VMI Wrestling Has Three Placers at SoCon Championships

Braxton Lewis ’26 took third and two other Keydets placed fourth in the 2023 Southern Conference Wrestling Championships at Appalachian State University’s Holmes Convocation Center in Boone, North Carolina, March 4, 2023.

Lewis capped an impressive rookie season by winning three straight matches at 165 pounds after dropping his first contest of the day. He had a major decision victory over his foe from The Citadel and followed with two decision victories to take third. Lewis entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed, and his win in the consolation semifinals was against the No. 3 seed. He finishes the season 26-11.

Ryan Vigil ’26 and Job Chishko ’23 each took fourth place. Vigil was seeded fourth and won two decision victories at 149 pounds, including a 10-3 win over the No. 5 seed. Chishko, the No. 5 seed, opened the day by soundly defeating the fourth-seeded wrestler 16-1 by a technical fall in 4:53. He won 7-5 in the consolation semifinals and was narrowly defeated 3-1 in the third-place match by the No. 2 seed.

Josh Evans ’25 won a match by a pin at 285, and Freddy Junko ’24 won a match at 141, as did Jon Hoover ’23 at 174.

Complete Keydet Results

125
Quarterfinal – Dominic Chavez (Presbyterian) won by decision over Tony Burke ’26 (VMI) (Dec 7-0)
Cons. Round 1 – Logan Ashton (Chattanooga) won by major decision over Tony Burke (VMI) (MD 8-0)

133
Quarterfinal – Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State) won by decision over Dyson Dunham ’26 (VMI) (Dec 4-1)
Cons. Round 1 – George Rosas (The Citadel) won by decision over Dyson Dunham (VMI) (Dec 8-4)

141
Quarterfinal – Heath Gonyer (Appalachian State) won by decision over Freddy Junko (VMI) (Dec 9-4)
Cons. Round 1 – Freddy Junko (VMI) won by decision over Trenton Donahue (Presbyterian) (Dec 6-1)
Cons. Semi – Jacob Silka (The Citadel) won by decision over Freddy Junko (VMI) (Dec 6-2)

149
Quarterfinal – Ryan Vigil (VMI) won by decision over Ethan Willis (The Citadel) (Dec 10-3)
Semifinal – Jonathan Millner (Appalachian State) won by fall over Ryan Vigil (VMI) (Fall 1:46)
Cons. Semi – Ryan Vigil (VMI) won by decision over Khalid Brinkley (Presbyterian) (Dec 7-1)
3rd Place Match – Chris Rivera (Campbell) won by decision over Ryan Vigil (VMI) (Dec 7-2)

157
Quarterfinal – Job Chishko (VMI) won by technical fall over Lincoln Heck (Chattanooga) (TF-1.5 4:53 (16-1)
Semifinal – Tommy Askey (Appalachian State) won by major decision over Job Chishko (VMI) (MD 14-5)
Cons. Semi – Job Chishko (VMI) won by decision over Anthony Allen (The Citadel) (Dec 7-5)
3rd Place Match – Troy Nation (Campbell) won by decision over Job Chishko (VMI) (Dec 3-1)

165
Quarterfinal – Domonic Baker (Campbell) won by major decision over Braxton Lewis (VMI) (MD 13-5)
Cons. Round 1 – Braxton Lewis (VMI) won by major decision over Brodie Porter (The Citadel) (MD 12-1)
Con. Semi – Braxton Lewis (VMI) won by decision over Weston Wichman (Chattanooga) (Dec 11-9)
3rd Place Match – Braxton Lewis (VMI) won by decision over Bryce Sanderlin (Davidson) (Dec 5-2)

174
Quarterfinal – Jaden Hardrick (Davidson) won by decision over Jon Hoover (VMI) (Dec 3-0)
Cons. Round 1 – Jon Hoover (VMI) won by decision over Andrew Wilson (Gardner-Webb) (Dec 4-1)
Cons. Semi – Benjy Haubert (The Citadel) won by decision over Jon Hoover (VMI) (Dec 4-0)

184
Quarterfinal – Jha`Quan Anderson (Gardner-Webb) won by decision over Zach Brown (VMI) (Dec 4-1)
Cons. Round 1 – Timothy Fitzpatrick (The Citadel) won by decision over Zach Brown (VMI) (Dec 5-2)

197
Quarterfinal – Jake Boyd (Chattanooga) won by decision over Tyler Mousaw ’24 (VMI) (Dec 11-5)
Cons. Round 1 – Mark Chaid (The Citadel) won by decision over Tyler Mousaw (VMI) (Dec 6-4)

285
Quarterfinal – Logan Andrew (Chattanooga) won by decision over Josh Evans (VMI) (Dec 4-3)
Cons. Round 1 – Josh Evans (VMI) won by fall over Morvens Saint Jean (Presbyterian) (Fall 3:12)
Cons. Semi – Jonathan Chesser (The Citadel) won by decision over Josh Evans (VMI) (Dec 6-2)

Editor’s note: This story first appeared at vmikeydets.com.