Wrestling Takes Third at Body Bar Invitational

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia wrestling team notched third place Saturday at Cornell’s Body Bar Invitational, held at Newman Arena in Ithaca, N.Y. UVa finished with 126.5 points, finishing behind No. 5 Cornell (186.5) and Kent State (150) in the 12-team field.

Ryan Malo (Sr., Georgetown, Mass.) won the championship at 197 pounds. Malo’s big win of the day came in the semifinals when he defeated No. 1-ranked Cam Simaz of Cornell by injury default. Simaz was injured at the 3:30 mark of the match and was forced to stop the bout.

No. 15 Jon Fausey (R-So., Dalmatia, Pa.) finished runner-up at 184 pounds. He dropped a 2-0 decision to fourth-ranked Steve Bosak of Cornell in the championship match.

In all, seven Cavalier wresters reached the semifinals. Three finished in third place in their respective weight classes. Nine Cavaliers placed among the top six in their classes.

Matt Nelson (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) nabbed third at 133 pounds. Nelson downed Nick Wilcox of Bloomsburg, 2-0 in the third-place bout. He also went down to the wire with No. 19 Jordan Thome of Army before falling 5-4 in the semifinals for his lone loss of the day.

Jedd Moore (R-So., Mount Vernon, Ohio) placed third at 157. Moore downed Lock Haven’s Jacob Kemerer, 7-3, in the third-place match. Nick Sulzer (R-Fr., Cleveland, Ohio) also took third at 165, while Ethan Hayes (Fr., New Lebanon, Ohio) picked up a fourth-place finish at heavyweight.

Billy Coggins (So., Sound Beach, N.Y.) reached the semifinals at 174 before taking fourth place. Coggins upset top-seeded and 17th-ranked Collin Wittmeyer of Army, 7-5, in the quarterfinals.

After being upset in the first round, No. 6 Matt Snyder (R-Jr., Lewistown, Pa.) bounced back and notched fifth place at 125 pounds. Snyder pinned Kent State’s Troy Opfer in just 50 seconds in the fifth-place match, avenging a 2-1 loss to Opfer in the first round.

No. 15 Nick Nelson (R-Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished fifth at 141 pounds. Nelson downed Columbia’s Matt Bystol, 11-4, in the fifth-place bout.

Virginia returns home next Sunday (Nov. 27) for a 1 p.m. dual against Virginia Tech. The match will be contested at John Paul Jones Arena. Prior to the match, the Virginia wrestling program will hold a clinic from 10-11:30 a.m. Tickets are available online at VirginiaSports.com and through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office.

UVa Placewinners at Body Bar Invitational
125 – Matt Snyder, 5th
133 – Matt Nelson, 3rd
141 – Nick Nelson, 5th
157 – Jedd Moore, 3rd
165 – Nick Sulzer, 3rd
174 – Billy Coggins, 4th
184 – Jon Fausey, 2nd
197 – Ryan Malo, 1st
285 – Ethan Hayes, 4th