's Deven Riles in his ensuing matchup. Having suffered a tight 3-2 loss to Duke's Brendan Walsh in the quarterfinals, Giddens would respond with four-straight wins in the wrestleback tournament, including a 14-4 major decision over Brou in the consolation quarterfinals and a 5-2 decision over Duke's Michael Chapman in the third place bout.

Ownbey won his tournament opener via a 4-3 decision over Central Florida's Matt Vaughn, but was ousted from championship bracket action on the heels of a third-period pin at the hands of Limestone's Michael Magaha. Ownbey would respond as well, however, by registering a 5-3 win over Darton's Cole Claar and a 17-6 major decision over Limestone's Taylor Wickett, before topping teammate Nathaniel Torrence by a 13-6 decision in the third place match.

The Braves will be back in action again on Sunday when they make the short trip to Raleigh to take part in the N.C. State Wolfpack Open. Wrestling action is slated to get underway at 9 a.m.

THE CITADEL OPEN RESULTS (UNCP Results Only)

133
Michael Hellman (Limestone-Unatt.) dec. Adonis Wright (UNCP) D 11-10
Adonis Wright (UNCP) pinned Alex Chirlcosta (Central Florida) F 2:34
Shon Topper (UNCP) maj. dec. Joseph Parker (Limestone-Unatt.) M 12-3
Kyle Casaletto (The Citadel-Unatt.) dec. Shon Topper (UNCP) D 12-5
Shon Topper (UNCP) dec. Adonis Wright (UNCP) SV 3-1
Shon Topper (UNCP) pinned Ryan Hall (South Florida) F 4:43
Weston Beck (The Citadel-Unatt.) pinned Shon Topper (UNCP) F 6:00

141
Nathanael Torrence (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Sterling Perry (St. Andrews) D 3-1
Nathanael Torrence (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Harrison Billig (Central Florida) D 7-0
NathanaelTorrence (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Brian McAraw (Georgia Southern) D 4-3
Eric Tozzi (Belmont Abbey-Unatt.) dec. NathanaelTorrence (UNCP-Unatt.) D 7-3
Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) dec. Matt Vaughn (Central Florida) D 4-3
Michael Magaha (Limestone-Unatt.) pinned Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) F 6:23
Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) dec. Cole Claar (Darton) D 5-3
Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) maj. dec. Taylor Wickett (Limestone-Unatt.) M 17-6
Daniel Ownbey (UNCP) dec. Nathaniel Torrence (UNCP-Unatt.) D 13-6

149
Max Becks (Central Florida) dec. Kelvin Dixon (UNCP-Unatt.) D 16-12
Kelvin Dixon (UNCP-Unatt.) maj. dec. Stephen Gwaltney (Limestone-Unatt.) M 13-5
Kelvin Dixon (UNCP-Unatt.) maj. dec. Lorenzo Gonzalez (Georgia Southern) M 10-2
Reggie Allen (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Nick Sgrol (Belmont Abbey) D 6-2
Seiji Borja (Newberry-Unatt.) tech. fall Reggie Allen (UNCP-Unatt.) TF 17-2; 3:54
Reggie Allen (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Batzorig Batsaikhan (UNCP-Unatt.) D 4-0
Collins Creech (Appalachian State-Unatt.) dec. Reggie Allen (UNCP-Unatt.) D 7-2
Thomas Knight (Central Florida) dec. Batzorig Batsaikhan (UNCP-Unatt.) D 4-2
Batzorig Batsaikhan (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Patrick Wells (St. Andrews) D 6-4
Davante Andujar (Gardner-Webb) dec. Curt Jones (UNCP) D 4-3
Curt Jones (UNCP) tech. fall Andrew King (Limestone-Unatt.) TF 22-7; 3:15
Curt Jones (UNCP) dec. Kody Getkin (St. Andrews) D 8-6
Curt Jones (UNCP) dec. Jackson Govatos (Georgia) D 11-8
Curt Jones (UNCP) dec. Charles Holt (The Citadel-Unatt.) D 12-5
Davante Andujar (Gardner-Webb) dec. Curt Jones (UNCP) D 3-1
Kristoff Thomas (UNCP-Unatt.) pinned Greg Billingham (Newberry-Unatt.) F 0:26
Immanuel Kerr-Brown (Duke) dec. Kristoff Thomas (UNCP-Unatt.) D 11-4
Kristoff Thomas (UNCP-Unatt.) pinned Riley Keen (Appalachian State-Unatt.) F 6:24
Kristoff Thomas (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Kelvin Dixon (UNCP-Unatt.) D 3-1
Robert Manning (Limestone-Unatt.) pinned Kristoff Thomas (UNCP-Unatt.) F 2:27

