Chattanooga tops The Citadel
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team dominated The Citadel in a 33-3 win at Maclellan Gym on Friday. The Mocs won nine of 10 matches for their 18th consecutive Southern Conference victory, improving to 8-5 overall and 3-0 in league matches.
Coming into the season, The Citadel (4-5, 2-2 SoCon) looked to be the top challenger to UTC’s consecutive regular season SoCon titles. The Bulldogs were picked second in the preseason polls and returned a strong lineup.
UTC challenged that notion early in Friday’s match with wins in the first four bouts. Senior Sean Boyle opened with a major decision at 125, and senior Nick Soto followed with a three-point win at 133. Both Mocs are ranked No. 12 at their respective weights.
Chattanooga put pressure on the Bulldogs with close wins in the next two matches. Sophomore Michael Pongracz defeated Tyler Buckiso 2-1 at 141. It was Buckiso’s first loss in four league matches.
Senior Shawn Greevy followed with a 3-1 win over two-time NCAA qualifier Matt Frisch. It was Greevy’s second win over Frisch this season.
The Citadel finally got on the board when Aaron Walker defeated Austin Sams 10-4. Walker is also an NCAA qualifier who placed fifth at the Southern Scuffle earlier in the month. He snapped Sams’ personal six-match winning streak.
The surprise of the evening came at 165 when freshman Justin Lampe got his second win. He set the tone early with an impressive takedown on the opening whistle. Later in the opening period, he tossed Andrew Lock on his back and scored a pin. That win put UTC up 19-3 with four matches left.
Sophomores Sean Mappes and John Shrader had wins at 174 and 184, respectively. Shrader scored a bonus point with his major decision over Jack Duane.
The 197 bout between sophomore Scottie Boykin and Marshall Hass was a rematch of last year’s SoCon championship match. Haas took that win, but Boykin was in control Friday. Boykin scored two takedowns before posting a 5-2 decision.
Sophomore Jared Johnson continued his winning ways with an 8-0 victory over Joe Bexley at heavyweight. He is now a team-best 23-6 overall and on a seven-match winning streak.
UTC is back in action on Sunday, hosting VMI. Match time is set for 2 p.m. at Maclellan Gym.
The Bulldogs next match will take place at McAlister Field House against SIUE on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 1 p.m.
Chattanooga 33, The Citadel 3
125: No. 12 Sean Boyle (UTC) – MD 10-2 - Joaquin Marquez (CIT) – UTC 4-0
133: No. 12 Nick Soto (UTC) – Dec. 10-3 - Aaron Hansen (CIT) – UTC 7-0
141: Michael Pongracz (UTC) – Dec. 2-1 - Tyler Buckiso (CIT) – UTC 10-0
149: Shawn Greevy (UTC) – Dec. 3-1 - Matthew Frisch (CIT) – UTC 13-0
157: Aaron Walker (CIT) – Dec. 10-4 - Austin Sams (UTC) – UTC 13-3
165: Justin Lampe (UTC) – Fall (2:11) - Andrew Lock (CIT) – UTC 19-3
174: Sean Mappes (UTC) – Dec. 7-3 - Kenneth Radford (CIT) – UTC 22-3
184: John Shrader (UTC) – MD 9-0 - Jack Duane (CIT) – UTC 26-3
197: Scottie Boykin (UTC) – Dec. 5-2 - Marshall Haas (CIT) – UTC 29-3
285: Jared Johnson (UTC) – MD 8-0 - Joseph Bexley (CIT) – UTC 33-3
VMI, Davidson, SIUE compete in tri-dual
DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Virginia Military Institute wrestling team picked up a pair of Southern Conference wins Friday, with both bouts coming down to the heavyweights to decide a winner. VMI beat SIUE 21-18 and Davidson 21-16, while SIUE topped Davidson by a 24-13 count.
VMI improved to 6-5 overall on the season and 3-1 in the SoCon, the most overall wins for the Keydets since going 6-8 in 2007-08 and most conference victories since a 3-2 season in 2006-07. SIUE moved to 4-14 overall and 1-2 in the SoCon, and Davidson dropped to 4-9, 0-2.
