The third competition weekend of the 2016-17 season is in the books for the Washington and Lee Generals! It was a busy weekend, with a dual match at Davidson College on Friday and a tournament for the guys not competing on Friday in Roanoke, hosted by Ferrum College. In addition, Zach Bylykbashi (Soph, 133 lbs) entered the national rankings in the #9 position earlier this week. He backed up his ranking with a huge win vs. Davidson’s Dustin Runzo, who was a Southern Conference placer a year ago. Let’s Review!
Zach Bylykbashi
Zach has worked hard toward the goal of being a National Champion since stepping on campus in August 2015. His goal has not yet been accomplished, but he is now ranked among the top 10 133 lbers in NCAA DIII. Currently he is 5-1 on the season with 2 dual meet wins (vs. Ferrum on Nov 5 and vs. Davidson on Nov 18) and a 2nd place finish at the Washington and Jefferson Invitational. Last year, Zach set the single season wins record on his way to a stellar freshman campaign that included a 34-10 record, 2nd place in the Centennial Conference Tournament, and 6th place at the NCAA East Regional. Ron Tassoni ’16 is the only other General to be nationally ranked under coach Shearer- there is a pattern in the making!
On the road to Davidson
The Generals added to an already tough early season schedule with a road trip to Davidson College. The Generals wrestled really well and it was a hotly contested dual, with 5 matches being decided by a takedown or less. Davidson won four of those matches, and took the dual 23-12. Getting wins for the Generals were Ethan Hartman (125), Zach Bylykbashi (133), and Alec Horne (174).
Star City Open
Hosted by Ferrum College at an unusual location- a downtown hotel ballroom at the Hotel Roanoke, this tournament was a great opportunity for several Generals wrestlers to get on the mat and continue to improve. Mike Dik (149), Chris McCrackin (149), Colby Boudreau (157), and Zach Francis (184) all competed well. Colby and Zach saw their first live competition of the season and each earned a victory on the day. Mike Dik split, winning twice and losing twice. He will be dropping down to 141 lbs for our next tournament. However it was Chris McCrackin who really shined and wrestled his best of this young season.
Chris went 3-1 on the day on his way to a 2nd place finish. He won his three matches in dominating fashion, recording 1 tech-fall and 2 pins. In the finals he ran into a tough opponent in Ferrum’s Collin Saunders, but managed to wrestle a competitive match, falling in a 8-15 decision.
Next Up…
The Generals are now off for Thanksgiving and return to competition on December 3 at the Ohio Northern Invitational in Ada, Ohio. This is always a tough tournament with about 15 of the best teams in the midwest attending. Looking ahead, on December 19 the W&L Duals will take place in the Warner Center. 12 teams will travel to Lexington, VA for this event and each team will wrestle 3 times.
See the General’s wrestling team’s Full Schedule.
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