Chattanooga downs Gardner-Webb; GWU falls to North Carolina
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team opened Southern Conference action with a 26-12 win at Gardner-Webb on Friday. The Runnin’ Bulldogs followed with a 22-8 loss to North Carolina.
The Mocs took seven of the 10 matches to improve to 6-5 overall and 1-0 in league competition. The Bulldogs dropped to 3-8 overall and 1-2 in SoCon matches.
Sophomore Michael Pongracz earned a pin at 141 to pace Chattanooga’s scoring. Senior Sean Boyle and sophomore Jared Johnson also posted bonus points in their major decisions at 125 and 141, respectively.
Boyle, ranked No. 12 this week, opened with a 12-1 win over Cortez Starkes. Senior Nick Soto made it 7-0 in the team score with a 14-7 decision over Tyler Ziegler. Ziegler actually scored at the buzzer to keep Soto from taking a four-point win. A three-time SoCon champ, Soto is now 20-0 in league matches in his career.
Pongracz seemed to put the match out of reach when he stuck Ryan Hull on his back at 141, but Gardner-Webb came back with a win at 149. UTC junior Austin Sams then found himself trailing 5-4 to start the third against Tyler Marinelli at 157. Sams scored three takedowns in the final two minutes to storm back for a 10-8 decision. It was his fifth win in a row as he improved to 12-11 overall.
Gardner-Webb still did not go away. Austin Trott scored a quick pin over Justin Lampe at 165 and Brett Stein had a last-second takedown against Levi Clemons at 174 to make the team score 16-12.
The Mocs kept their 15-match SoCon win streak alive with wins in the last three bouts. UTC is 11-0 all-time against Gardner-Webb and 30-1 in league matches in six seasons with Heath Eslinger as head coach.
Chattanooga returns home on Sunday, Jan. 18, to host Campbell. Match time is set for 2 p.m. in Maclellan Gym.
Against North Carolina, Starkes opened the second match of the night with three points for the Runnin' Bulldogs, defeating Alexander Rinaldi, 5-2, before Troy Heilmann registered an 8-0 major decision against Ziegler to give the Tars Heels a narrow 4-3 advantage.
Matt Williams followed with an 11-9 decision against Hull at 141 pounds, before Mosley outlasted Christian Barber, 3-2, in a double-overtime bout at 149 pounds to cut the lead to 7-6. North Carolina's Chris Mears pushed the margin back to four at 10-6 with a 3-1 decision against Marinelli at 157 pounds.
UNC stretched the lead to 13-5 in the 165-pound bout, as Ethan Ramos registered a 9-4 decision against Trott, after which Gardner-Webb was docked a point for unsportsmanlike conduct. The Tar Heels' John M. Staudenmayer widened the gap further to 16-5 with a 6-2 decision against Stein at 174 pounds before Scott Marmoll defeated Kyle Ash, 8-1, at 184.
Chip Ness and Frank Abbondanza followed with identical 6-1 decisions against Jones and Kozera at 197 and 285, respectively, to give North Carolina the final margin of 22-8.
Gardner-Webb returns to the mat on Thursday, Jan. 22, when the Runnin' Bulldogs travel to Buies Creek, N.C., for a 7 p.m. SoCon matchup with Campbell.
Chattanooga 26, Gardner-Webb 12
125: No. 12 Sean Boyle (UTC) – MD, 12-1 - Cortez Starkes (GWU) – UTC 4-0
133: No. 12 Nick Soto (UTC) – Dec. 14-7 - Tyler Ziegler (GWU) – UTC 7-0
141: Michael Pongracz (UTC) – Fall 3:00 - Ryan Hull (GWU) – UTC 13-0
149: Ryan Mosley (GWU) – Dec. 5-1 - Shawn Greevy (UTC) – UTC 13-3
157: Austin Sams (UTC) – Dec. 10-8 - Tyler Marinelli (GWU) – UTC 16-3
165: Austin Trott (GWU) – Fall 0:59 - Justin Lampe (UTC) – UTC 16-9
174: Brett Stein (GWU) – Dec. 8-6 - Levi Clemons (UTC) – UTC 16-12
184: John Shrader (UTC) – Dec. 3-0 - Gray Jones (GWU) – UTC 19-12
197: Scottie Boykin (UTC) – Dec. 14-9 - Boyce Cornwell (GWU) – UTC 22-12
285: Jared Johnson (UTC) – MD 9-1 - Justin Kozera (GWU) – UTC 26-12
North Carolina 22, Gardner-Webb 8
125: Cortez Starkes (GWU) dec. Alex Rinaldi (UNC), 5-2 - GWU leads 3-0
133: Troy Heilmann (UNC) maj. dec. Tyler Ziegler (GWU), 8-0 - UNC leads 4-3
141: Matt Williams (UNC) dec. Ryan Hull (GWU), 11-9 - UNC leads 7-3
149: Ryan Mosley (GWU) dec. Christian Barber (UNC), 3-2 (2 OT) - UNC leads 7-6
157: Chris Mears (UNC) dec. Tyler Marinelli (GWU), 3-1 - UNC leads 10-6
165: Ethan Ramos (UNC) dec. Austin Trott (GWU), 9-4, UNC leads 13-5*
174: John Michael Staudenmayer (UNC) dec. Brett Stein (GWU), 6-2 - UNC leads 16-5
184: Scott Marmoll (UNC) dec. Kyle Ash (GWU), 8-1 - UNC leads 19-5
197: Chip Ness (UNC) dec. Gray Jones (GWU), 6-1 - UNC leads 22-5
285: Justin Kozera (GWU) dec. Frank Abbondanza (UNC), 6-1 - UNC wins 22-8
*GWU was deducted a team point
VMI tops Campbell in SoCon action
BUIES CREEK, N.C. – Benefitting from five forfeits, the Virginia Military Institute wrestling team topped Campbell University 45-8 on the road in Southern Conference action Friday night at Carter Gym. The Keydets halted a three-match losing skid to the Camels with two wins by fall.
