The Chattanooga Mocs had a mixed bag of results in the opening session of action at the 2023 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla., today. Junior Brayden Palmer scored a main draw win at 133 pounds, but senior Rocky Jordan was upset in his first match at 174. 

Senior Matthew Waddell had a tall order at 184, going against Penn State's defending NCAA Champion Aaron Brooks. Waddell eventually dropped that one 13-4. 

Below are recaps from the early action today.  All three are still competing in tonight's session, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (E.D.T.).  Tonight's action is on ESPN, with live video and scoring links available on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.

133 – No. 17 Brayden Palmer
No. 16 - Joe Heilmann (Rutgers) – W, 4-2

The Mocs opened the Championships at 133 pounds with Palmer taking on Rutgers' No. 16-seed Joe Heilmann. Palmer was originally the 18^th-seed, but was bumped up to No. 17 due to a scratch earlier in the week.

Heilmann came out aggressive and was in on a shot early in the first.  That played right into Palmer's strength as he came over the top and secured a takedown. Palmer then stayed on top for the rest of the first period, finishing the frame with over two minutes of riding time.

Heilmann deferred to start the second so Brayden chose down. Palmer quickly escaped, but Heilmann made it 3-2 with a takedown. Heilmann cut the riding time down to 1:01 at the end of the second and decided to go neutral to start the third.

Heilmann started with a quick shot that led to over a minute of scrambling.  After a stalemate, there was another scramble on the restart, but Palmer was able to fight off every attack.  There was no scoring in the final frame, allowing Palmer to earn the riding time point for a 4-2 win. 

"It was great to see Brayden get to an early score to get the ball rolling," stated head coach Kyle Ruschell. "It was a tough match but he found a way to get his hand raised at the end and that's what this tournament is about." 

Palmer is back on the mat in tonight's second round.  He faces Penn State's No. 1 seed and two-time defending NCAA Champion Roman Bravo-Young.

174 – No. 10 Rocky Jordan
No. 23 Mickey O`Malley (Drexel) – L-D, 7-8

Jordan is the Mocs' highest seed in the field, coming into the 174 bracket at No. 10.  He opened against Drexel's No. 23 Mickey O'Malley. 

The first period did not see much action until the final 30 seconds.  After a tough battle, O'Malley ended up with the advantage with about five seconds left.  That advantage led to an additional four back points before the final buzzer.

That put Jordan in a 6-0 hole going into the second period.  Jordan deferred, and O'Malley chose down. Jordan pressured throughout the period and got a stall call. However, he was hit with one of his own late in the frame.  Jordan rode the entire two minutes but still trailed 6-0 going into the third.

Jordan chose down for the third and escaped within 15 seconds.  A quick takedown and cut by Jordan made the score 7-3.  Another takedown and cut closed the gap to 8-5 with 40 seconds left. 

With riding time secured, Jordan just needed another score to force overtime. After a stalling on O'Malley, the scored stood a 8-6 after a restart with 21 seconds remaining. 

Jordan got in on another shot, but the horn blew before he could finish the winning moved.  Coach Kyle Ruschell threw the challenge block, but the call on the mat stood.  After riding time was added, O'Malley had the 8-7 win. 

Jordan's next match is in the consolations against Ohio's 26^th-seed Sal Perrine. 

197 – No. 30 Matthew Waddell
No. 3 Aaron Brooks (Penn State) – L-MD, 4-13

Waddell had the difficult task of taking on Penn State's No. 3 seed Aaron Brooks.  Brooks, the defending NCAA Champion, entered the weekend with just one loss on the year.

With nothing to lose, Waddell came out pressuring.  He was on the offensive from the start, but gave up a takedown in the first minute. After an escape, Brooks scored again and led 4-1 after the first. 

Waddell deferred in the second, but Brooks chose top.  Waddell escaped to make it 4-2.  Brooks scored two more times in the second.  Waddell was not able to get anything going in the second final frame before falling 13-4.   

Waddell's next match is against Binghamton's Jacob Nolan.  Nolan is the 19^th-seed at 184.