Mocs Send Six to the NCAA Tournament

Thursday, March 17

New York, N.Y.

All Day

Chattanooga

NCAA Tournament

Junior Jared Johnson is the No. 13 seed at heavyweight.

Photo by: Dale Rutemeyer

3/15/2016 3:06:00 PM | Wrestling

Chattanooga competes in the national tournament March 17-19 in Madison Square Garden.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team competes in the 2016 NCAA Championships on March 17-19. Action takes place in the historic Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y., and is covered live by the ESPN family of networks.

UTC posted a 12-4 dual match record and shared the Southern Conference Regular Season Title for the 16th time since the league began recognizing a season champ in 1992. The Mocs finished the regular season ranked No. 23 in the Intermat Dual rankings and No. 25 in the NWCA Coaches Poll.

UTC just missed winning its sixth consecutive SoCon Tournament title. Chattanooga was 0.5 points behind No. 22 Appalachian State at the tournament on March 5 in Asheville, N.C.

The Mocs are sending six wrestlers to the NCAA Championships, three who qualified automatically and two at-large bids. Senior John Lampe (Fairdale, Ky.), juniors Scottie Boykin (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), Jared Johnson (Jefferson City, Mo.), Sean Mappes (Greenwood, Ind.) and Michael Pongracz (Milford, N.J.) and freshman Kamaal Shakur (Lilburn, Ga.) represent the Mocs at the national tournament.

CHATTANOOGA MOCS LINEUP
141: Michael Pongracz (Jr. - 22-4)
157: Kamaal Shakur (Fr. - 24-6)
174: Sean Mappes (Jr. - 17-10)
184: John Lampe (Sr. - 20-5)
197: Scottie Boykin (Jr. - 21-6)
285: No. 13 Jared Johnson (Jr. - 23-5)
(No. = NCAA Tournament Seed)
Head Coach: Heath Eslinger (86-45 - 6th Year)

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday, March 17
Session 1 - 1st Round - ESPNU/ESPN3 - Noon (E.D.T.)
Session 2 - 2nd Round and Consolation Rounds - ESPNU/ESPN3 - 7:00 p.m.

Friday, March 18
Session 3 - Quarters and Consolation Rounds - ESPNU/ESPN3 - 11:00 a.m.
Session 4 - Semifinals - ESPN/ESPN3 - 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 19
Session 5 - Medal Rounds - ESPNU/ESPN3 - 11:00 a.m.
Session 6 - Finals - ESPN/ESPN3 - 8:00 p.m.

IT'S ALL IN THE NAME
On first reference, it is acceptable to refer to us as the "University of Tennessee at Chattanooga". After that, we prefer to be called "Chattanooga" or "UTC". Our nickname is "Mocs". Please do not use UT-Chattanooga, Tennessee-Chattanooga or the Moccasins.

HEAD COACH HEATH ESLINGER
Head Coach Heath Eslinger is in his seventh season at UTC. A two-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year, he owns an 86-45 (.656) career dual record. He has guided the Mocs to six SoCon regular season and six SoCon tournament titles.
UTC AT THE NCAAS
The Mocs have been represented at the NCAAs every year since moving to Division I in 1978. The best finish was a tie for 14th in 1983. The last time the Mocs were in the top-25 was a 21st place showing in 2007. Nine individuals have won 12 All-American honors. The most recent was Cody Cleveland at 141 in 2008.

ANOTHER SOCON CROWN
Chattanooga wrapped up its 16th Southern Conference regular season title with a 6-1 record in SoCon matches. UTC shared this year's trophy with Appalachian State and Gardner-Webb. The league started recognizing a season winner in 1994.

SHAKUR NAMED SOCON FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Kamaal Shakur earned Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors, thanks to his team-best 24-6 overall record. He won the league at 157 pounds and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. He is the eighth Moc to win the honor and the first since Nick Soto in 2012.

SHAKUR NAMED SOCON TOURNAMENT MVP
Freshman Kamaal Shakur was named the SoCon Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler. He won the 157 pound trophy with an upset over The Citadel's top-seeded Aaron Walker in the finals. It is the 21st time a Moc has taken home the top individual award at the league tournament.

LAMPE EARNS DAYLE MAY AWARD
Senior John Lampe is this year's recipient of the prestigious Dayle May Award. This honor is given to the male and female senior student-athletes at UTC with the highest cumulative grade-point-average. Lampe carries a 3.97 g.p.a. and has already earned a degree in History. He is currently working towards a Master's Degree in Education.

MOCS SET RECORDS IN THE CLASSROOM
The wrestling team had an outstanding semester in the classroom for the Fall 2015 term. UTC topped the 3.0 mark (3.04) for the first time as a team. The Mocs also set program records with 22 on the A.D. Honor Roll, 16 on the Dean's List and five 4.0s.