Campbell forfeited the first four weight classes of the league dual to Dalton Henderson (125), Hunter Starner (133), Emmitt Kelly (141) and Jack Krall (149), putting VMI (4-5, 1-1 SoCon) ahead 24-0. The Keydets got a fifth forfeit at 197 pounds, collected by Urayoan Garcia.
In the first true match of the night, the Camels (0-5, 0-3 SoCon) picked up their first of two wins as Daniel Luty won by technical fall over VMI’s Sam Paulay.
But VMI, which beat Campbell for the first time since Jan. 12, 2008, got back-to-back wins at 165 and 174 pounds. At 165 pounds, Shabaka Johns utilized takedowns in the first and third periods to claim a 4-0 win over Garrison Matthews, giving the Keydet sophomore his 16th win this season.
In the next weight class, Mark Darr leveled his season record to 8-8 with a win by fall over Monte Britton. Darr got up early with eight points in the first period, allowing Britton just a pair on a reversal. The Keydet stuck Britton just 36 seconds into the second period to bump VMI’s lead to 33-5.
Campbell’s second win of the night came at 184 pounds as Ville Heino remained undefeated in dual matches, edging VMI’s Derek Thurman 10-5.
Following Garcia’s forfeit win at 197, VMI heavyweight Juan Adams, who improved to 13-9 on the year and 2-0 in league matches, stepped in and sealed the victory with a first-period pin over Cody Ryba. Adams’ pin, his fourth of the season and third in his last five matches, came in just 1:58, his second-fastest pin this season.
VMI is idle until Jan. 23 when it heads to Davidson, N.C., for a pair of Southern Conference matches. The Keydets open the day at 4:30 p.m. against SIUE, followed by a 7:30 p.m. dual with host Davidson College. Both matches will be contested in the Wildcats’ Belk Arena.
Campbell returns to action Sunday at Chattanooga at 2 p.m.
VMI 45, Campbell 8
125: Dalton Henderson (VMI) Wins by Forfeit (6-0)
133: Hunter Starner (VMI) Wins by Forfeit (12-0)
141: Emmitt Kelly (VMI) Wins by Forfeit (18-0)
149: Jack Krall (VMI) Wins by Forfeit (24-0)
157: Daniel Luty (CU) TECH FALL Sam Paulay (VMI) 16-1 (24-5)
165: Shabaka Johns (VMI) DEC Garrison Matthews (CU) 4-0 (27-5)
174: Mark Darr (VMI) WBF Monte Britton (CU) 3:36 (33-5)
184: Ville Heino (CU) DEC Derek Thurman (VMI) 10-5 (33-8)
197: Urayoan Garcia (VMI) Wins by Forfeit (39-8)
285: Juan Adams (VMI) WBF Cody Ryba (CU) 1:58 (45-8)
SIUE falls to Central Michigan
EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – Central Michigan won four matches by two points or fewer Friday and defeated SIUE 26-9 at the Vadalabene Center.
SIUE, now 3-12 in dual matches, picked up two matches by a single point each. Chris Johnson defeated Newton Smercheck 3-2 at 285 pounds. Jake Residori collected an overtime win over Jordan Ellingwood, 3-2 at 174 pounds.
Derek Nagel was SIUE's biggest winner of the night with a 10-6 win over Christian Brucki in the first match of the evening at 184 pounds.
Central Michigan, now 5-4 overall, won six consecutive matches at one point, including a pair of major decisions.
SIUE now travels to Springfield, Illinois, Saturday for a neutral-site match against the Northern Illinois Huskies. The first match is set for 6 p.m. CST at the Prairie Convention Center.
Central Michigan 26, SIUE 9
125 - Brent Fleetwood (CMU) won by forfeit
133 - Tyler Keselring (CMU) over Patrick Myers (SIUE), 11-0
141 - Zachary Horan (CMU) over Angelo Silvestro (SIUE), 3-2
149 - Colin Heffernan (CMU) over Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE), 14-3
157 - Malcolm Martin (CMU) over Erik Travers (SIUE), 4-2
165 - Jordan Wohlfert (CMU) over Connor McMahon (SIUE), 7-5
174 - Jake Residori (SIUE) vs. Jordan Ellingwood (CMU), 3-2 TB-1
184 - Derek Nagel (SIUE) over Christian Brucki (CMU), 10-6
197 - Austin Severn (CMU) over Jake Tindle (SIUE), 6-4
285 - Chris Johnson (SIUE) over Newton Smerchek (CMU), 3-2