Appalachian State wraps competition at Southern Scuffle
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Appalachian State finished 30th at the two-day Southern Scuffle on Thursday, sending three wrestlers to the second day of competition.
Redshirt-freshman Vito Pasone moved to 7-8 on the season, including a 36-17 record for his career. Pasone defeated Corey Keener (Central Michigan) at 125 pounds by decision, 9-5, in the fourth round of the consolation bracket.
Sophomore Zack Strickland and true freshman Nick Kee both fell in their opening matches of the second day in fourth-round consolation action.
In the fifth-round match, Pasone would face Zach Synon (Missouri) but lost a tough and challenging battle.
The Wilkes-Barre, Pa., native earned a majority decision over Hunter Wood (Army) and pinned Patrick Rollins (Oregon State) before defeating Keener in the fourth round.
Penn State won the Scuffle, with Oklahoma State and Minnesota rounding out the top three.
The Mountaineers will hit the mats again on Jan. 10 when they travel to Buies Creek, N.C., for a dual with Campbell University at 6 p.m.
Campbell completes action at Southern Scuffle
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Campbell wrapped up action at the Southern Scuffle on Thursday, finishing with nine points in 32nd place. Redshirt senior Brent Jorge and sophomore Michael Dahlstrom advanced to day two of the tournament, both in the consolation bracket.
After going 2-1 Wednesday, Jorge finished the Scuffle 3-2, facing two nationally ranked opponents in the second day of competition. He defeated Southern Conference rival Appalachian State’s No. 18 Dylan Cottrell by forfeit in the fourth round of the consolation bracket. His tournament ended in the fifth round as Oregon State’s No. 9 Scott Sakaguchi won by a 10-1 major decision.
Dahlstrom also went 2-1 in the first day of the tournament, making it to the fourth round of the consolation bracket Thursday. His Scuffle appearance was cut short after Pittsburgh’s Edgar Bright (No. 18) posted a 9-4 decision.
The Camels will make their first home appearance Friday, Jan. 10, at 6 p.m. in Gore Arena in the first dual meet of the year for the team.
Luvsandorj paces The Citadel at Southern Scuffle
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Turtogtokh Luvsandorj went 4-1 through two days to nab seventh place in the 165-pound division at the Southern Scuffle as The Citadel wrestling team completed action at McKenzie Arena.
Luvsandorj, who was wrestling at 165 pounds for the first time since 2011, went 2-0 on Wednesday to advance to day two, where he won two of his three matches, earning the redshirt senior a seventh-place finish.
The Mongolia native topped Iowa State's Carson Powell 5-4 and 18th-ranked Jim Wilson of Cornell 3-2 during first-day action to land him in a day-two opening bout against third-ranked Nick Sulzer of Virginia.
The Cavalier grappler handed Luvsandorj his first loss in an 8-4 decision to drop him to the consolation bracket, where he edged out sixth-ranked Mike Moreno of Iowa State in a 3-1 sudden victory decision.
Luvsandorj's final match was a 6-5 win in the seventh-place bout over Navy's Peyton Walsh. His 4-1 record at the nationally recognized tournament improved his season mark to 17-4 and career record to 114-38.
Following a three-win opening day, 149-pounder Matt Frisch found himself pitted against top-ranked Nick Dardanes of Minnesota to open the second day of competition. Frisch kept it close but lost in a 10-4 decision to drop to the consolation bracket, where he was downed by ninth-ranked Scott Sakaguchi of Oregon State, 5-3.
The Oxford, Mich., native finished the tournament 3-2 and improved his season record to 12-5 and career mark to 42-20.
Heavyweight freshman Joe Bexley lost his opening bout of the second day to No. 18 Joe Stolfi of Bucknell to finish the tournament with a 2-2 record, and Ugi Khishignyam, who was wrestling unattached, topped Mike Carlone of Cleveland State in the 141 division, 11-5, before dropping a 5-4 decision in the consolation bracket to Iowa State's Gabe Moreno to finish 3-2.
The Citadel scored 13.5 points as a team to take 29th place, while three-time defending NCAA champion Penn State earned the team title with 189 points.
The Bulldogs will trek to Hampton, Va., for the Virginia Duals on Jan. 10-11 before opening Southern Conference dual action against Appalachian State at McAlister Field House on Jan. 19 at 2 p.m.
Soto leads Chattanooga at Southern Scuffle
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Penn State won its fourth Southern Scuffle title in as many years, distancing itself from the field during the second day of action at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The Nittany Lions were followed by Oklahoma State (164.5), Minnesota (161.0), Cornell (114.5) and Missouri (102.5) in the top five.
The Mocs finished 16th in the 34-team field that included 10 of the top-25 ranked programs in the nation. Junior Nick Soto led Chattanooga with a fourth-place showing at 133 pounds, his second career top-four finish at the Scuffle.
Soto started Day 2 in the quarterfinals against third-seeded David Thorn. Soto knocked off Thorn in 2012 on his way to finish second at the Scuffle as a freshman. This time around, Thorn had the upper hand, scoring a 10-2 major decision in the morning action.
Soto then went to work on the backdraw, scoring three big wins. He defeated fifth-seed Shelton Mack of Pittsburg (8-2), Missouri’s Matt Manley (4-1) and Central Michigan’s fourth-seeded Joe Roth (6-5). He scored a takedown with 20 seconds left to secure the win against Roth.
That run put him in the third-place match in the medal rounds Thursday night. Unfortunately for him, it was against Thorn for the second time on the day. Thorn had Soto’s number this time around, scoring a 17-2 technical fall as the horn sounded. Despite the loss, it was a great two days of action for the Chattanooga junior.
The 2014 Southern Scuffle, presented by Defense Soap and Flips Wrestling, was a resounding success at the turnstiles. The two-day attendance total of 6,330 smashed last year’s record of 5,399. A new single-day record was set with 3,436 attending Day 2.
The Mocs are back in action on Jan. 10-11 when they travel to Hampton, Va., for the Hampton Duals. UTC’s final home match of the year is Sunday, Feb. 2, against Appalachian State at 2 p.m. in Maclellan Gym.