HISTORIC COMEBACK WIN AT VIRGINIA
The Mocs posted a huge comeback win at No. 19 Virginia on Feb. 14. UTC was down 18-7 before winning the last three matches, including a pin at heavyweight, to cap a furious charge in Charlottesville, Va. John Lampe scored a decision at 184, followed by Scottie Boykin's win over No. 11 Zach Nye at 197. Jared Johnson capped it all off with a pin at heavyweight to complete the comeback.

It is the second year in a row UTC has posted an amazing comeback against a team from one of the top conferences in collegiate wrestling. Last year, the Mocs erased a 16-9 deficit to Oklahoma to beat the Sooners 19-16 in the NWCA National Duals. Johnson also capped that win with a 12-11 decision over No. 11 Ross Larson.

WEIGHT-BY-WEIGHT PREVIEW
A complete breakdown of each individual Moc at the NCAA Championships is available in the .pdf of the notes which are attached to this story.

Michael Pongracz - Junior - 141
• Making his second appearance at the NCAA Championships after earning an at-large bid.
• 22-4 overall record ... 63-31 in his career.
• 2-3 against the NCAA field this season ... 4-8 in his career.
• Best wins were against Duke's Zach Finesliver (9-2) in the finals of the Wolfpack Open and a 15-6 major decision against Arizona State's Robert Mathers at the Virginia Duals.
• Runner-up at the SoCon Tournament after losing to Appalachian State's Mike Longo in overtime.
• Opens against Virginia Tech's No. 7 seed Solomon Chishko.
• Looking for his first win at the NCAAs.
• Last name is pronounced pohn-GRATS.

Kamaal Shakur - Freshman - 157
• Southern Conference Freshman of the Year.
• Most Outstanding Wrestler at the SoCon Tournament.
• SoCon Champion at 157 pounds as the No. 2 seed.
• Leads the Mocs with a 24-6 overall record.
• 6-2 against the NCAA field this season ... most wins against the field on the team.
• Won the Wolfpack Open in November.
• Best win is a 2-1 (OT) decision against American's 10th-seeded John Boyle in the finals of the Wolfpack Open.
• Opens against No. 3 Jason Nolf of Penn State ... Nolf pinned him at the Southern Scuffle in January.

Sean Mappes - Junior - 174
• Making his second appearance at the NCAAs after earning an at-large bid at 174.
• Runner-up at the SoCon Tournament.
• Finished with a 17-10 record ... 40-22 in his career.
• Placed third at both the Hokie Open and Wolfpack Open.
• 1-4 against the NCAA field this season, including a 4-3 decision against Iowa State's Lelund Weatherspoon ... 1-8 for his career.
• Opens against Army's No. 15 seed Brian Harvey ... lost to Harvey 2-3 in the 2015 Southern Scuffle.
• Looking for his first win at the NCAAs.
• Last name is pronounced MAPP-ess.

John Lampe - Senior - 184
• Four-year letterwinner who is making his first appearance at the NCAAs.
• Lost in OT in the SoCon finals as a freshman and did not get an at-large bid ... lost by one in the SoCon finals this season and did earn an at-large bid.
• 20-5 overall record ... 60-27 career mark.
• 2-4 against the NCAA field this season ... 3-11 in his career.
• Two-time All-SoCon pick.
• Best win is a 7-5 decision over Army's Samson Imonode at the Southern Scuffle.
• Opens against Iowa's No. 2 Sammy Brooks.
• Last name is pronounced LAMP-eee

Scottie Boykin - Junior - 197
• SoCon Champion at 197 pounds.
• Three-time all SoCon.
• 21-6 overall record ... 67-33 career mark.
• 3-3 against the field this season ... 6-15 all-time against the field.
• Making his second appearance at the NCAAs ... went 2-2 last year.
• Best win this year came against Virginia's 14th-seeded Zach Nye ... 7-3 decision helped the Mocs in a comeback win over the Cavaliers.
• Opens against South Dakota State's 15th-seeded Nate Rotert ... beat Rotert 2-0 in last year's NCAAs.

Jared Johnson - Junior - 285
• Earned one of three automatic bids given to the Southern Conference at heavyweight with a runner-up finish at the SoCon Tournament.
• No. 13 seed at heavyweight with a 23-5 record ... first time the Mocs have had a seeded wrestler at heavyweight since No. 11 Chris Thornbury in 1989.
• Spent most of the season ranked in the top 15.
• Making his second appearance at the NCAAs ... went 0-2 last year.
• 6-4 against the field this season ... 8-8 in his career.
• Has a 57-20 career record.
• Came to UTC at 197, but moved up to 285 as a sophomore.
• Biggest win was a pin against Virginia's Patrick Gillen ... gave the Mocs an improbable 19-18 comeback win over the Cavaliers.
• Opens against Edinboro's William Miller ... beat him 4-3 at the Southern Scuffle in January.