Majors Decide Tight SoCon Dual as The Citadel Edges Gardner‑Webb, 19-13
A pair of major decisions and a mid‑match run flipped momentum in Boiling Springs, where The Citadel rallied through six straight wins to take the road dual.
The Citadel left Paul Porter Arena with a 19-13 Southern Conference dual victory over Gardner‑Webb, a meet that swung on two bonus‑point results and a late major at 184 pounds.
Gardner‑Webb opened the night with three straight decisions, but The Citadel answered with six consecutive individual wins from 149 through 197 to flip the team score in the visitors’ favor. The string included a sudden‑victory finish at 174 and a run of decisions and bonus results that ultimately produced the margin needed to win the dual.
No. 15 T.K. Davis delivered one of the night’s biggest bursts for Gardner‑Webb at 133, posting a 16-7 major decision over Teegan Vasquez. Davis’s second‑period reversal and subsequent riding time in the third widened the gap on the scoreboard and supplied four team points for the home side.
The visitors reclaimed the initiative at 184 when Brodie Porter notched a 10-2 major over Hadyn Danals. Transcript details show Porter converting takedowns late in the third — at the 30‑ and 9‑second marks — to lock the margin and secure the four‑point bonus that proved pivotal in the final tally.
Two other ranked winners helped build The Citadel’s comeback. No. 21 Thomas Snipes produced an 8-2 decision at 165, while No. 30 Carson DesRosier supplied a decision at 149 as part of the six‑match run. Those results, paired with Porter’s major, overcame Gardner‑Webb’s early advantage and left the home team six points short when the mats were rolled up.
The dual featured late swings and tight finishes across multiple weights — a reversal and riding‑time clincher at 133, a sudden‑victory edge at 174, and Porter's third‑period takedowns at 184 — sequences that determined bonus distribution and ultimately decided the dual.