BUIES CREEK, N.C. – The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's wrestling team dropped a back and forth battle, 18-13 at Campbell to conclude its North Carolina road trip on Sunday afternoon. The Mocs were up 13-12 with two bouts remaining, but the hosts logged two decisions in the upper-weight classes to complete their comeback.
24th-ranked 125-pounder, Fabian Gutierrez got the Mocs on the board first for the second straight dual with a 5-2 decision. The senior logged two reversals in the second period to take a lead and secure the win.
At 133 pounds, No. 22 Brayden Palmer continued the 1-2 punch at the top of the lineup for the Mocs. He secured a takedown in all three periods to log his second-straight decision of the weekend.
Campbell's No. 27 Shannon Hanna and No. 6 Josh Heil secured narrow decisions at 141 and 149 pounds to tie the match at six heading into the fifth match of the afternoon.
Weston Wichman (157) used a takedown a minute into overtime to put the Mocs on top 9-6. Drew Nicholson continued the Chattanooga success and secured the first bonus point of the match with a takedown with less than 10 seconds to go in the third period to give UTC a 7-point advantage.
The Camels got back into the win column at 174 with a narrow 3-1 decision to cut their deficit to four. The hosts followed that up with a 6-0 decision at 184. Heading into the final two matches of the afternoon, the Blue and Gold led 13-12.
With 10 seconds to go in the third period, Campbell's Levi Hopkins scored a takedown to get a decision at 197 pounds to put the Camels on top 15-13. At the heavyweight bout, Campbell's No. 26 Taye Ghadiali secured a 8-1 decision to hold on the Camel's lead.
The Mocs drop to 4-9 overall and 2-1 in SoCon action, while Campbell improves to 8-4, 3-0.
Chattanooga returns home for its first of four matches on Friday, Feb. 4 against The Citadel at 7 p.m. The match is Military Appreciation Night. Any former or active military members will receive free admission by showing their ID.
CAMPBELL 18, CHATTANOOGA 13
125: No. 24 Fabian Gutierrez (UTC) over No. 23 Korbin Meink (CAMP) (DEC 5-2)
133: No. 21 Brayden Palmer (UTC) over Domenick Zaccone (CAMP) (DEC 7-3)
141: No. 27 Shannon Hanna (CAMP) over Franco Valdes (UTC) (DEC 5-3)
149: No. 6 Josh Heil (CAMP) over Noah Castillo (UTC) (DEC 4-2)
157: Weston Wichman (UTC) over Matthew Dallara (CAMP) (SV-1 DEC 3-1)
165: Drew Nicholson (UTC) over Riley Augustine (CAMP) (MD 11-3)
174: No. 17 Austin Murphy (CAMP) over Carial Tarter (UTC) (DEC 3-1)
184: No. 26 Caleb Hopkins (CAMP) over Thomas Sell (UTC) (DEC 6-0)
197: Levi Hopkins (CAMP) over Matthew Waddell (UTC) (DEC 6-4)
HWT: No. 26 Taye Ghadiali (CAMP) over Matthias Ervin (UTC) (DEC 8-1)
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