Saturday, November 2
Salem, Va.
9:00 a.m.
Davidson College
vs
Southeast Open
Photo by: Tim Cowie/DavidsonPhotos.com
Eight 'Cats Place During Impressive Showing at the Southeast Open
11/2/2024 6:16:00 PM | Wrestling
SALEM, Va. – The Davidson College wrestling team opened the 2024-25 season in impressive fashion at the Southeast Open hosted by Virginia Tech on Saturday. Eight Wildcats placed in total highlighted by four runner-up finishes.
Davidson's seven placers in the freshman/sophomore division was the second most behind UNC out of eleven other teams.
"I'm very proud of the way our team competed today," said head coach Nate Carr Jr. "We wrestled with intensity and effort, and that truly helped us perform well today. The staff also did a great job of preparing the guys all week, and that was evident with our results."
"Four finalists and eight place winners is a great showing from our young team," Carr added.
Leading the way for Davidson was junior captain Tanner Peake. The back-to-back SoCon runner-up got off to a great start as he made it to the 157-pound final in the open division. Peake began with a commanding 17-2 tech fall over VMI's Evan Glynos, then edged North Dakota State's Boeden Greenley, 2-1. In the semifinal, the third-year man defeated North Carolina's Sonny Santiago, who came into the tournament ranked No. 22 in InterMat's rankings, in a 4-2 decision. In the final, Peake fell to No. 28 Rafael Hipolito of Virginia Tech, 5-1.
Three Wildcats finished in second place in the freshman/sophomore division: John Hager at 133 pounds, Anderson Heap at 149 pounds, and Marc Koch at 174 pounds.
Hager, a sophomore from Randolph, N.J., started his day with an early-third-period pin of Campbell's Hudson Waldrop. Then, he defeated Jonah Paulino of Noke RTC in an 11-7 decision. In his semifinal match, Hager used a third-period takedown to win 4-1 over Newberry's Ethan McCullough before falling in a hard-fought final to UNC's Elias Navida, 1-0.
At 149 pounds, freshman Anderson Heap went 3-1 and made the finals behind a first-round major decision over Chattanooga's Yuta Otero, another major over Campbell's Jonathan Chang, and an 8-3 decision over Maryland's Luke Jacobs. His run was stopped in the finals after falling to VMI's Patrick Jordon.
Rounding out Davidson's runners-up was Marc Koch. Despite being a junior academically, he is still under 20 years old and was allowed to compete in the freshman/sophomore division. He was able to make quick work of his first three matches with 8-0, 8-2, and 11-1 wins, two of them coming over SoCon opponents from Campbell and UTC. In the finals, Marc Koch fell to North Dakota State's Max Magayna.
Other Wildcat placers on the day were Bryce Griffin, who took third at 165 pounds in the freshman/sophomore division with a 3-1 record. Freshman Blake Reihner took fourth place at 141 pounds, and Ian McGehee also took fourth at 165 pounds.
Davidson's final placer was Tyler-Xavier McKnight who battled all the way back from a first-round loss to the eventual-bracket-winner Jordon. The Cartersville, Ga. native proceeded to win five straight matches in the consolation bracket, one by tech fall, another via major decision to storm back to earn a fifth place finish.
Up Next
The wrestling team will be back in tournament action next weekend at App State's Mountaineer Invitational on November 9.
Davidson's seven placers in the freshman/sophomore division was the second most behind UNC out of eleven other teams.
"I'm very proud of the way our team competed today," said head coach Nate Carr Jr. "We wrestled with intensity and effort, and that truly helped us perform well today. The staff also did a great job of preparing the guys all week, and that was evident with our results."
"Four finalists and eight place winners is a great showing from our young team," Carr added.
Leading the way for Davidson was junior captain Tanner Peake. The back-to-back SoCon runner-up got off to a great start as he made it to the 157-pound final in the open division. Peake began with a commanding 17-2 tech fall over VMI's Evan Glynos, then edged North Dakota State's Boeden Greenley, 2-1. In the semifinal, the third-year man defeated North Carolina's Sonny Santiago, who came into the tournament ranked No. 22 in InterMat's rankings, in a 4-2 decision. In the final, Peake fell to No. 28 Rafael Hipolito of Virginia Tech, 5-1.
Three Wildcats finished in second place in the freshman/sophomore division: John Hager at 133 pounds, Anderson Heap at 149 pounds, and Marc Koch at 174 pounds.
Hager, a sophomore from Randolph, N.J., started his day with an early-third-period pin of Campbell's Hudson Waldrop. Then, he defeated Jonah Paulino of Noke RTC in an 11-7 decision. In his semifinal match, Hager used a third-period takedown to win 4-1 over Newberry's Ethan McCullough before falling in a hard-fought final to UNC's Elias Navida, 1-0.
At 149 pounds, freshman Anderson Heap went 3-1 and made the finals behind a first-round major decision over Chattanooga's Yuta Otero, another major over Campbell's Jonathan Chang, and an 8-3 decision over Maryland's Luke Jacobs. His run was stopped in the finals after falling to VMI's Patrick Jordon.
Rounding out Davidson's runners-up was Marc Koch. Despite being a junior academically, he is still under 20 years old and was allowed to compete in the freshman/sophomore division. He was able to make quick work of his first three matches with 8-0, 8-2, and 11-1 wins, two of them coming over SoCon opponents from Campbell and UTC. In the finals, Marc Koch fell to North Dakota State's Max Magayna.
Other Wildcat placers on the day were Bryce Griffin, who took third at 165 pounds in the freshman/sophomore division with a 3-1 record. Freshman Blake Reihner took fourth place at 141 pounds, and Ian McGehee also took fourth at 165 pounds.
Davidson's final placer was Tyler-Xavier McKnight who battled all the way back from a first-round loss to the eventual-bracket-winner Jordon. The Cartersville, Ga. native proceeded to win five straight matches in the consolation bracket, one by tech fall, another via major decision to storm back to earn a fifth place finish.
Up Next
The wrestling team will be back in tournament action next weekend at App State's Mountaineer Invitational on November 9.
Players Mentioned
165
/ Wrestling
125/133
/ Wrestling
149/157
/ Wrestling
157
/ Wrestling
165
/ Wrestling
149
/ Wrestling
157
/ Wrestling
133/141
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