Chattanooga finishes fifth at Virginia Duals
HAMPTON, Va. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team went 3-0 at the 34th Annual Virginia Duals on Saturday. The Mocs finished fifth overall in the two-day, 12-team tournament. UTC scored wins over Lock Haven (23-14), Nebraska-Kearney (24-12) and Rider (26-15) to improve to 10-5 on the season.
Against Lock Haven, the Mocs had to battle back from an 11-0 hole after dropping the first three matches. Junior Shawn Greevy turned the tide with an 8-6 win over Macaulay Maldarelli in overtime. It was Greevy’s third win of the weekend at 149.
Chattanooga ran off three straight major decisions following Greevy’s victory, taking back a 15-11 lead after seven matches. The Bald Eagles closed the gap to 15-14 when No. 15 Fred Garcia scored a 5-4 decision over sophomore John Lampe at 184. Lampe led 4-3 with less than 40 seconds left in the match but gave up a takedown to Garcia, narrowly missing a win over a ranked foe.
Freshman Scottie Boykin put the Mocs up 19-14 with his major over Joseph Rimel at 197. Freshman Dawson Peck continued to impress in his first weekend with the Mocs. The Virginia Tech transfer improved to 3-0 at heavyweight with a 9-1 major decision over Cody Mason to give UTC a 23-14 victory.
The Mocs’ next opponent was NCAA Division II Nebraska-Kearney. The Lopers are the No. 2-ranked team in DII and had already scored their first-ever win over a ranked DI team when they beat No. 22 Bloomsburg in the morning match. That win came after they defeated George Mason on Friday.
UNK put up a strong fight against the Mocs, taking a 3-0 lead after the opening match at 125. Junior Nick Soto and freshman Michael Pongracz scored back-to-back wins at 133 and 141, but the Lopers responded with a win at 149. That closed the team score to 7-6.
The Mocs responded with major decision wins from senior Alex Hudson (157) and junior Corey Mock (165) in the next two matches. UNK’s Patrick Martinez made it interesting when he pinned junior Levi Clemons in the 174 match, leaving the Mocs with just a 15-12 advantage with four bouts left.
Nebraska-Kearney almost tied it up, but Lampe defeated Mark Fiala (3-1) in overtime at 184. Boykin put it out of reach with his win at 197, moving the team score to 21-12. Peck posted a 5-0 win in overtime in the final match.
The Mocs took on Rider in the final match of the day. It was the second time this season these two teams hooked up. The Broncs took a 19-17 win at the Hokie Duals on Nov. 10.
Had it not been for an injury default by Greevy at 149, the Mocs could have had an even bigger win than their 26-15 victory Saturday. Sixteenth-ranked Robert Duetsch put Rider on the board with an 8-3 decision over freshman Campbell Lewis at 125.
UTC came right back with Soto’s win at 133 and Pongracz’s tech fall at 141. Greevy’s loss gave Rider a 9-8 lead after four matches, but the Mocs again put back-to-back bonus points on the board at 157 and 165. Both Hudson and Mock had 9-0 shutouts in their wins, giving UTC a 16-9 advantage.
Rider came right back with two wins of its own at 165 and 174, closing the gap in the team score to 16-15 with two matches left. Boykin had another strong win with a tech fall at 197, but UTC was docked a team point.
That left some room for the Broncs, who were now trailing 20-15 with the heavyweight bout still to go. Peck finished off a perfect 5-0 weekend and slammed the door on Rider with his pin against Greg Velasco in the final match.
The Mocs continue their road trip a week from Sunday, traveling to SIUE for Southern Conference action. UTC’s last home match is set for Sunday, Feb. 2, against Appalachian State at 2 p.m. in Maclellan Gym.
