CHARLESTON, S.C.—Don't tell Southeastern they can't compete with anyone.
The Fire wrestling team won seven of 11 matches against The Citadel and defeated the Bulldogs 22-14 for the program's first victory over an NCAA Division I program in a dual.
The Fire (5-3) won three straight matches late, getting bonus points at two of them to rally back and secure the match. With his team down 11-9,
Coleman Bryant picked up a 12-4 major decision at 174 to give the Fire a 13-11 lead. Then,
Blake Rypel won by first period fall to net six points and make it 19-11.
Freshman
Trillyon Fils-Aime scored his sixth win of the season, grinding out a 7-4 win over Ben Stemmet, getting a takedown with 17 seconds remaining which put the dual out of reach.
"Coleman and Blake did what they do, scored a lot of points and won the match," said coach
Brandon Jorge. "I told Trillyon to go out and win the match and he found a way to do it. It was a cool moment for him to get a big win like that as a true freshman."
Isaac Crowell rallied back to get the Fire three points at the start of the dual with an 11-9 win over Jordie White.
Jaquan English battled back in a tough match at 141 to get a 4-2 decision.
The Citadel (1-1) had an 8-6 lead after four matches, getting major decisions at 133 and 149, but
Kyle Kirkham scored 15 points at 157 to provide some energy for his team in the second half of the match and give the Fire a one-point lead at the midpoint.
"I thought we came out flat the first four matches we found a way to win at 125 which caused the back and forth," said Jorge.
Kyle Kirkham scored a lot of points, which jumpstarted us a bit."
At 165,
Cody Walsh fought off Dazjon Casto and kept the match close throughout and kept Casto from picking up bonus points to keep the Fire in it.
In a 174-pound exhibition match,
Carlos Diaz was a 6-4 winner over Cooper Youngblood, getting a third period takedown for the win.
"I think the expectation was always to win," said Jorge. "They work hard, they deserved it, and expected to win coming in."
The Fire return to action in 2021 with a pair of duals at Cumberland University on January 8
th.
SOUTHEASTERN 22, THE CITADEL 14
125- #7
Isaac Crowell dec. Jordie White, 11-9
133- Jake Rotunda major dec. #16
Xavier Williamson, 12-2
141- #18
Jaquan English dec. Ethan Willis, 4-2
149- #33 Selwyn Porter major dec. #14
Andreus Bond, 12-0
157- #18
Kyle Kirkham dec. Grant Speer, 15-8
165- Dazjon Casto def.
Cody Walsh, 7-4
174- #4
Coleman Bryant major dec. Cole Burke, 12-4
184- #6
Blake Rypel fall Kyle Kretzer, 2:27
197-
Trillyon Fils-Aime dec. Ben Stemmet, 9-4
285- Michael McAleavey dec. #5
Alton Meeks, 3-2
Exhibition: (174)-
Carlos Diaz dec. Cooper Youngblood, 6-4
