Teams / Campbell University Fighting Camels

Wrestling Places Six at Sunshine Open LAKELAND, FLA.-Campbell wrestling will head home on a high note with six placers in this weekend’s Augsburg College Brute Sunshine Open in Lakeland, Fla. “They wrestled really well and I was proud of them and their performances,” said Campbell head coach Billy Greene. “Our guys are coming off the break and they’re feeling good and it looks like we have a solid base to build on as we head into the second semester and the conference championships.” Sophomores David Wise at 133, and Kelin Bidelspach at 141 pounds, the highest CU placers, each grabbed third place finishes, winning a pair of bouts on the day, bringing their marks to 5-1 and 6-1, respectively. Notching a fourth place finish was 165 pound sophomore Chris Mazzatta. The Scranton, Pa. native went 1-1 in bracket one yesterday, but then pulled off four straight victories before falling in the consolation finale, ending his weekend at 6-2. At 174 pounds, Matthew Hawksworth, another Campbell sophomore, took fifth place on the strength of a 4-2 record, while freshman Parker Burns, wrestling in his first collegiate tournament, also recorded a 4-2 mark, finishing fifth at 197 pounds. Another Fighting Camel at 4-2 was sophomore CJ Gittens at 125 pounds. The Riverview, Fla. native, wrestling just over 30 miles from his hometown, took seventh on the day. Highlighting the tournament were Bidelspach, improving his overall record to 8-1 on the year, while freshman 157 pounder Ryan Ham and senior heavyweight Rob Yoder, gathered their first wins of the season. “All in all, it was a good tournament for us,” added Greene. “The whole point of going down there is to get mat time, and we have a lot of fresh faces that need experience under their belt. It’s a great opportunity to hone their technical skills and improve their mat strategy.” The Fighting Camels will return to action after the new year on Jan. 5, at the NC State Duals, hosted by the Wolfpack in Raleigh, N.C.

Wrestling Falls at NC State Duals RALEIGH, N.C.-Campbell wrestling dropped three straight matches at the NC State Duals Saturday afternoon in Raleigh, N.C., taking losses to North Carolina State (29-6), Duke (30-12) and Gardner-Webb (21-19). With the losses, the Fighting Camels slide to 0-5 in dual format this season, going just 8-22 individually on the day. Starting off with the defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion, NC State, at 1:30 p.m., Campbell’s Jake Fose defeated Anthony Badaracco, 7-2, putting the Camels on the board first at the 157 pound class. The Wolfpack then reeled off six straight decisions, leaving the Camels at a 20-3 deficit going into the final three classes. CU would take only one more match against NC State, as David Wise at 133, took a victory over Darius Little, giving the Wolfpack a 29-6 win. The Fighting Camels faced off against another ACC opponent in the next round of competition, battling with the Duke Blue Devils. Duke started the dual winning six straight, putting the Fighting Camels behind 27-0 with four matches remaining. Taking three out of those four, CU made a short run, but the Blue Devil lead was too much. After losing his first dual match of the season against NC State and # 7 Joe Caramanica, sophomore 141 pounder Kelin Bidelspach gained a 9-4 decision over A.J. Guardado. Freshman Bob Mathews also notched his first win as a Fighting Camel in the match, winning a 12-5 bout over Duke’s Mike Bell at the 149 spot. Taking seven of the 10 matches, Duke took the win, 30-12. With the last dual of the day versus Gardner-Webb, the Camels looked to come away with a win, as freshman Ryan Ham (157) and Chris Mazzatta (165) opened the match with a 7-0 run. CU failed to capitalize in the next six classes, again, heading into the 141 and 149 divisions with an insurmountable, 21-7 deficit. The Camels would get a pair of pins in those matches, however, as Bidelspach and Matthews downed Jimmy Ballantyne (2:40) and Josh Lowe (5:56) respectively, losing the dual 21-19. Earning 2-1 record on the day with a pin each, Bidelspach and Matthews led the way for the Camels, grabbing four of Campbell’s eight individual wins. The Fighting Camels will return to action on Jan. 12, taking on Colonial Athletic Association foe George Mason and non-conference opponent VMI in Fairfax, Va. NC State 29, Campbell 6 157 – Jake Fose (CU) dec. Anthony Badaracco, 7-2 165 – Jalil Dozier (NCS) dec. Chris Mazzatta, 12-6 174 – Randy Goodman (NCS) dec. Dillon Landi, 5-2 184 – Ryan Goodman (NCS) tech fall Kyle Higgins, 15-0, at 7:00 197 – Mark Jahad (NCS) dec. Parker Burns, 5-3 Hwt – Bobby Isola (NCS) dec. Rob Yoder, 8-4 125 – Taylor Cummings (NCS) dec. C.J. Gittens, 6-2 133 – David Wise (CU) dec. Darius Little, 141 – # 7 Joe Caramanica (NCS) major dec. Kelin Bidelspach, 10-2 149 – # 9 Darrion Caldwell (NCS) tech fall Bob Matthews, 15-0, at 1:50 Duke 30, Campbell 12 157 – Voris Tejada (DU) dec. Jake Fose, 9-4 165 – Adison Nuding (DU) pinned Chris Mazzatta, at 6:03 174 – Ben Wales (DU) pinned Dillon Landi, at 5:59 184 – John Barone (DU) pinned Kyle Higgins, 6:07 197 – Robert Holbrook (DU) dec. Parker Burns, 3-1 Hwt – Wade Van Sickle (DU) dec. Rob Yoder, 5-2 125 – C.J. Gittens (CU) won by forfeit 133 – Bryan Gibson (DU) dec. Trevour Smith, 9-3 141 – Kelin Bidelspach (CU) dec. A.J. Guardado, 9-4 149 – Bob Matthews (CU) dec. Mike Bell, 12-5 Gardner-Webb 21, Campbell 19 157 – Ryan Ham (CU) dec. Austin Keene, 7-1 165 – Chris Mazzatta (CU) major dec. Randall Herring, 13-0 174 – Chad Davis (GW) major dec. Dillon Landi, 12-1 184 – Matthias Piasecki (GW) tech fall Steven Higgins, 16-1, at 4:11 197 – Dustin Porter (GW) dec. Parker Burns, 9-2 Hwt – Evan Rhodes (GW) dec. Rob Yoder, 7-4 125 – Tommy Bennett (GW) dec. C.J. Gittens, 12-5 133 – Rob Tate (GW) dec. Trevour Smith, 12-5 141 – Kelin Bidelspach (CU) pinned Jimmy Ballantyne, at 2:40 149 – Bob Matthews (CU) pinned Josh Lowe, at 5:56