The win over Davidson was VMI’s 70th since the programs first met in 1921, the first year of varsity wrestling at the Institute, and improved the Keydets to 70-1-1 all-time against the Wildcats.
Three Keydets went 2-0 on the day as Dalton Henderson won by fall and forfeit at 125 pounds, Shabaka Johns improved his winning streak to seven with a decision and a major decision, and Juan Adams logged a decision and a technical fall, both of which sealed victories for VMI.
In the first match of the day, the decision came down to heavyweight. The third-meeting between VMI and SIUE featured three ties during the final six bouts, including an 18-18 deadlock after the 197-pound match. The Keydets improved to 2-1 all-time against the Cougars after Adams picked up a 2-0 win over Chris Johnson, earning an escape and picking up riding time for the victory.
The day started well for VMI, as Henderson collected his seventh win by fall, sticking Nathan Day in the first period, stopping the clock at 2:18. VMI picked up another six points at 133 as Hunter Starner received a forfeit, giving the Keydets a 12-0 lead.
SIUE's Trevor Feagans got the Cougars on the board with a 5-2 victory at 141 pounds over Emmitt Kelly. Karsten Van Velsor added a technical fall over Jack Krall at 149 pounds. Sam Zimmerman added a major decision for SIUE over Samuel Paulay at 157 pounds.
At 165 pounds, the Keydets got back on track with an 8-6 decision by sophomore Johns, who backed his win with three takedowns of Connor McMahon. Johns added a point to his total with over a minute of riding time, countering McMahon’s two reversals in the third period.
The 174-pound bout was a classic, but Cougar Jake Residori escaped in the first and second periods, while scoring a takedown in the third. Mark Darr had a takedown in in the first period, but his third-period escape was not enough in the 4-3 bout.
Derek Thurman put together a solid 7-6 win at 184 pounds for the Keydets, balancing the match 15-15. The redshirt junior took Derek Nagel down three times in the first period, allowing the Cougar three escapes. Nagel escaped again in the second period before taking Thurman to the mat in the third. But the Keydet proved to be battle ready and escaped to earn a point and the 7-6 victory.
SIUE’s Jake Tindle leveled the match at 18-18 after edging VMI’s Urayoan Garcia 4-2. Garcia escaped in the first and third periods, but Tindle logged a takedown in the first, followed by an escape in the third, while accruing a minute of riding time for the 4-2 win.
After its loss to VMI, SIUE recovered to pick up its first-ever dual match win over Davidson.
After the two teams exchanged forfeits in the first two weight classes, SIUE rallied to win six of the final eight weight classes.
Angelo Silvestro started the run for the Cougars with a 6-4 decision over Kevin Birmingham at 141 pounds. Connor McMahon earned the biggest win of the dual with a 10-3 win over Patrick Devlin at 165 pounds.
VMI’s dual with the Wildcats was another tight bout. VMI went up 6-0 after Henderson received a forfeit. Davidson’s Anthony Elias took an 8-5 decision at 133 pounds, but the Keydets gained another three points at 141 pounds from Kelly.
James McCord cut the Wildcats’ deficit to 9-6 with an 11-6 victory vs. Jack Krall. Alex Palinsky evened the score with a win at 157 pounds, posting a 9-6 decision over VMI’s Paulay.
Johns boosted VMI’s lead to four with a 14-4 major decision at 165 pounds, the sophomore’s 18th win this season. Johns’ win was aided by six takedowns, riding time and a point after Patrick Devlin was hit with two stall warnings.
Darr further increased the lead with a narrow 3-2 victory over Nathaniel Powers. Riding time proved to be the difference after Darr scored a first-round takedown before Powers was awarded a penalty point and earned an escape to tie the match 2-2. Darr tallied more than a minute of riding time to pick up his ninth win this season.
The Wildcats clawed their way back into the match, winning at 184 pounds by major decision and a sudden victory at 197 pounds. Scott Patrick scored a major decision, 8-0, against Derek Thurman to make it 16-13.
