LEXINGTON, Va.- Chattanooga won six weight classes while claiming top four finishes
in all ten weight classes on their way to winning the 2006 Southern Conference
Wrestling Championship, held in conjunction with Mat Jam 2006 on Saturday, March 4
at VMI's Cameron Hall.
UTC's Matt Keller improved to 34-8 overall by winning via a pin and a major decision
on his way to taking the 133 lb. title, as he was named the league's Outstanding
wrestler. He was joined by head coach Joe Seay as an award winner for the Mocs, as
he was named the league's Coach of the Year. Citadel's Anthony Easter's third place
finish at 125 pounds earned him the league's Freshman of the Year honor.
Chattanooga scored a total of 112.5 points, followed by UNC Greensboro with 72
points. The Citadel claimed fourth place with 63.5 points, as Appalachian State
took fourth (49.5 points), VMI finished fifth (28.5 points) and Davidson rounded out
the scoring with 17 points.
The Mocs' started the championship round with a bang, as Javier Maldonado took the
125 crown via major decision, while Keller did the same at 133. UNCG's Kevin Artis
broke the run by upsetting SoCon Wrestler of the Year Sean Markey of The Citadel by
a 4-3 margin at 141 pounds.
The upsets continued at 149, where Chattanooga's Aaron Martin, the bracket's third
seed, needed 57 seconds of overtime before he pinned ASU's Cody Harrington. The
Mocs then continued their run as Jake Yost brought home the 157 pound crown,
defeating Appalachian State's Scott Ervin.
The Citadel claimed their only championship at 165, as Dan Thompson pinned ASU's Lee
Roper at the 2:24 mark of the match. UNCG's Joe Lowe earned his pass to the NCAA
Championships by defeating The Citadel's Darius Caldwell by a 9-4 count in the 174
final.
A major decision victory at 184 gave John Davis the 184 crown, defeating VMI's Corry
Murray by a 13-2 margin. UNCG's Daren Burns became the sixth consecutive #1 seed to
win his weight class, as he took an 8-4 decision over Mark Thompson.
The evening's final bout was perhaps its most exciting, as the competition went to
heavyweight between the top-seeded Tyler Shovlin of UNCG and third-seeded Israel
Silva of Chattanooga. Consistent with their performances all evening, Chattanooga's
Silva fought his way to an overtime period before taking a 2-1 tiebreak decision
thanks to an escape at the 8:57 mark.
Each of the ten weight class champions assured themselves spots in the 2006 NCAA
National Championships, to be held in Oklahoma City, Okla. on March 16-18. Awarded
the SoCon's three wild cards were The Citadel's Sean Markey (141), Chattanooga's
Michael Keefe (141) and UNCG's Tyler Shovlin (285).
Outstanding Wrestler: Matt Keller, 133 lbs., UTC
Freshman of the Year: Anthony Easter, 125 lbs., Citadel
Coach of the Year: Joe Seay, UTC