CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---The Chattanooga wrestling team clinched second place in the Southern Conference regular season Feb. 21 by winning six matches against VMI and defeating the Keydets 27-12.
The Mocs won their last four SoCon matches to finish 4-1 in the league, one match behind conference winner Appalachian State. The Mountaineers were the only league team to defeat UTC in a 24-14 decision Jan. 21.
"We are starting to come around at the right time," UTC head coach Mark Leen said. "Heading into the conference tournament, it is time to turn it up a notch."
VMI, 2-11, 2-3, took a 6-0 lead in the match on wins by Adam Britt (157) and Jacob Inge (165). The Mocs gained the lead for good with back-to-back major decisions. Quantel Langford, of Cleveland, Tenn., outpointed Adam Maneen 12-2 at 174 pounds, and Adam Duncan outscored Jason Cox 13-5 at 184 for an 8-6 edge.
Seniors Duncan and A.J. Lyczkowski were wrestling in their final home matches. Lyczkowski pinned Curtis Booth at 2:37 to increase UTC's margin to 14-9.
"I was happy that Adam and A.J. had good performances," Leen said. "Overall, I thought we wrestled pretty well. Coming off a 40-0 victory (Feb. 18 at UNC Greensboro), we may have felt a little too good. The conference meet is wide open, and we like our chances."
UTC finished out the match winning three out of the final four. Josh Hooker scored a major decision over Juan Sanchez 16-6 at 125, Ryan Mays defeated Levi Spellman 8-6 at 133 and Jared Sullivan won by forfeit at 141. Duncan and Sullivan went undefeated in the conference this season.
The Southern Conference Championships are set for March 3 in Chapel Hill, N.C., and will be held in conjunction with the Atlantic Coast Conference Championships and the Colonial Conference Championships.
Chattanooga 27, VMI 12
157 - Adam Britt (VMI) dec. Jorge Vigo (UTC), 5-4 0-3
165 - Jacob Inge (VMI) dec. Craig Johnson (UTC), 5-4 (2 ot) 0-6
174 - Quantel Langford (UTC) maj. dec. Adam Maneen (VMI), 12-2 4-6
184 - Adam Duncan (UTC) maj. dec. Jason Cox (VMI), 13-5 8-6
197 - Brian Toney (VMI) dec. Chris Bird (UTC), 7-2 8-9
HWT - A.J. Lyczkowski (UTC) pinned Curtis Booth (VMI), 2:37 14-9
125 - Josh Hooker (UTC) maj. dec. Juan Sanchez (VMI), 16-6 18-9
133 - Ryan Mays (UTC) dec. Levi Spellman (VMI), 8-6 21-9
141 - Jared Sullivan (UTC) by forfeit 27-9
149 - Tony Peters (VMI) dec. Dustin Ward (UTC), 7-1 27-12