157
Jake McKay (UNCP) dec. Hayden Meyer (Central Florida) D 7-4
Jake McKay (UNCP) dec. James Green (St. Andrews) D 6-0
Jeremy Bommarito (Limestone-Unatt.) pinned Jake McKay (UNCP) F 6:24
Alex Kooser (Chattanooga) pinned Jake McKay (UNCP) F 5:45

174
Trey Adamson (Duke-Unatt.) pinned Ridge White (UNCP-Unatt.) F 1:49
Ridge White (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Sam Murphy (Georgia Southern) D 10-6
Ridge White (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Nick Christian (Central Florida) D 6-1
Ridge White (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Jake Ferguson (UNCP) D 5-2
Jake Ferguson (UNCP) pinned Alex Morales (Appalachian State-Unatt.) F 6:12
Jake Ferguson (UNCP) dec. Tyler Johnson (Newberry-Unatt.) D 6-3
Collin Hedash (Appalachian State-Unatt.) dec. Jake Ferguson (UNCP) D 6-2
Bryce Sopko (Limestone-Unatt.) maj. dec. Chris Foy (UNCP) M 12-1
Chris Foy (UNCP) dec. Kwame Seymour (Belmont Abbey) D 7-2
Chris Foy (UNCP) inj. def. Tyler Johnson (Newberry-Unatt.) M For

184
Trey Hicks (Darton) dec. Tyler Tomasic (UNCP) D 4-1
Dylan Ryan (Duke-Unatt.) inj. def. Tyler Tomasic (UNCP) M For
Stuart Nadeau (UNCP-Unatt.) pinned Seth Dorne (Central Florida) F 3:33
Stuart Nadeau (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Cory Canada (Chattanooga) D 8-4
Stuart Nadeau (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Ben Brummel (South Carolina) D 5-2
Stuart Nadeau (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Trey Hicks (Darton) D 5-0

197
Conner Hartmann (Duke-Unatt.) pinned Brach Walker (UNCP-Unatt.) F 5:28
Brach Walker (UNCP-Unatt.) pinned Shaun Scruggs (Georgia Southern) F 1:26
Brach Walker (UNCP-Unatt.) dec. Josh Price (St. Andrews) D 4-2
Brach Walker (UNCP-Unatt.) pinned Scott Edelson (The Citadel) F 0:39
Hunter Barnes (Unatt.) pinned Brach Walker (UNCP-Unatt.) F 3:26

285
Chris Giddens (UNCP) dec. Kevin Brou (Georgia Southern) D 8-2
Chris Giddens (UNCP) dec. Deven Riles (Limestone-Unatt.) D 4-1
Brendan Walsh (Duke-Unatt.) dec. Chris Giddens (UNCP) D 3-2
Chris Giddens (UNCP) dec. Charles Weber (Limestone-Unatt.) D 7-4
Chris Giddens (UNCP) maj. dec. Kevin Brou (Georgia Southern) M 14-4
Chris Giddens (UNCP) inj. def. Justin Kozera (Gardner-Webb) M For
Chris Giddens (UNCP) dec. Michael Chapman (Duke-Unatt.) D 5-2