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Brayden Palmer wins a closely-contested battle over Iowa
Ray Soldano

PREVIEW: It’s Time to Scuffle

Brayden Palmer

Brayden Palmer and the Chattanooga Mocs look forward to Chattanooga’s best New Year’s tradition.

NOTES | STATS
 
CHATTANOOGA---The New Year is here and that means one thing...it's Scuffle time. The Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Sportswear, is back in McKenzie Arena with the top wrestlers in the country vying for the prestigious crown.
 
This is the 19th edition of the Southern Scuffle, but the 11th competed in Chattanooga (since 2012). It's two days of near non-stop wrestling action. Since coming to Chattanooga in 2012, 31 Scuffle champions went on to win national titles in the same year. Every year produced at least one National Champion with a six of the 10 in 2016 alone.
 
"I think then having the viewership of the nation when it comes to wrestling on Chattanooga is always a good thing," Coach Kyle Ruschell explained. "Seeing that that 'Power C' wrestling mat all over Flo and having 20 to 25 Division I schools come to this town. It's a big deal for us, our alumni, our community, everything."
 
It's a great opportunity for the more than 25 Mocs who are early entrants into the event. One would think that's just one of the perks of hosting, but Ruschell has a different mindset.
 
"Everybody has a chance to wrestle in this tournament," he noted. "But you have to do the right things to get there. It's not just being on our roster gets you in. It's a privilege to wrestle in a tournament like this and wrestle against the best guys in the country and go out there and compete. It's not a right just because you go to school here.
 
"If you're doing the right things, and we believe that you're ready to go, you wrestle in it. It's something they earn."
 
It's also an opportunity to put your name in the national discussion. Last year, Brayden Palmer did it in an unusual way. He lost his first-round match and then battled through the consolations to finish third. He is one of nine Chattanooga wrestlers to place in the top 4 all-time in the event joined by teammate Matthew Waddell who was fourth at 184 in 2020.
 
The matches start at 10 a.m., on Sunday and 11 a.m., on Monday. Follow @LetsScuffle and @UTCWrestling on Twitter for more details.
 
MEDIA
Stream: FloWrestling | Live Stats: FloArena
 
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Sunday, January 1
9 a.m.: Doors Open for Spectators
10 a.m.: Pigtail Round
10:45 a.m.: Championship Round of 32
1:30 p.m.: 1st Round of Consolations
2:15 p.m.: Championship Round of 16
4 p.m.: 2nd Round of Consolations
5:45 p.m.: 3rd Round of Consolations
7:30 p.m.: Championship Quarterfinals & 4th Round of Consolations
 
Monday, January 2
10 a.m.: Doors Open for Spectators
11 a.m.: 5th Round of Consolations
1 p.m.: Championship Semifinals & Consolation Quarterfinals
3 p.m.: Consolation Semifinals
7 p.m.: Championship Finals & Medal Matches
 
PROBABLE ENTRANTS
Class Entrant 2022 Record Notes/Others Entered at this Weight
125 Logan Ashton 2-8 Also Dom DiTomasso (1-2)
133 #27 Brayden Palmer 8-2 Team leader in wins & dual points scored (31)
141 Franco Valdes 0-4 Also Blake Boarman (5-3), Eli Knight (0-2)
  Dayne Dalrymple 6-6 6-1 in tourney matches, Also Jake Insko (1-2)
149 #30 Noah Castillo 2-1 Also Grant Lundy (5-6) & Matthew Williams (3-3)
157 Lincoln Heck 5-4 Also Austin Paradice (3-1) & Cole Cochran (3-3)
165 Jackson Hurst 3-6 Also Caleb Waddell (0-3) & Kamdyn Munro (4-1)
174 Thomas Sell 4-4 Also Bryce Keckley (0-0)
184 #31 Matthew Waddell 5-2 Also Landon Lewis (1-4), Ben Bumgarner (0-0)
  Sergio Desiante 3-4 3-1 in tourney matches
197 Jake Boyd 5-3 Also Nick Benton (0-4), Logan Webster (1-2)
285 Logan Andrew 2-7 Clinched team triumph over Northern Illinois
 
 
SERIES (TOP 8 FINISHERS)
2nd: Nick Soto, 2012 (133)
3rd: Sean Boyle, 2015 (125); Bryce Carr, 2017 (184); Bryce Carr, 2018 (184); Brayden Palmer, 2022 (133)
4th: John Davis, 2005 (184); Nick Soto, 2014 (133); Jared Johnson, 2016 (285); Matthew Waddell, 2020 (184)
5th: Matt Keller, 2005 (133); Javier Maldonado, 2006 (125); Michael Keefe, 2006 (141); Scottie Boykin, 2018 (197); Alonzo Allen, 2019 (125); Tanner Smith, 2020 (149)
6th: Aaron Martin, 2006 (149); Dean Pavlou, 2012 (149); Jared Johnson, 2017 (285); Chris Debien, 2019 (141); Fabian Gutierrez, 2022 (125)
7th: Matt Keller, 2006 (133); Lloyd Rogers, 2006 (174); Josh Edmundson, 2006 (184); Niko Brown, 2012 (197); Dean Pavlou, 2013 (141), Nick Soto, 2015 (133)
8th: Javier Maldonado, 2005 (125); Shawn Cordell, 2006 (125); Brandon Wright, 2012 (165); Roman Boylen, 2018 (149)
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
  • Brayden Palmer finished third in last year's event. He is one of nine Mocs to finish in top 4 of their weight class: He did it in exciting fashion after losing his opening bout. Matthew Waddell is the other active Mocs wrestler with a top 4 finishing fourth in the 2020 event at 184.
  • Best team finish is sixth in 2006 in Greensboro. Seven Mocs placed including two - Javier Maldonado (5th) & Shawn Cordell (8th) - at 125. The most points scored is 79.0 in 2012 in a seventh-place finish.
  • Chattanooga had at least one placer in the first 10 Scuffles in the Scenic City.
 
LAST 3 RESULTS
No. 2 Iowa, L, 12-27
SIUE, L, 15-20 (at Gardner-Webb)
Clarion, W, 26-10 (at Gardner-Webb)
 
NEXT 3 MATCHES
Jan. 6: at VMI
Jan. 13: West Virginia, 7 p.m.
Jan. 21: Davidson, 7 p.m.
 
TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Wrestling tickets are on sale now here on GoMocs.com.
 
SOUTHERN SCUFFLE PARKING
Parking is charged for events at McKenzie Arena. There is a 2-day parking pass at $20 for the Southern Scuffle. That will allow patrons to enter and depart at their leisure without being recharged for the 2-day event on Jan. 1-2. Click here for the Scuffle parking.
 
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