Freddie Rodriguez, a 125-pounder, and John Fahy, a 149-pounder, were champions for the Cougars. The duo became the fourth and fifth different wrestlers to win SoCon Tournament titles.
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"I am really proud of this team," said SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates. "They did a lot of things today that we've been talking about all season long. Even with tough situations, they battled through the whole tournament."
The NCAA Division I Championships will be held March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
As a team, the Cougars finished a strong fourth place with 51.5 points. Appalachian State won the team title on the final match of the tournament, edging Chattanooga 83.5-83. Gardner-Webb placed third with 61.5.
"We got off to a great start by winning nine matches in the first round so we were happy about that, but it was an up and down day," said Spates.
Rodriguez and Fahy both were newcomers to the lineup during the 2015-16 season. Rodriguez joined the Cougars midseason while Fahy came to the Cougars after transferring from Illinois. It will be the first NCAA Championship appearance for both wrestlers.
Rodriguez, who started as the No. 7 seed in a field of eight wrestlers, bested second-seeded Cortez Starkes in the opening round 7-5. He dispatched Dalton Henderson of VMI in the semifinals 16-4. Rodriguez defeated top-seeded Vito Pasone of Appalachian State in the finals 17-10.
"He wrestled hard in every match and was down in every match but came back," said Spates. "He defeated the No. 2, No. 3 and then the No. 1 seed, which is not easy to do."
Fahy, the No. 2 seed, grabbed a major decision in the opening round 11-1 over Campbell's Kaleb Warner. His next two matches came down to the final seconds. In the semifinals, Fahy edged VMI's Emmitt Kelly 3-2. The top two seeds faced off the finals with Fahy edging Gardner-Webb's Christopher Vassar 3-1.
"There was a lot more offense in that championship match than the score indicates," said Spates. "John was in tough spots but was able to work hard and improve his position. He did a good job of keeping his composure in those tough positions."
Connor McMahon and Jake Tindle, NCAA qualifiers last season, both finished third this season.
"They both had tough semifinal losses," said Spates. "A lot of guys would have hung their heads, but they came back, won two matches, and finished in third place."
Team Scores
1. Appalachian State 83.5
2. Chattanooga 83.0
3. Gardner-Webb 61.5
4. SIUE 51.5
5. Campbell 47.5
6. The Citadel 34.5
7. Vmi 27.0
8. Davidson 5.5
2016 SoCon Wrestling Championship Results for SIUE
125 – Freddie Rodriguez placed 1st
Quarterfinal – Freddie Rodriguez (SIUE) def. Cortez Starkes (Gardner-Webb) (Dec 7-5)
Semifinal – Freddie Rodriguez (SIUE) def. Dalton Henderson (VMI) (MD 16-4)
1st Place Match – Freddie Rodriguez (SIUE) def. Vito Pasone (Appalachian State) (Dec 17-10)
133 - Dakota Leach
Quarterfinal - Dakota Leach (SIUE) def. Dominick Gallo (VMI) (MD 13-3)
Semifinal - Nathan Kraisser (Campbell) def. Dakota Leach (SIUE) (MD 14-5)
Cons. Semi - Dustin Runzo (Davidson) def. Dakota Leach (SIUE) (Dec 6-5)
141 - John Muldoon
Quarterfinal - John Muldoon (SIUE) def. Lucas Stewart (Campbell) (MD 12-4)
Semifinal - Mike Longo (Appalachian State) pinned John Muldoon (SIUE) (Fall 4:02)
Cons. Semi - Ryan Hull (Gardner-Webb) won by injury default over John Muldoon (SIUE) (Inj. 0:00)
149 - John Fahy
Quarterfinal - John Fahy (SIUE) def. Kaleb Warner (Campbell) (MD 11-1)
Semifinal - John Fahy (SIUE) won in tie breaker - 1 over Emmitt Kelly (VMI) (TB-1 3-2)
1st Place Match - John Fahy (SIUE) def. Christopher Vassar (Gardner-Webb) (Dec 3-1)
157 - Eric Travers
Quarterfinal - Neal Richards (VMI) pinned Eric Travers (SIUE) (Fall 5:23)
Cons. Round 1 - Tony Palumbo (Davidson) won by injury default over Eric Travers (SIUE) (Inj. 0:00)
165 - Nate Higgins
Quarterfinal - Nate Higgins (SIUE) def. Dominic Lampe (Chattanooga) (Dec 6-4)
Semifinal - Austin Trott (Gardner-Webb) def. Nate Higgins (SIUE) (Dec 11-4)
Cons. Semi - Shabaka Johns (VMI) def. Nate Higgins (SIUE) (Dec 5-2)
174 - Connor McMahon
Quarterfinal - Connor McMahon (SIUE) def. Mark Darr (VMI) (Dec 8-2)
Semifinal - Nick Kee (Appalachian State) def. Connor McMahon (SIUE) (MD 13-4)
Cons. Semi - Connor McMahon (SIUE) def. Timothy Knipl (The Citadel) (MD 12-3)
3rd Place Match - Connor McMahon (SIUE) def. Brett Stein (Gardner-Webb) (Dec 6-4)
184 - Derek Nagel
Quarterfinal - Derek Nagel (SIUE) pinned Taylor Jackson (Appalachian State) (Fall 5:54)
Semifinal - John Lampe (Chattanooga) def. Derek Nagel (SIUE) (MD 10-2)
Cons. Semi - Hunter Gamble (Gardner-Webb) won by tech fall over Derek Nagel (SIUE) (TF-1.5 6:34 (15-0))
197 - Jake Tindle
Quarterfinal - Jake Tindle (SIUE) won by tech fall over Austin McNeil (Campbell) (TF-1.5 5:12 (16-1))
Semifinal - Marshall Haas (The Citadel) def. Jake Tindle (SIUE) (Dec 4-2)
Cons. Semi - Jake Tindle (SIUE) def. Gray Jones (Gardner-Webb) (MD 10-1)
3rd Place Match - Jake Tindle (SIUE) def. Randall Diabe (Appalachian State) (MD 11-1)
HWT - Chris Johnson
Quarterfinal - Chris Johnson (SIUE) def. Joseph Bexley (The Citadel) (MD 10-2)
Semifinal - Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State) def. Chris Johnson (SIUE) (MD 12-2)
Cons. Semi - Jere Heino (Campbell) pinned Chris Johnson (SIUE) (Fall 2:46)
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