Mocs set to host the 2016 Southern Scuffle

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is set to host the 2016 Defense Soap & Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle on Jan. 1-2. Billed as the top in-season collegiate wrestling tournament in the nation, the Southern Scuffle is held in the McKenzie Arena.

Gates open at 8:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) and wrestling starts each day at 9:00 a.m. Tickets are on sale now on TheSouthernScuffle.com, or by calling the UTC Ticket Office at (423) 266-MOCS (6627).

The field is stacked with 29 teams, including 11 of this week's Intermat Tournament Top 25. These include No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Oklahoma State, No. 4 Cornell, No. 9 Michigan, No. 14 Lehigh, No. 15 Minnesota, No. 19 North Carolina, No. 22 Stanford, No. 23 Penn, No. 24 Duke and No. 25 Virginia.

Others in the field along with Chattanooga are Appalachian State, Army, Cal Poly, Campbell, Central Michigan, The Citadel, Cleveland State, Drexel, Edinboro, Gardner-Webb, Michigan State, Navy, Northern Colorado, Utah Valley, West Virginia and Wyoming.

All totaled, there are 28 All-Americans, two NCAA Champions, six former NCAA runners-up, five former Scuffle winners, 78 currently ranked and 40 ranked in the top 10.

There are seven No. 1 wrestlers in the field, including Cornell's Nahshon Garrett (133), Brian Realbuto (174) and Gabe Dean (184), Penn State's Zain Retherford (149) and Morgan McIntosh (197) and Oklahoma State's Dean Heil (141) and Alex Dieringer (165)

For a complete list of teams and #LetsScuffle previews of each weight class, visit www.TheSouthernScuffle.com.

#LETSSCUFFLE

Be sure to use the hashtag #LetsScuffle when tweeting about the Southern Scuffle. Follow @GoMocs and @UTCWrestling for the most up-to-date information on the 2015 Defense Soap & Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle.

CHATTANOOGA MOCS (5-2, 3-0 SOCON) PROBABLE LINEUP

125: Alonzo Allen (Fr. - 8-5)

133: Cody Hill (So. - 3-5)

141: Michael Pongracz (Jr. - 10-0)

149: Roman Boylen (Fr. - 5-4), Andrew Webb (So. - 1-1)

Jacob Murphy (So. - 3-4), Zach Shareef (Fr. - 2-2)

157: Kamaal Shakur (Fr. - 13-2)

165: Dominic Lampe (Fr. - 11-4)

174: Sean Mappes (Jr. - 9-4), Barrett Walthall (So. - 3-4)

184: John Lampe (Sr. - 12-2), McCoy Newberg (Jr. - 6-4)

197: No. 18 Scottie Boykin (Jr. - 10-3)

285: No. 14 Jared Johnson (Jr. - 10-1), Connor Tolley (Fr. - 3-4)

UTC fields a young lineup, with six freshmen competing at the Scuffle. However, Chattanooga is led by a pair of ranked juniors at the bottom of the lineup. Scottie Boykin is No. 18 at 197 with an 10-3 overall record. Jared Johnson is 10-1 at heavyweight and ranked 13th. His only loss is No. 1 and defending NCAA Champion Nick Gwiazdowski of N.C. State at the Wolfpack Open.

Boykin and Johnson are both seeded at the Scuffle. Boykin is No. 10 at 197, while Johnson is No. 6 at heavyweight.

Chattanooga was picked to win the Southern Conference race for the 30th time since joining the league in 1978. UTC returns six starters and four NCAA qualifiers from last year's team that went 13-6 overall and 7-0 in league action.

Head Coach Heath Eslinger is in his seventh season at UTC. A two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year, he owns a 79-43 (.648) career dual record.

125: Freshman Alonzo Allen leads things off for the Mocs at 125. He is 8-5 overall, including a win in the Fr.-So. bracket at the Hokie Open. He is 1-1 against the field, including a loss for Stanford's Brian Rossi and a win over Campbell's Daniel Ariola.

