Four Wrestlers Place at the Cougar Open on Sunday

DANVILLE, Va. - Four Coker University wrestlers placed at the Cougar Open at Averett University on Sunday (Nov. 14).

Stephen Spitko placed fifth at 125 pounds for the Cobras, starting his day with a 16-1 tech fall win over Chanz Pough of West Virginia Tech, before falling in the quarterfinal match. Spitko responded with a 4-3 win by decision over teammate Corey Gallivan and a win by fall in 55 seconds over Averett's Daniel Parkulo to secure a spot in the fifth-place match. Spitko took fifth place with a 16-0 tech fall over Mauricio Reyes of Greensboro College.

Ruben Calderon placed fifth at 133 pounds, starting his day with a 16-2 major decision over Roman De La Cruz of Averett. After falling in the quarterfinal match, Calderon responded with three victories to take fifth place. Calderon posted a 20-5 tech fall win over Olli Karjalainen of Averett, before posting a 12-5 win by decision over De La Cruz and finishing his day with an 8-6 decision over Julius Hobbs of Wheeling.

Hunter Ross placed second at 133 pounds, starting his day with a win by fall in 40 seconds over Gabe Nesmith of Bluefield State before defeating Hobbs by decision 8-3. Ross picked up an 11-0 major decision over Rahsun Lawrence of East Carolina University wrestling club, before falling in the championship match by decision.

Hamilton Cooper placed fifth at 285 pounds for Coker, first picking up a win by fall in 1:02 over James Henry of Averett then falling in the quarterfinal match. Cooper picked up another quick win by fall (0:43) over Isaiah Watrous of Patrick Henry Community College, before posting a 19-0 tech fall over Ethan Fragoso of Ferrum College and taking fifth place with a win by fall in 2:44 over Brady Elswick of Roanoke College.

Corey Gallivan posted three additional wins by fall for Coker at 125 pounds, pinning Walker Chambers of Roanoke College in 48 seconds, Griffen Gonzales of Queens (N.C.) in 5:44 and John Sanders of West Virginia Tech in 3:24. Brandon Dasen posted one win at 133 pounds, beating Quincy Cornish of East Carolina Wrestling Club by tech fall 18-1. Arty Walsh also posted two wins at 133 pounds, pinning Corey Messick of Roanoke College in 3:47 and defeating Karjalainen by major decision 10-2. Ethan Welsh posted one win at 157 pounds, defeating Marshall Hammond of Roanoke by decision 12-5. Kaleb Walley posted three wins for Coker at 184 pounds, first beating Averett's Jasiri Dingle by major decision 15-6. Walley then earned back-to-back wins by fall, pinning Liberty's Eric Young in 6:28 and teammate William Frazier in 6:52. Levi Kluttz also added one win at 197 pounds for Coker, picking up an 8-0 major decision over Roanoke's Jackson Shumate.

Coker returns to the mat on Saturday (Nov. 20) at the Allen University duals. The action is set to begin at 11:00 a.m. from Columbia, S.C.