Chattanooga 23, Lock Haven 14
125: Kaleb Lemaire (Lock Haven) – MD 13-5 - Byron Smith (UTC) – LHU 4-0
133: Cody Wheeler (Lock Haven) – Dec. 5-3 – No. 11 Nick Soto (UTC) – LHU 7-0
141: Daniel Neff (Lock Haven) – MD 9-1 - Michael Pongracz (UTC) – LHU 11-0
149: Shawn Greevy (UTC) – Dec. 8-6 (SV-1) - Macaulay Maldarelli (Lock Haven) – LHU 11-3
157: Alex Hudson (UTC) – MD 8-0 - Elias Biddle (Lock Haven) – LHU 11-7
165: No. 4/6 Corey Mock (UTC) – MD 12-0 - Jacob Kemerer (Lock Haven) – 11-11
174: Levi Clemons (UTC) – MD 12-4 - Travis Moyer (Lock Haven) – UTC 15-11
184: No. 15 Fred Garcia (Lock Haven) – Dec. 5-4 - John Lampe (Chattanooga) – UTC 15-14
197: Scottie Boykin (UTC) – MD 16-4 - Joseph Rimel (Lock Haven) – UTC 19-14
285: Dawson Peck (UTC) – MD 9-1 - Cody Mason (Lock Haven) – UTC 23-14
Chattanooga 24, Nebraska-Kearney 12
125: Connor Bolling (UNK) – Dec. 11-4 – Campbell Lewis (UTC) – UNK 3-0
133: No. 11 Nick Soto (UTC) – MD 14-1 - Ryan Bauer (UNK) – UTC 4-3
141: Michael Pongracz (UTC) – Dec. 9-3 - Brock Coutu (UNK) – UTC 7-3
149: Tyler Anderson (UNK) – Dec. 8-5 - Shawn Greevy (UTC) – UTC 7-6
157: Alex Hudson (UTC) – MD 14-4 - Colton Johnson (UNK) – UTC 11-6
165: No. 4/6 Corey Mock (UTC) – MD 9-1 - Travis Leiskau (UNK) – UTC 15-6
174: Patrick Martinez (UNK) – Fall 1:43 - Levi Clemons (UTC) – UTC 15-12
184: John Lampe (UTC) – Dec. 3-1 (SV-1) - Mark Fiala (UNK) – UTC – 18-12
197: Scottie Boykin (UTC) – Dec. 11-8 - Romero Cotton (UNK) – UTC 21-12
285: Dawson Peck (UTC) – Dec. 5-0 (SV-1) - Kelsey Empting (UNK) – UTC 24-12
Chattanooga 26, Rider 15
125: No. 16/18 Robert Deutsch (Rider) – Dec. 8-3 – Campbell Lewis (UTC) – Rider 3-0
133: No. 11 Nick Soto (UTC) – Dec. 11-7 - Chuck Zeisloft (Rider) – 3-3
141: Michael Pongracz (UTC) – Tech Fall 16-0 - John Gentile (Rider) – UTC 8-3
149: Curt Delia (Rider) – Inj 0:50 - Shawn Greevy (UTC) – Rider 9-8
157: Alex Hudson (UTC) – MD 9-0 - Wayne Stinson (Rider) - UTC 12-9
165: No. 4/6 Corey Mock (UTC) – MD 9-0 - Ramon Santiago (Rider) – UTC 16-9
174: Connor Brennan (Rider) – Dec. 5-4 - Levi Clemons (UTC) – UTC 16-12
184: Clint Morrison (Rider) – Dec. 5-1 - John Lampe (UTC) – UTC 16-15
197: Scottie Boykin (UTC) – Tech. Fall 24-9 - Jeff McElwee (Rider) – UTC 21-15
Chattanooga's team score was adjusted by -1 for 4-point tech – UTC 20-15
285: Dawson Peck (UTC) – Fall 4:23 - Greg Velasco (Rider) – UTC 26-15
Rider 28, The Citadel 15
HAMPTON, Va. – The Citadel wrestling team finished competition at the Virginia Duals on Saturday morning with a 28-15 loss to Rider at the Hampton Coliseum.
The Bulldogs dropped to 2-2 in duals this season, while Rider improved to 8-4.