133: Sophomore Cody Hill is 3-5 and representing the Mocs at 133. He is 1-1 against the field with a win over Gardner-Webb's Jetson Guardado and a loss to Campbell's Nathan Kraisser.

141: One of UTC's hottest wrestlers is in the 141 bracket. Junior Michael Pongracz is yet to lose this season with a 10-0 record. He has a win at the Wolfpack Open and is 3-0 against the field. Pongo has not allowed a takedown in any of his last five matches.

149: The Mocs have four wrestlers who will try to make an impact at 149, including freshmen Roman Boylen and Zach Shareef, along with sophomores Andrew Webb and Jacob Murphy.

Boylen is 5-4 overall and finished second at the Hokie Open in the freshman/sophomore class. He is 1-1 against the field with a win over Campbell's Zane Knight and a loss to Stanford's Joey McKenna (No.12).

Shareef is 2-2 overall and posts a 1-1 record against the field. Webb is 1-1 overall this season and is 0-1 against the field with a loss to Stanford's Max Hvolbeck. Murphy sits at 3-4 overall and is 1-1 against the field with a win over Duke's Joey Abbate and a loss to Patrick Duggan of West Virginia.

157: Kamaal Shakur represents UTC for the 157 bracket. The freshman is 13-2 overall this season and finished first in the Wolfpack Open on Nov. 22. He is 2-1 against the field, including wins over North Carolina's Ben Cournyer and Campbell's Quentin Perez, with a loss to North Carolina's Jack Clark.

165: Freshman Dominic Lampe represents the Mocs at 165 with an 11-4 overall record this season. He finished second at the Wolfpack Open, including a fall over No. 19 Austin Trott of Gardner-Webb. He is 3-2 against the field. His three wins are over The Citadel's Daniel Smith, North Carolina's Matthew Rundell and Appalachian State's Colton Jackson, while his two losses are to Stanford's Jim Wilson (No.4) and Campbell's Paul Duggan.

174: The Mocs are led by junior Sean Mappes and sophomore Barrett Walthall at 174. Mappes is 9-4 overall and has a win over No. 16 John Staudenmeyer of North Carolina. He is 4-1 against the field with wins over Staudenmeyer, Stanford's Keaton Subjeck, Duke's Randy Roden and Stanford's Dylan Morris.

Walthall is 3-4 overall this season and is 3-2 against the field. He has wins over North Carolina's Adis Radonic, West Virginia's Kyle Rogers and N.C. State's Stacey Davis. His losses are to North Carolina's John Staudenmeyer (No.16) and Stanford's Keaton Subjeck.

184: Senior John Lampe and junior McCoy Newberg represent the Mocs in the 184 bracket. Lampe's 12-2 start this season is highlighted with a first place finish at the Wolfpack Open and a third place finish at the Hokie Open. He is 4-1 against the field.

Newberg is 6-4 overall with a sixth place finish at the Wolfpack Open. He is 2-1 against the field with wins over Duke's Trey Adamson and Spencer Neff, with a loss to N.C. State's Michael Macchiavello.

197: Scottie Boykin leads the Mocs at 197, where he ranks No.18 in the nation. The junior is 10-3 overall with a second place finish at the Hokie Open and a fourth place finish at the Wolfpack Open. He is the No. 10 seed in the Southern Scuffle and is currently riding a four-match win streak. This season, he is 4-3 against the field.

285: Junior Jared Johnson (No.14) and freshman Connor Tolley will close out things at heavyweight for UTC. Johnson is the No. 6 seed in Scuffle and posts an impressive 10-1 record this season. He is 3-1 against the field with wins over Stanford's Nathan Butler (No.13), Duke's Jacob Kasper and Campbell's Jere Heino. His lone loss was to No. 1 Nick Gwiazdowski of N.C. State. Tolley sits at 3-4 this season and is 0-1 against the field.

MOCS AT THE SCUFFLE

This is the fifth time the Mocs have hosted the Southern Scuffle and the seventh time they have competed in the event. UTC's best showing was a sixth place finish in 2006 in Greensboro, N.C.

