Valley Sports ReportROANOAKE, Va. - Athens grad Gavin Bradley, a freshman on the Castleton University wrestling team, won his first bout in the consolation bracket here Friday night at the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championships, but dropped his second to fall one win shy of All-American status.
Earlier in the day, Bradley won his preliminary-round match against Delaware Valley’s Jacob Balir, 7-4, then lost in the opening round to second-seeded Jacob Decatur via fall in 1:57.
In the first round of wrestlebacks, Bradley scored four takedowns in a 9-4 win over Luc Valdez of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
Bradley scored a takedown about a minute into his bout with Valdez, and rode him for more than a minute before Valdez escaped. The duo spent the final 44 seconds on their feet.
Valdez tied the match at 2-2 with an escape 19 seconds into the second period, but moments later Bradley scored another takedown for a 4-2 lead. Valdez escaped again, and the duo spent the final 1:18 on their feet.
Bradley chose neutral to start the third period, and quickly notched a takedown to extend his lead to 6-3. After another escape, Bradley sealed the decision with a takedown with 8 seconds remaining. The riding-time point gave Bradley a 9-4 win.
In the second round of wrestlebacks, Bradley faced eighth-seeded Brady Koontz of the University of Dubuque. Koontz used four takedowns to forge a 10-1 major decision.
Koontz scored a takedown early in the bout, and rode out the final 2:39 to take a 2-0 lead into the second period. He worked his way free from Bradley for an escape after more than a minute in the second period, then added a takedown with 6 seconds remaining for a 5-0 advantage.
Koontz added two takedowns, and a riding-time point in the third period for the 10-1 win.
Bradley finishes off his freshman season with a 37-11 record.
(Dale Jarvis contributed to this post.)
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IN PHOTOS: Gavin Bradley. … PHOTOS COURTESY OF GLENN JARVIS.
