#2 Lander Dominates Bluefield State, 57-0

BLUEFIELD, W. Va. - The second-ranked Lander Wrestling team started with three straight tech falls and then followed that up with seven straight bouts won by pin or forfeit to cruise to a 57-0 victory over the Bluefield State Big Blue on Thursday evening in the Mountain State.

Lander improves to 10-2 overall and a perfect 5-0 in Conference Carolinas action while Bluefield State dropped to 0-5 overall and in conference play.

Oren Decker (Fortson, GA) got the match started with a 16-1 first period technical fall in his dual match debut.

William Hamilton (Bristol, Conn.) and Kaiden Fisher (Lake Norman, N.C.) each followed suit with tech falls at 133 and 141 to give Lander a 15-0 lead.

Junior Downing (Redmond, Ore.) then got a first period pin at 149, his third pin of the season to make it 21-0.

Sammy Gerard (Fairfax, Va.) and Ryan Dobbs (Seneca, S.C.) each picked up wins via forfeit to make it 33-0. That was followed by three straight pins from Gage Bernall (Lakewood, Colo.), Nathan Buckovich, and Anthony Yacovetti (Bridgeport, Pa.) to make it 51-0. The Yacovetti pin came in ten seconds, the fastest pin by a Bearcat this year, topping James Joplin's (Greensboro, N.C.) old mark of 21 seconds.

Matthew Jimenez (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) picked up the final win of the night via forfeit to cap Lander's second 57-point victory of the season. The first came in the Carolina Clash against Kentucky Wesleyan.

The Bearcats travel back to the mountains next week as they take on the Emory and Henry Wasps on Thursday before taking on the top team in NAIA in Life University inside Horne Arena on Friday at 7:00 PM.

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Players Mentioned

Gage Bernall: Junior; 165

Nathan Buckovich: Redshirt Sophomore; 184

Oren Decker: Redshirt Freshman; 125

Ryan Dobbs: Redshirt Sophomore; 157

Junior Downing: Redshirt Freshman; 141

Kaiden Fisher: Redshirt Sophomore; 125

Sammy Gerard: Redshirt Freshman; 157

William Hamilton: Redshirt Freshman; 125

Matthew Jimenez: Redshirt Freshman; 285

James Joplin: Junior; 125

Players Mentioned

Gage Bernall
: Junior; 165

Nathan Buckovich
: Redshirt Sophomore; 184

Oren Decker
: Redshirt Freshman; 125

Ryan Dobbs
: Redshirt Sophomore; 157

Junior Downing
: Redshirt Freshman; 141

Kaiden Fisher
: Redshirt Sophomore; 125

Sammy Gerard
: Redshirt Freshman; 157

William Hamilton
: Redshirt Freshman; 125

Matthew Jimenez
: Redshirt Freshman; 285

James Joplin
: Junior; 125