2015 - 14th (43.5)

2014 - 16th (34.0)

2013 - 14th (31.5)

2012 - 7th (79.0)

2006 - 6th (75.5)

2005 - 13th (48.5)

SCUFFLE NOTES

• This is the 13th year of the Southern Scuffle. It was held in Greensboro, N.C. from 2003-10 and moved to Chattanooga in 2012.

• Records do not show a Southern Scuffle in 2011, but the event did not skip a season. The 2010 tournament was held in late December while the 2012 event was Jan. 1-2.

• Appalachian State, Duke, North Carolina, The Citadel and Virginia are the only teams that have competed in the Southern Scuffle every year since it began in 2003.

• Only four different teams have won the Southern Scuffle, including Cornell (2008, 2009 & 2010 (tie)), Minnesota (2004, 2005 & 2007), Missouri (2003 & 2006) and Penn State (2010 (tie), 2012, 2013, 2014 & 2015).

• There are six former Scuffle Individual Champions in the field, including Cornell's Nahshon Garrett (125-'14) and Gabe Dean (184-'14 & '15), Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer (157-'14 & 165-'15) and Austin Mardsen (285-'15) and Penn State's Nico Megaludis (125-'13) and Zain Retherford (141-'14).

• Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer and Cornell's Gabe Dean have a chance to join elite company. They have both won two Scuffle titles and only eight others are three-time champs.

• There are seven No. 1 wrestlers in the field, according to the Dec. 22 Intermat Top 20 individual rankings. These include Cornell's Nahshon Garrett (133), Brian Realbuto (174) and Gabe Dean (184), Penn State's Zain Retherford (149) and Morgan McIntosh (197) and Oklahoma State's Dean Heil (141) and Alex Dieringer (165).

• There are two NCAA Champions set to compete, including Cornell's Gabe Dean (185-'15) and Oklahoma State's Alex Dieringer (157-'14 & 165-'15).

• In addition, there are 28 All-Americans, six NCAA runners-up, five former Scuffle finalists, 78 currently ranked and 40 in the top 10.

• Minnesota holds the record for points in the tournament with 192 in its win in 2005.

• The Golden Gophers also hold the largest margin of victory in the event with a 182-130.5 advantage over second place Edinboro in 2007.

Players Mentioned

Alonzo Allen

Scottie Boykin

Roman Boylen

Cody Hill

Jared Johnson

Dominic Lampe

John Lampe

Sean Mappes

Jacob Murphy

McCoy Newberg

Michael Pongracz

Kamaal Shakur

Zach Shareef

Connor Tolley

Barrett Walthall

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Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Wrestling versus Blue-Gold Match on Oct 17, 2026 at 6:30 PM

Upcoming Event: Wrestling versus Southeast Open on Nov 1, 2026 at All Day

Upcoming Event: Wrestling at Princeton on Nov 14, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Wrestling versus Ohio on Nov 14, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Wrestling versus Duke on Nov 14, 2026 at TBA

Upcoming Event: Wrestling versus Little Rock on Nov 22, 2026 at 2:00 PM

Upcoming Event: Wrestling versus Central Michigan on Dec 12, 2026 at 10:00 AM

Upcoming Event: Wrestling at Purdue on Dec 12, 2026 at Noon

Results

Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championships - Day 2 on March 20, 2026 , , T57th (1.0 pts)

Completed Event: Wrestling versus NCAA Championships - Day 1 on March 19, 2026 , , T59 (0.5 pts)

Completed Event: Wrestling versus Southern Conference Championships - Finals on March 7, 2026 , , 2nd (93.0 pts)2 Champs, 7 Podium

Completed Event: Wrestling versus Southern Conference Championships - Day 1 on March 6, 2026 , , 2nd (63.0 points)4 finalists

Completed Event: Wrestling at Bellarmine on February 22, 2026 , Win , 26, to, 9

Completed Event: Wrestling versus Appalachian State on February 15, 2026 , Win , 20, to, 13

Completed Event: Wrestling versus Presbyterian on February 8, 2026 , Win , 52, to, 0

Completed Event: Wrestling at Campbell on February 8, 2026 , Win , 47, to, 0