The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team evened its overall record at 5-5 with three wins at the Indiana Duals today. UTC dropped matches to No. 11 Indiana and Nothern Illinois, but scored wins against South Dakota State, Cumberlands and Liberty.
Freshman Jake Young, ranked No. 19 in the IntermatWrestle.com Top-25, went 5-0 on the day to improve his overall record to 13-2 in his first collegiate season. Sophomore Demetrius Johnson was also impressive, going 4-1 at 125. His only loss of the day came to Indiana's second-ranked Angel Escobedo.
Senior Cody Cleveland also remained undefeated and moved to 8-0 on the year with wins in the first three matches at 141.
The Mocs started off the day with their closest match of the event, falling to Northern Illinois 19-16. Johnson won the opener at 125 to give the Mocs a 3-0 lead. NIU went ahead 4-3 when No. 20 Tristen DeShazer scored a major decision over Moc freshman Josh Sandoval. Cleveland put UTC back on top 6-4 with a win at 141.
NIU grabbed the momentum with wins in the next two matches. UTC senior Joey Knox was pinned at 157, giving the Huskies at 13-6 advantage. Chattanooga mounted a strong comeback with three straight wins. Sophomore Tyler Roberson capped off the run with a 12-2 major decision against Zach Benzio at 184 to give UTC a 16-13 advantage. Scott Penny tied the match for NIU when he scored a narrow 5-4 win over Moc freshman Niko Brown at 197. Dakota Greenshaw sealed the match for the Huskies when he defeated Chattanooga junior Tom Minweill 7-1 in the heavyweight match.
UTC Bounced back with a big 40-4 win over South Dakota State. The Mocs took nine of 10 matches with freshman Josh Sandoval(133), Cleveland (141), freshman Alex Hudson (149), Knox (157), sophomore Brandon Wright (165), Young (174), sophomore Jason McCroskey (184) and junior Matt Lettner (285) all scoring bonus points in their matches. Brown was the only Moc to lose against SDSU, dropping an 11-0 major decision to No. 8 Tyler Sorensen at 197.
Chattanooga scored three individual wins in their 30-9 loss to the 11th-arnked Hoosiers. Cleveland remained undefeated on the year with an 11-4 decision t 141. Junior Kelly Felix was impressive in his first dual meet action of the year, scoring a 3-1 win at 157. Young defeated No. 17 Trevor Perry 5-1 in their match.
The Mocs posted a 45-6 win over The Cumberlands in the fourth round. UC forfeited 125, 165 and 184, giving 18 points to the Mocs. Freshman Seth Seneca scored a 6-3 decision in his first action of the season in place of Cleveland at 141. Junior Bond Davis posted a pin against Bryce Neff just one minute into the 157 match. Minwell was also impressive shutting out Travis Aubrey 15-0 in the heavyweight match.
Chattanooga scored a 25-14 win in the final match of the day against Liberty. The Mocs scored seven wins in the match, including a pin by Wright at 165 that gave UTC a commanding 16-10 lead.
The Mocs return to action on Thursday, Dec. 17, when they travel to The Citadel to open the Southern Conference portion of their schedule. UTC will face the Bulldogs at 6:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) in Charleston, S.C.
UTC Individual Records at the Indiana Duals
125: Demetrius Johnson - 4-1
133: Josh Sandoval - 2-2
133: Josh Statum - 0-1
141: No. 10 Cody Cleveland - 3-0
141: Seth Seneca - 1-1
149: Alex Hudson - 2-3
157: Bond Davis - 1-0
157: Kelly Felix - 1-0
157: Joey Knox - 2-1
165: Josh Condon - 1-0
165: Brandon Wright - 3-1
174: Jake Young - 5-0
184: Jason McCroskey - 2-1
184: Tyler Roberson - 2-0
197: Niko Brown - 1-4
285: Matt Lettner - 1-0
285: Tom Minwell - 1-3
