The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team split a pair of Southern Conference matches in a tri-meet at Appalachian State today.  The Mocs lost to the league-favorite Mountaineers 20-13, but bounced back to defeat the Blue Hose 43-(-1). 

UTC moves to 7-3 overall and 5-1 in league duals.  ASU defeated Presbyterian xx-xx in the final match of the day, improving to 5-2 overall and 5-1 in SoCon action, while Presbyterian fell to 0-4 on the year, all in conference matches.

"I am proud of the way the guys fought today, but we have to fix the little things in order to beat a team like App State," stated UTC head coach Kyle Ruschell.  "We didn't do enough to win enough of the close ones, and that is what you have to do to win in that environment. 

"We have to bounce back because we have a short turnaround for Campbell and Bellarmine this week.  If we can get two wins there, we get a share of the regular season title." 

Juniors Colton Landers (133) and Franco Valdes (141) both posted two wins in contested matches on the day.  Junior Matthew Waddell (184) and freshman Logan Andrew (197) had two victories after taking forfeits against Presbyterian. 

Appalachian State 20 – Chattanooga 13
125: No. 23 Codi Russell (App. St.) over No. 21 Fabian Gutierrez (UTC) (Dec 4-3)
133: Colton Landers (UTC) over Sean Carter (App. St.) (Dec 4-2)
141: Franco Valdes (UTC) over Anthony Brito (App. St.) (SV-2 5-3)
149: No. 21 Jonathan Millner (App. St.) over Aidan Murphy (UTC) (MD 15-5)
157: Cody Bond (App. St.) over Weston Wichman (UTC) (TB-1 7-6)
165: No. 10 William Formato (App. St.) over Andrew Nicholson (UTC) (Dec 6-1)
174: No. 19 Thomas Flitz (App. St.) over Carial Tarter (UTC) (MD 17-4)
184: No. 23 Matthew Waddell (UTC) over Julian Gorring (App. St.) (MD 11-2)
197: Logan Andrew (UTC) over Mason Fiscella (App. St.) (Dec 12-5)
285: Michael Burchell (App. St.) over Grayson Walthall (UTC) (Dec 4-1)

Against the Mountaineers, the Mocs had two close losses that could have turned the tide. The first came at 125 where UTC's 21st-ranked senior Fabian Gutierrez took on No. 23 Codi Russell.  Leading 3-1 going into the final frame, Gutierrez gave up an escape and a takedown late to fall 4-3. 

At 157, freshman Weston Wichman was in an overtime battle with Cody Bond when he was penalized for an illegal move in the first extra frame.  The referees had to use replay to confirm the illegal move, giving Bond a 7-6 win.  Points in either of those matches could have made a big difference in the final outcome.

Junior Colton Landers scored a nice 4-2 decision over Sean Carter at 133.  Carter was the preseason SoCon favorite and 4-0 in league matches at that weight, but the win moved Landers to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in SoCon action. 

Junior Franco Valdes remained unbeaten on the year with a 5-3 win in overtime over Anthony Brito.  Brito was also on the preseason All-SoCon team and came into the match with an 8-2 record and 4-0 in league duals.  Valdes upped his mark to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in conference matches. 

The Mocs tried to mount a comeback late in the match, beginning with junior Matthew Waddell's major decision over Julian Gorring at 184.  Freshman Logan Andrew followed with a 12-5 win over Mason Fiscella at 197. 

Andrew's win closed the team gap to 17-13 and could have been even closer.  Waddell almost had a pin as the buzzer sounded to end the second period of his win.  Andrew also had a cradle but could not score as time ran out of his match.

UTC had a chance, needing a major decision to tie and force criteria, or a tech fall or pin to win.  However, the Mountaineers took that final match at heavyweight to win the dual 20-13. 

Extra Matches
141: Heath Gonyer (App. St.) over Matthew Williams (UTC) (MD 9-0)
149: Tristan Pugh (App. St.) over George Coleman (UTC) (MD 8-0)
157: Grant Lundy (UTC) over Tommy Askey (App. St.) (SV-1 6-4)

Chattanooga 43 – Presbyterian (-1)
125: Fabian Gutierrez (UTC) over Benny Gomez (PC) (Dec 4-3)
133: Colton Landers (UTC) over Dominic Chavez (PC) (MD 13-4)
141: Franco Valdes (UTC) over Jacob Brasseur (PC) (Dec 6-3)
149: Aidan Murphy (UTC) over Reid Stewart (PC) (Dec 3-2)
157: Weston Wichman (UTC) over Zachary Phillips (PC) (Dec 7-3)
165: Andrew Nicholson (UTC) over Bryton Goering (PC) (TF 21-5 6:53)
174: Carial Tarter (UTC) over Victor tello (PC) (Fall 6:27)
184: Matthew Waddell (UTC) over (PC) (For.)
197: Logan Andrew (UTC) over (PC) (For.)
285: Grayson Walthall (UTC) over Will Pontoon (PC) (MD 13-1)
(PC Misconduct at 125 -1.0)

For the most part, the Mocs cruised in their 43-(-1) win over Presbyterian.  However, the 125 and 149 matches were tight wins.  Gutierrez gutted out a 4-3 win over Benny Gomez to open the dual, but some post-match posturing caused the Blue Hose to lose a team point.  Murphy also won a tough bout at 149 over Reid Stewart 3-2. 

Landers wrapped up his impressive day with a major decision win at 133.  Sophomore Carial Tarter had a pin at 174, while juniors Drew Nicholson (165) and Grayson Walthall (285) also scored bonus points.   

Extra Matches
141: Matthew Williams (UTC) over Khalid Brinkley (PC) (Fall 4:03)
149: George Coleman (UTC) over Michael Ramirez (PC) (Fall 4:17)

Up next for the Mocs are the final two dual matches of the season against Campbell and Bellarmine.  UTC hosts the Camels and Knights for a tri-meet on Friday, Feb. 5.  Action begins at Noon with the neutral match in McKenzie Arena.  All three broadcast on ESPN+ and check back to GoMocs.com for the full schedule.