'Cats Honor Seniors Friday, Host Wildcat Open Sunday

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Davidson wrestling team will honor six seniors ahead of its doubleheader dual in Belk Arena Friday night and host the Wildcat Open on Sunday. The Wildcats will face Queens and Presbyterian Friday night.

Match Information
Date: Feb. 23, 2024
Times: 5 p.m. (Queens) | 7 p.m. (Presbyterian)
Location: Davidson, N.C.
Site: John Belk Arena
Watch: FloWrestling
Queens Live Results: TrackWrestling
Presbyterian Live Results: TrackWrestling

Wildcat Open Information
Date | Time: Feb. 25, 2024 | 10 a.m.
Location: Davidson, N.C.
Site: Belk Arena
Live Results: TrackWrestling

Queens History
Last Meeting: W, 42-4 (12/16/22)
All-Time Series: DAV leads, 1-0

Presbyterian History
Last Meeting: W, 26-7 (12/16/23)
All-Time Series: DAV leads 4-0

SALUTE TO THE SENIORS
Approximately 15 minutes before the 'Cats square off with Queens, the team will honor its six seniors as well as a student assistant. Cameo Blankenship, Bryce Sanderlin, Jake Fernicola, Jaden Hardrick, Anthony Spera, and Dan Yetsick will all be honored as a group that has combined to wrestle in over 300 matches the last four years.

"They've had an interesting run," said head coach Nate Carr Jr. "They had to deal with COVID in their first year of college, which wasn't easy. They've had new coaches, gone through a rebrand with the school and seen us get a new wrestling room."

"They've been through a lot of ups, downs and changes, and they have navigated that with awesome grace."

Sanderlin, a native of Chespeake, Va., is 48-27 in his career and became the first Wildcat since 2015 to have a 20-win season last year. He also took fourth at 165 pounds at last season's SoCon Championships. He has appeared in only 14 matches this season, but has 11 takedowns, 82 total points scored and eight wins.

Heavyweight Jake Fernicola has wrestled in nearly 60 career matches and took fourth at the 2023 SoCon Championships. He currently has six dual wins and is tied for the team lead in escapes with 18.

A team captain this year, Jaden Hardrick has wrestled in over 70 matches as a Wildcat and is a two-time NWCA Scholar All-American. His freshman year, he earned his first collegiate pin over Presbyterian in the centennial celebration to help the team victory.

Cameo Blankenship made the transition from football to wrestling in his sophomore season and finds himself fourth on the team in wins this year with 11. He also leads the team with 13 takedowns and has complied 140 match points, which is third highest.

Dan Yetsick, a Pennsylvania product, has wrestled in over 35 matches in his career and has had a successful senior year in limited action. Yetsick is 10-5 this year and took first place at the Mountaineer Open this past November.

Anthony Spera, hailing from Budd Lake, N.J., has not seen action in his senior season, but picked up four dual wins a season ago, including a thrilling overtime win at 184 pounds to begin the first-ever dual in the Duke Performance Hall.

OTHER STORYLINES
Davidson picked up its first dual win since December last weekend with a 24-19 victory over VMI. The Wildcats look to keep that momentum going against two teams that are a combined 5-27 this season.

In the upset of the week, Joshua Viarengo is coming off his biggest win of the season. A junior out of Malvern Prep, he defeated VMI's Patrick Jordon on a takedown with 40 seconds left in the 141-pound bout. Jordon had been ranked 31st in the NCAA RPI rankings with an 18-8 record to that point.

"I just went out there with the mindset that my technical skills are there, my physical skills are there, and I just have to go out there and get it done," said Viarengo.

His come-from-behind victory was key in shifting the momentum and helped the team regain the lead, which ultimately led to a victory.

Another big moment was the emphatic slamming of the door by two of the team's top wrestlers. Sophomore Tanner Peake dominated in a 12-4 major decision in a match that the coaching staff feared would come down to the wire.

"Those two wrestled last year, and it was a one-point match," said Carr. "So we really weren't settled because their kid was a senior, it was senior day, but the dude (Peake) has continued to go on this streak of being gritty and winning tough matches, and he looked great."

That decisive victory also set the tone for veteran Bruce Sanderlin, who entered the circle in a 19-19 dual as if he had been there many times before.

"When I shook his hand, he just looked calm and he looked like a sniper," added Carr.

Sanderlin got his eighth win of the year with a commanding 18-3 tech fall to move to 7-4 in dual action and 3-4 in SoCon duals.

On the other end of the spectrum, despite being on a five-match skid, Tyler-Xavier McKnight still leads the team in wins with 18 and is poised to get back in the win column. Fellow freshman Wyatt Ferguson is coming off a pin against VMI and is 5-2 in conference duals, and Brady Joling will weigh in Friday night at 125 for the first time this season.

WILDCAT OPEN
The Davidson Wildcats will host the Wildcat Open to cap off the regular season on Sunday. There will be four mats, two on the main floor and two more on the upper north end of Belk Arena. Admission to the event will be free, and live results can be found on TrackWrestling.

In total, over 80 wrestlers are entered with 11 institutions represented including the likes of NC State, UNC and Duke as well as SoCon schools App State, Chattanooga, and Gardner-Webb. Eighteen Davidson wrestlers are entered with the full list of entries below.

DAVIDSON PROBABLE LINEUP
125 – Brady Joling or Enis Ljikovic
133 – Devon Diaco or Hale Robinson
141 – Joshua Viarengo
149 – Tyler-Xavier McKnight
157 – Tanner Peake
165 – Bryce Sanderlin
174 – Jaden Hardrick or Marc Koch
184 – Wyatt Ferguson
197 – Cameo Blankenship
HWT – Jake Fernicola

WILDCAT OPEN ENTRIES
125 – Enis Ljikovic
133 – John Hager
133 – Hale Robinson
133 – Devon Diaco
141 – Bryce Clement
141 – Jackson Sichelstiel
149 – Matt McLaughlin
149 – Brock Carey
157 – Dan Yetsick
157 – Noah Frack
165 – Ian McGehee
174 – Marc Koch
174 – Jaden Hardrick
174 – Savoy New
174 – Brett Sanderlin
184 – Oliver Tipton
197 – Dylan Smith
HWT – DJ Spring II

UP NEXT
Davidson will prepare for the Southern Conference Championships in Boone on March 9.

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