MORGANTOWN, W. VA. - The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's wrestling team concluded its final dual of the 2021 calendar year on Monday afternoon inside the WVU Coliseum. The Mocs fell to Cleveland State, 17-16, West Virginia, 25-12.
 
The Mocs got out to a quick start vs. Cleveland State, holding a 16-0 through 157 pounds. Fabian Gutierrez began the dual with his second ranked win of the season, a 8-3 decision over No. 32 Logan Heil. After Brayden Palmer put the Mocs on top 7-0 with a 9-0 major decision at 133, Franco Valdes, Noah Castillo and Weston Wichman all picked up decisions to give the Mocs a strong 16-point lead halfway through the dual.
 
Cleveland State picked up its first victory of the match at 165 with a narrow 5-4 decision. After two more decisions at 174 and 184, the Vikings picked up a tech fall at 197 to come within two points of the Chattanooga lead. With the heavyweight bout left, the Mocs led 16-14. The Vikings' John Kelbly picked up the 5-1 decision to give Cleveland State the 17-16 victory.
 
The West Virginia dual began with a top-20 matchup as UTC's Gutierrez battled WVU's No. 6 Killian Cardinale who made his season debut. Cardinale got the dual started with a 7-1 decision, handing Gutierrez his first loss of the season. Following the Mountaineers' win at 125, Palmer continued his successful day with a pin at 133, taking down WVU's Garrett Lautzenheiser 4:14 into the contest.
 
After the pin, the two sides alternated decisions from 141-157 with Castillo taking home the Mocs' 6-3 win at 149. Through the first five matches, the dual was knotted up at nine. Following victories from West Virginia at 165 and 174, Matthew Waddell got the Mocs back into the win column with a 4-0 decision at 184.
 
The hosts concluded the dual with wins at 197 and 285.
 
The Mocs move to 3-5 on the season, while with its wins over UTC, CSU moved to 3-2 and West Virginia improved to 4-3.
 
RESULTS:
CHATTANOOGA 16, CLEVELAND STATE 17
125: No. 20 Fabian Gutierrez (CHAT) over No. 32 Logan Heil (CSU) (Dec 8-3)
133: Brayden Palmer (CHAT) over Jake Manley (CSU) (MD 9-0)
141: Franco Valdes (CHAT) over Hunter Olson (CSU) (Dec 9-7)
149: Noah Castillo (CHAT) over Ryan Granger (CSU) (Dec 8-2)
157: Weston Wichman (CHAT) over Daniel Patten (CSU) (Dec 9-5)
165: Riley Smucker (CSU) over Caleb Waddell (CHAT) (Dec 5-4)
174: Anthony Rice (CSU) over Carial Tarter (CHAT) (Dec 5-3)
184: DeAndre Nassar (CSU) over Matthew Waddell (CHAT) (Dec 5-3)
197: Benjamin Smith (CSU) over Landon Lewis (CHAT) (TF 22-6 5:21)
285: John Kelbly (CSU) over Matthias Ervin (CHAT) (Dec 5-1)

CHATTANOOGA 12, WEST VIRGINIA 25
125: No. 6 Killian Cardinale (WVU) over No. 20 Fabian Gutierrez (CHAT) (Dec 7-1)
133: Brayden Palmer (CHAT) over Garett Lautzenheiser (WVU) (Fall 4:14)
141: Caleb Rea (WVU) over Franco Valdes (CHAT) (Dec 10-5)
149: Noah Castillo (CHAT) over Jeff Boyd (WVU) (Dec 6-3)
157: Alex Hornfeck (WVU) over Weston Wichman (CHAT) (Dec 7-2)
165: No. 12 Peyton Hall (WVU) over No. 32 Andrew Nicholson (CHAT) (Dec 8-3)
174: Scott Joll (WVU) over Carial Tarter (CHAT) (MD 11-1)
184: Matthew Waddell (CHAT) over Anthony Carman (WVU) (Dec 4-0)
197: Jackson Moomau (WVU) over Landon Lewis (CHAT) (MD 16-6)
285: No. 22 Michael Wolfgram (WVU) over Grayson Walthall (CHAT) (TF 16-1 5:14)
 
UP NEXT
Following a week off for the holidays, the Mocs are back in action hosting one of the largest in-season wrestling tournaments in the nation - the 2022 Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Sportswear. This year's Scuffle features 26 All-Americans, five national champions, 31 wrestlers in the top-10 and 74 ranked wrestlers. Top teams at The Scuffle include Oklahoma State, Missouri, NC State, Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Maryland. Click here to purchase your tickets today!