LEXINGTON, Va. - First-year
LaDaynean Simpson finished fourth in his collegiate debut for the No. 25 McDaniel College men's wrestling team in the Jim Crytzer Invite hosted by Washington and Lee on Saturday.
The Green Terror finished 10th out of 11 teams with a total of 33.0 points, 5.5 behind Greensboro and six in back of the host and 12th-ranked Generals. No. 11 Wisconsin Eau Claire took home the team title with 181 points. No. 16 Elizabethtown finished second with 121 points.
Six of the team 11 teams competing are ranked in either the National Wrestling Coaches Association Tournament Team or Dual Team Top 25 rankings. In addition to the four above, Roanoke is at No. 6 in both while Ohio Northern is at No. 24 in the dual team rankings.
Simpson, a member of the football team at McDaniel, made his wrestling debut on Saturday and posted an impressive 4-2 record at 74 pounds in his first collegiate event with one fall and two major decisions.
After losing his first career match to Roanoke's Andrew Kehoe, Simpson responded with four consecutive wins beginning with his first career win and fall in 2:15 over Robert Keener from Shenandoah. Following a medical forfeit, he recorded the first of back-to-back major decisions against Greensboro's Ethan Kring, 18-9.
Simpson then posted a 14-3 major decision over Elizabethtown's Gavin Fehr who is ranked seventh in region 3 in the consolation semifinals. In the third-place match, Simpson faced a rematch with Kehoe. After losing by major decision in the first meeting, Simpson fared much better the second time, falling by decision, 8-2.
Sophomore
Will Terry totaled three wins at 141 pounds with two falls. He began the day with a fall against Jackson Raditz of Randolph in just 1:23. After losing by decision to Temuujin Erdenetuya of Marymount (VA), he posted back-to-back wins over first-year
Neil Sharma and Greensboro's Marcel Martin who he pinned in only 1:11.
First-year
Brendan Bowman posted two wins for the Green Terror at 149 pounds, including a 16-1 tech fall in 5:58 over Noah Williams of Randolph.
Sophomore Cody Johnson was the fourth multiple winner for McDaniel as he went 2-2 at 125 pounds with a 6-4 decision over Roanoke's Chance Howell and a fall in 2:24 against Caiden Lucente of Marymount (VA).
The Green Terror are set to return to action next Saturday, January 10 at the Manganaro Duals hosted by Ursinus. Competition gets underway 10 a.m. and the schedule will be announced this week.