The Wildcats had the chance to pull ahead after Ian Solcz posted a sudden-victory win over Garcia at 197 pounds. Tied at 1 heading into overtime, Solcz scored one final takedown to secure the win and even the score at 16.
Adams’ heavyweight bout against Will Cooley was tight in the first period as the redshirt senior was hit with a penalty point but scored a takedown. The Texan cracked open the bout with an escape, takedown and three nearfall points, in addition to a penalty point. Adams locked up the technical fall in the third with a takedown and five total nearfall points, halting the match in 6:56 and giving VMI its second win of the day.
VMI continues a road-weary weekend as the Keydets head to Chattanooga on Sunday. VMI takes on the four-time defending Southern Conference champions at 2 p.m. at the Mocs’ Maclellan Gym.
SIUE continues the road trip Sunday with a pair of duals. The Cougars face SoCon rivals The Citadel and Campbell in Charleston, S.C.
Davidson will return to action next Friday, Jan. 30, as it travels to Chattanooga for a noon dual.
VMI 21, SIUE 18
125: Dalton Henderson (VMI) WBF Nathan Day (SIUE) 2:18 (6-0)
133: Hunter Starner (VMI) Wins by Forfeit (12-0)
141: Trevor Feagans (SIUE) DEC Emmitt Kelly (VMI) 5-2 (12-3)
149: Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) TECH FALL Jack Krall (VMI) 18-3 (6:20) (12-8)
157: Sam Zimmerman (SIUE) MAJ DEC Sam Paulay (VMI) 17-4 (12-12)
165: Shabaka Johns (VMI) DEC Connor McMahon (SIUE) 8-6 (15-12)
174: Jake Residori (SIUE) DEC Mark Darr (VMI) 4-3 (15-15)
184: Derek Thurman (VMI) Derek Nagel (SIUE) 7-6 (18-15)
197: Jake Tindle (SIUE) DEC Urayoan Garcia (VMI) 4-2 (18-18)
285: Juan Adams (VMI) DEC Chris Johnson (SIUE) 2-0 (21-18)
VMI 21, Davidson 16
125: Dalton Henderson (VMI) Wins by Forfeit (6-0)
133: Anthony Elias (Davidson) DEC Hunter Starner 8-5 (6-3)
141: Emmitt Kelly (VMI) DEC Kevin Birmingham (Davidson) 11-4 (9-3)
149: James McCord (Davidson) DEC Jack Krall (VMI) 11-6 (9-6)
157: Alex Palinski (Davidson) DEC Sam Paulay (VMI) 9-6 (9-9)
165: Shabaka Johns (VMI) MAJ DEC Patrick Devlin (Davidson) 14-4 (13-9)
174: Mark Darr (VMI) DEC Nathaniel Powers (Davidson) 3-2 (16-9)
184: Scott Patrick (Davidson) MAJ DEC Derek Thurman (VMI) 8-0 (16-13)
197: Ian Soclz (Davidson) SV-1 Urayoan Garcia (VMI) 3-1 (16-16)
285: Juan Adams (VMI) TECH FALL Will Cooley (Davidson) 16-1 (6:56) (21-16)
SIUE 24, Davidson 13
125: Nathan Day (SIUE) win by forfeit
133: Anthony Elias (Davidson) win by forfeit
141: Angelo Silvestro (SIUE) decision over Kevin Birmingham (Davidson) 6-4
149: Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) decision over James McCord (Davidson) 9-4
157: Alex Palinski (Davidson) decision over Sam Zimmerman (SIUE) 5-1
165: Connor McMahon (SIUE) decision over Patrick Devlin (Davidson) 10-3
174: Jake Residori (SIUE) decision over Nathaniel Powers (Davidson) 3-2
184: Scott Patrick (Davidson) major decision over Derek Nagel (SIUE) 10-2
197: Jake Tindle (SIUE) decision over Ian Solcz (Davidson) 5-1
285: Chris Johnson (SIUE) over Ed Isola (Davidson) 6-0