SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Chattanooga heavyweight Jared Johnson has been named the Southern Conference wrestler of the week for all competition from Feb. 11-17. The selection is made by the league office.
Johnson won his lone match of the week, defeating No. 11 Ross Larson of Oklahoma 12-11 to give the Mocs the 19-16 team win in the EAS Sports Nutrition/NWCA National Duals match in Chattanooga, Tenn.
With the match tied at 16 heading to the heavyweight bout, Johnson rushed out to a 7-0 first-period lead with a takedown and five back points, but Larson earned a reversal just before the buzzer. Johnson, however, had accumulated nearly two minutes of riding time.
Johnson led 8-7 after the second period but gave up a takedown early in the third. The sophomore from Jefferson City, Mo., tied it at 9 with an escape and then scored a takedown in the final 30 seconds to take an 11-9 lead. Larson evened the score with a reversal, but Johnson had the crucial riding-time point for the win.
The SoCon honor is Johnson’s third this season, as he was also the wrestler of the week on Dec. 24 and Jan. 21.
The Mocs (12-5, 6-0 SoCon), winners of nine straight duals, will now face No. 1 and undefeated Iowa (15-0) in the quarterfinals of the NWCA National Duals in Iowa City, Iowa, on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST. The quarterfinal field includes No. 2 Missouri, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Minnesota, No. 5 Cornell, No. 11 Lehigh and No. 12 Illinois in addition to Chattanooga and No. 1 Iowa.
Chattanooga, which has already locked up at least a share of its third straight SoCon regular-season title, closes out league action Sunday at SIUE (5-17, 2-4 SoCon).
Also nominated: Nathaniel Powers (Davidson), Ryan Mosley (Gardner-Webb) and Angelo Silvestro (SIUE).
2014-15 SoCon Wrestlers of the Week
Nov. 5 Kevin Birmingham, Davidson
Nov. 12 Dalton Henderson, VMI
Nov. 19 Denzel Dejournette, Appalachian State
Nov. 26 Denzel Dejournette, Appalachian State
Dec. 10 Dominic Parisi, Appalachian State
Dec. 17 Austin Trott, Gardner-Webb
Dec. 24 Jared Johnson, Chattanooga
Jan. 7 Sean Boyle, Chattanooga
Jan. 14 Matt Frisch, The Citadel
Jan. 21 Jared Johnson, Chattanooga
Jan. 28 Jake Residori, SIUE
Feb. 4 Nick Kee, Appalachian State
Feb. 11 Juan Adams, VMI
Feb. 18 Jared Johnson, Chattanooga
Arby’s Southern Conference Wrestling Championship
Kimmel Arena, Asheville, N.C.
March 7, 2015
-www.SoConSports.com-