Rider jumped out to a quick 16-0 lead, winning the first four bouts by way of two decisions, a major decision and a fall before Aaron Walker put the Bulldogs on the board with an impressive pin at 4:58 over Broncs grappler Wayne Stinson.
Walker closed out the weekend 3-0 as the redshirt freshman collected wins by decision and major decision in Friday's bouts.
Seventeenth-ranked Turtogtokh Luvsandorj, who also completed the weekend undefeated, narrowed the Bulldog deficit to 16-9 as the redshirt senior topped Rider's Ramon Santiago in an 8-4 decision at 165. Luvsandorj improved his season mark to 20-5 on the season.
Rider took the next two matches at 174 and 185 by decision to increase its lead to 22-9 and put the match out of reach with two bouts remaining.
Marshall Haas collected the win by forfeit at 197 to complete the scoring for The Citadel.
The Bulldogs open Southern Conference competition next Sunday against Appalachian State in McAlister Fieldhouse at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs topped the Mountaineers 25-13 last season in Boone, N.C.
Rider 28, The Citadel 15
125 – #18 Robert Deutsch (Rider) won by major decision over Joaquin Marquez, 16-5
133 – Chuck Zeisloft (Rider) won by decision over Aaron Hansen, 6-0
141 – Jon Gentile (Rider) won by pin over Nate Harper at 5:35
149 – Curt Delia (Rider) won by decision over Matt Frisch, 7-5
157 – Aaron Walker (The Citadel) won by pin over Wayne Stinson at 4:58
165 – #17 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj (The Citadel) won by decision over Ramon Santiago, 8-4
174 – Connor Brennan (Rider) won by decision over Terrell Forbes, 7-2
184 – Clint Morrison (Rider) won by decision over Kenneth Radford, 8-2
197 – Marshall Haas won by forfeit
HWT – Greg Velasco (Rider) won by fall over Joe Bexley at 4:37
*Rankings provided by InterMat Wrestling
No. 7 Missouri 40, SIUE 0
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Dakota Leach and Patrick Myers nearly set the tone for the SIUE wrestling team early in the team's 40-0 defeat against seventh-ranked Missouri.
Leach and Myers both lost by a single points at 125 pounds and 133 pounds, respectively.
Missouri's Barlow McGhee recorded a first-period takedown of Leach and won 3-2. Matt Manley of Missouri, won by the same score against Myers, this time due to a point for riding time.
Three more matches were decided by two points or fewer. Missouri's Mike England defeated Jake Residori 6-4 at 174. John Eblen topped SIUE's Deshoun White 4-2 at 184. And David Devine dropped a 3-2 decision to Missouri's David Mellon at heavyweight.
Missouri captured bonus points in four matches, including three falls. J'Den Cox turned in the top performance for the Tigers with a 2 minute, 33 second pin over Chris Johnson at 197.
It also was the first coaching meeting as head coaches between Missouri head coach Brian Smith and his former All-American and now SIUE head coach Jeremy Spates.
SIUE hosts Chattanooga next Sunday with a 2 p.m.
No. 7 Missouri 40, SIUE 0
125 – Barlow McGhee (Missouri) def. Dakota Leach (SIUE) 3-2
133 – Matt Manley (Missouri) def. Patrick Myers (SIUE) 3-2
141 – Lavion Mayes (Missouri) def. Drew Vrbenec (SIUE) 12-3
149 – Blake Pepper (Missouri) pinned Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) 4:01
157 – Matt Lemanowicz (Missouri) pinned Logun Taylor (SIUE) 6:09
165 – Zach Toal (Missouri) def. Connor McMahon (SIUE) 7-2
174 – Mike England (Missouri) def. Jake Residori (SIUE) 6-4
184 – John Eblen (Missouri) def. Deshoun White (SIUE) 4-2
197 – J`Den Cox (Missouri) pinned Chris Johnson (SIUE) 2:33
285 – Devin Mellon (Missouri) def. David Devine (SIUE) 3-2