Wrestling Southern Conference

Chattanooga Wins SoCon Wrestling Championship at Mat Jam 2002

UTC -- SoCon Regular Season and
2002 Mat Jam Champions
Related Material
FINAL 2002 Mat Jam SoCon Bracket
ASU's Richard Caisse and Citadel's Brandon Gates
UTC's Matt Pitts and UNCG's Tony Stewart
ASU's Travis Drake and UNCG's Wes Gibson
Citadel's Sean Markey and VMI's Oliver Ruiz
VMI's Adam Britt and Davidson's Jeff Bender
UTC's Craig Johnson and Citadel's Mike Regner
Citadel's Billy Linane and UTC's Curtis Carter
UNCG's Greg Forbes and VMI's David Walker
UTC's Ben Smith and UNCG's Wes Gibson
Smith/Gibson
VMI's Juan Sanchez and UNCG's Tony Stewart
Martinez/Johnson
Ritter/Burns
Citadel's Mike Martinez and UNCG's David Johnson
UNCG's Keith Ritter and ASU's Eric Burns
Bender/Parmenter
Davidson's Jeff Bender and UNCG's Nate Parmenter
RALEIGH, NC -- Chattanooga had six medalists, including four that stepped to the top of the podium, en route to winning the 2002 Southern Conference Wrestling Championships Saturday in Raleigh at Mat Jam 2002 at historic Reynolds Coliseum. Chattanooga took both the regular season and tournament championships this season. All of the SoCon's 10 medalists and three wild cards earned berths to the NCAA Championships in Albany, NY.

Host North Carolina State took the top honors in the ACC portion of the event.

UTC's 72 points edged out VMI, who finished second in the regular season, by two (70). The Citadel finished third with 62.5 points, with defending champion, Appalachian State tallying 61.5 points. UNC Greensboro (28) and Davidson (16.5) rounded out the team finishing order.

On the individuals side, UTC's Matt Pitts continued his unbeaten streak, winning a pair as the top seed in the 125-lbs. weight class. He wrestled past UNCG's Tony Stewart in the semifinals and defeated third seed Brandon Gates of The Citadel in the finals to take the top spot on the podium.

At 133-lbs., Appalachian State's Travis Drake successfully defended his 2001 crown, winning the bracket over The Citadel's Sean Markey. Markey added to his pin total, which was second highest in the SoCon entering the championship, in the semis by pinning Oliver Ruiz of VMI in 1:30. Ruiz rallyed in the consolation bracket to place third in the bracket.

Chattanooga's Jared Sullivan repeated as champion in the 141-lbs. weight class, defeating Mark DiSalvo of VMI in the championship bracket. Jason Jones of ASU rallied from falling to DiSalvo in the semifinals to garner third place honors over Mike Martinez of The Citadel.

Wayne Watts of The Citadel upset the top seed in the 149-lbs. weight class bracket, Mike Parsons of VMI, to take top honors. It was Parson's first loss in the weight class in conference this season. Watts pinned Grant Doornbos of Davidson in the semifinals and survived a tough match with Parsons to earn the crown. Doornbos won three out of four matches on the day to earn a spot on the podium out of the consolation bracket.

Adam Britt, last year's 149-lbs. champion and current all-conference selection at 157-lbs., took top honors at Mat Jam by defeating last years 157-lbs. champ, P.J. Boccia, who had to come from the third seed into the finals. Quentin Bell, the second seed, placed third on the day for Chattanooga.

Mark Fee of Appalachian State continued his dominating ways on the mat sweeping through a pair of competitors to take the 165-lbs. title. Fee added to his SoCon lead in pins (13) by pinning UNCG's Brian Mullaney in 48 seconds. Fee won in the finals 8-0 over Chattanooga's Craig Johnson, the second seed. The Citadel's Mike Regner rallied from his defeat to Johnson to take third from the consolation bracket.

In the 174-lbs. weight bracket, Matt Erwin of VMI defeated 2002 174-lbs. all-conference selection Lee Roper, 5-2 in the championship round to earn first place. Mark O'Hair of Davidson fell to Erwin in the semifinals, but rallied in the consolation bracket to defeat Ron Williams of UNCG and Chris Bird of UTC to place third.

Chattanooga's Quantel Langford fought from the three seed to win the 184-lbs. weight class over top-seeded Jason Cox of VMI. Sean McIntosh of Appalachian State took third in the bracket.

Austin David's (UTC) overtime, sudden victory win over The Citadel's Jordan Everett sealed the team win for Chattanooga. The two wrestled to a 2-2 standoff through the first three periods and continued the stalemate late into the overtime period. However, with time dwindling on the clock, David earned the vital two points to give himself the weight-class title and his team the trophy. VMI's Brian Toney, who was seeded second in the bracket, finished third.

In the evening's night cap, All-Southern Conference heavyweight, senior Greg Forbes of UNC Greensboro, defeated The Citadel's freshman Billy Linane, 6-3, to earn the right to go to Albany. VMI's David Walker placed third in the heavyweight bracket.

2002 SoCon Team Standings
Chattanooga - 72
VMI - 70
The Citadel - 62.5
Appalachian State - 61.5
UNC Greensboro - 28
Davidson - 16.5

Most Outstanding Wrestler:
Mark Fee, ASU

Freshman of the Year:
Matt Pitts, UTC

Coach of the Year:
Franky James, UTC

2002 SoCon Individual Medalists
125 pounds
1st - Matt Pitts, UTC
2nd - Brandon Gates, CIT
3rd - Richard Caisse, ASU

133 pounds
1st - Travis Drake, ASU
2nd - Sean Markey, CIT
3rd - Oliver Ruiz, VMI

141 pounds
1st - Jared Sullivan, UTC
2nd - Mark DiSalvo, VMI
3rd - Jason Jones, ASU

149 pounds
1st - Wayne Watts, CIT
2nd - Mike Parsons, VMI
3rd - Grant Doornbos, DAV

157 pounds
1st - Adam Britt, VMI
2nd - P.J. Boccia, ASU
3rd - Quentin Bell, UTC

165 pounds
1st - Mark Fee, ASU
2nd - Craig Johnson, UTC
3rd - Mike Regner, CIT

174 pounds
1st - Matt Erwin, VMI
2nd - Lee Roper, ASU
3rd - Mark O'Hair, DAV

184 pounds
1st - Quantel Langford, UTC
2nd - Jason Cox, VMI
3rd - Sean McIntosh, ASU

197 pounds
1st - Austin David, UTC
2nd - Ryan Everett, CIT
3rd - Brian Toney, VMI

Heavyweight
1st - Greg Forbes, UNCG
2nd - Billy Linane, CIT
3rd - David Walker, VMI

SoCon Wild Cards: P.J. Boccia, ASU; Mark DiSalvo, VMI; Craig Johnson, UTC

~Be sure to check back later for more photos and write-up on the Finals and Awards presentations!~