Gillespie Places Third at FHSU-Bob Smith Open

Dec. 5, 2009

HAYS, Kan. - Junior Derek Gillespie (Chesapeake, Va.) was the lone placewinner for the Falcons, as the Air Force wrestling team competed at the FHSU-Bob Smith Open on Saturday. Gillespie finished third at 141 pounds, compiling a 6-1 record on the day.

Gillespie opened competition on Saturday with back-to-back falls, pinning Zachary Young from Colorado School of Mines in a time of 2:05, while registering a fall against CSU-Pueblo's Shawn Gregory in a time of 2:39. Gillespie went on to knock off the fifth-seeded wrestler in the weight class, earning an 11-10 decision over Central Oklahoma's Tim Elliott. He then won his fourth-straight contest, a 12-10 sudden victory decision against Aldon Isenberg from host Fort Hays State.

Needing just one more victory to move into the championship bout, Gillespie came up short, dropping a 7-4 decision to top-seeded Mario Morgan of Central Oklahoma. However, he earned his spot in the third-place contest with a 9-8 decision over Labette CC's Cameron Jesseph. Gillespie followed that win with a 9-5 victory against sixth-seeded Anthony Varnell from Nebraska-Kearney to claim third place in his weight class.

Meanwhile, five other Falcons posted winning records on Saturday. Senior Joshua Smith (Orem, Utah) was just one victory shy of finishing as a placewinner at 174 pounds, putting together a 5-2 ledger for the tournament, including a pair of falls. Freshman Clayton Gable (Dallastown, Pa.) went 4-2 on Saturday, wrestling at 157 pounds, while Tyler Spangler (Fr., Midlothian, Va.), Alec Williams (So., Fultondale, Ala.) and Neil Delaney (Jr., Grand Rapids, Mich.) each earned 3-2 records at the 133-, 149- and 197-pound weight classes, respectively.

The Falcons will open their home slate on Friday, Dec. 11, as they host Ohio and Colorado School of Mines in a pair of dual meets, scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m. in Clune Arena.

Final Results in PDF Format

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