The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team took third place at the 2020 Southern Conference Championships in Boone, N.C. today. No. 20 Campbell won the team title with 117 points, followed by Appalachian State (102) and the Mocs (75).
Sophomore
Matthew Waddell, ranked No. 16 at 184 pounds, secured his spot at the NCAA Championships with a second place showing. Sophomore
Tanner Smith dropped his true second place match at 149 and will have to wait on next week's at-large bids.
Other Mocs who finished second include senior
Rodney Jones (197), junior
Fabian Gutierrez (125) and sophomore
Mason Wallace (141). Sophomore
Tyler Shilson placed third at 157 pounds.
Waddell pinned his way to the finals with falls over Max Gallahan (VMI) and Gavin Henry (Davidson). He lost to No. 8 Andrew Morgan of Campbell (10-2), but managed to secure the second allocation at 184 with Henry finishing third.
Gutierrez was the No. 1 seed at 125 and opened with a 12-1 decision over Davidson's Cian Fischer. He lost in the finals to defending SoCon Champ Korbin Meink of Campbell.
Sophomore
Wade Cummings had some fireworks early in the day. He pinned Gardner-Webb's Brandon Bright in just 12 seconds of action. Cummings went on to advance to the third place match at 133 before losing to Davidson's Kyle Gorant.
Wallace took his No. 3 seed to the finals, opening with a pin over Gardner-Webb's Brandon Bright. He then beat second-seeded Bradley Irwin of Appalachian State (9-3) in the semifinals. Wallace went on to battle hard against No. 11 Josh Heil of Campbell in the final before falling 6-4.
Smith advanced to the finals with wins over Presbyterian's Bryton Goering (TF 17-1) and Campbell's Jason Kraisser (6-4). He lost to No. 22 Jonathan Millner in the finals (6-2) and then dropped a true-second place match to The Citadel's Selwyn Porter (7-6).
Shilson had a strong showing at 157. He opened with an 8-7 win over VMI's Will Lawrence before falling to Campbell's Matthew Dallara (9-5) in the semifinals. He finished with wins against Davidson's Hunter Costa (10-4) and The Citadel's Douglas Gudenburr (Fall 0:38).
Jones had a bye in the first round and defeated Zach Brown of VMI in the semifinals (9-5). He lost in the finals to Appalachian State's Demazio Samuel.
Up next for the Mocs is the 2020 NCAA Championships in Minneapolis, Minn. Remaining at-large bids will be announced with the NCAA Selection Show on Wednesday, March 11.
Team Scores
1. No. 20 Campbell - 117.0
2. Appalachian State - 102.0
3. Chattanooga - 75.0
4. The Citadel - 30.0
5. Davidson - 29.0
6. VMI - 28.0
7. Gardner-Webb - 16.5
8. Presbyterian College - 1.0
SoCon Tournament – Boone, N.C.
Appalachian State University – Holmes Convocation Center
Sunday – March 8, 2020
125
No. 18 Fabian Gutierrez – 2nd Place
Cian Fischer (Davidson) – W-MD, 12-1
Korbin Meink (Campbell) – L-D, 4-7
133
Wade Cummings
Nathan Orsco (Citadel) – Fall (0:12)
Codi Russell (App. St.) – L-D, 3-4
Will Edmiston (GWU) – W-MD, 12-4
Kyle Gorant (Davidson) – L-D, 8-14
141
Mason Wallace – 2nd Place
Brandon Bright (GWU) – W-Fall (6:26)
Bradley Irwin (App. St.) – W-D, 9-3
No. 11 Josh Heil (Campbell) – L-D, 4-6
149
No. 23 Tanner Smith – 2nd Place
Bryton Goering (Presbyterian) – W-TF, 17-1 (5:45)
Jason Kraisser (Campbell) – W-D, 6-4
No. 22 Jonathan Millner (App. St.) – L-D, 2-6
157
Tyler Shilson – 3rd Place
Will Lawrence (VMI) – W-D, 8-7
Matt Dallara (Campbell) – L-D, 5-9
Hunter Costa (Davidson) – W-D, 10-4
Douglas Gudenburr (Citadel) – W-Fall (0:38)
165
Drew Nicholson
Dazjon Casto (The Citadel) – L-D, 6-8
Parker Corwin (Presbyterian) – W-MD, 13-2
R.J. Mosley (GWU) – L-D, 1-4
174
Hunter Fortner
Evan Schenk (GWU) – W-D, 5-4 (TB-2)
Thomas Flitz (App. St.) – L-D, 1-4
Steven Newell (Davidson) – W-D, 4-3
Austin Kraisser (Campbell) - L-D, 5-6
184
No. 16 Matthew Waddell – 2nd Place – NCAA Qualifier
Max Gallahan (VMI) – W-Fall (1:14)
Gavin Henry (Davidson) – W-Fall (0:47)
No. 8 Andrew Morgan (Campbell) – L-MD, 2-10
197
Rodney Jones – 2nd Place
Zach Brown (VMI) – W-D, 9-5
Demazio Samuel (App. St.) – L-D, 1-6
285
Grayson Walthall
Chris Beck (VMI) – L-D, 0-5
Gabriel Picket (GWU) – W-Fall (1:49)
Michael McAleavey (Citadel) – L-TF, 16-0 (4:21)
