Nine Mocs Wrestlers Advance to Second Day of Southern Scuffle

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga hosted another outstanding day of wrestling action with the opening of the 2016 Defense Soap & Flips Wrestling Southern Scuffle in McKenzie Arena. Over 2,600 fans enjoyed ringing in the New Year with tons of top-notch action in the Scenic City.

Top-ranked Penn State leads the team race with 47.5 points, followed closely by No. 2 Oklahoma State with 44.5 points. Cornell (40.0), Lehigh (36.5) and North Carolina (32.5) round out the top five. The host Mocs have two individuals still alive in the main draw and are 17^th in the 29-team field.

"It was just some great wrestling today," stated head coach Heath Eslinger. "From the first whistle there was a lot of great wrestling. It’s a game of inches and when the competition is at this level. You got to win those close matches. We won some in some places and we lost some in some places, but we need to make sure that we’re winning more than losing."

Junior heavyweight Jared Johnson came into the match No. 14 in the country and the No. 4 seed in the tournament. He opened with a 4-1 decision over Air Force’s Marcus Malecek and advanced to the quarters with a pin (1:35) against The Citadel’s Joe Bexley.

Tomorrow’s championship quarterfinals begin at 9:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) and Johnson takes on Appalachian State’s Denzel Dejournette. Dejournette is currently No. 13 in the nation and the No. 5 seed in the event.  He beat Johnson 4-2 in their last meeting in the second round of the SoCon Tournament.

Freshman Kamaal Shakur shook off Virginia’s Andrew Atkinson (3-2) in overtime to advance to the quarters at 157. He opened with an 11-5 decision over Navy’s Drew Daniels and is currently on a 13-match winning streak.

"Kamaal Shakur looked really good," added Eslinger. "He’s learning his wrestling and we have a good opportunity in front of us tomorrow to wrestling a really good guy. Jared Johnson looked really good too."

Shakur has a tall test tomorrow with top-seeded and third ranked Jason Nolf of Penn State. Nolf advanced to the finals at last year’s Scuffle as an unattached true freshman.

Junior Michael Pongracz made it to the Round of 16 before falling in a one-point affair with Wyoming’s 15^th-ranked Bryce Meredith (6-5). He opened with a 6-2 decision over Lehigh’s Jon Mele and followed with a 4-2 win against Central Michigan’s Kyle Noonan. His loss to Meredith was his first of the season with his record standing at 12-1.   

Senior John Lampe also made it to the quarters before falling against a ranked foe. He gave up a late takedown in a tight match against Oklahoma’s 18^th-ranked Nolan Boyd.

Junior Scottie Boykin came into the event ranked No. 18 in the nation and the No. 10 seed. He opened with a win over North Carolina’s Scott Marmoll (6-3), but lost in overtime in the Round of 16 to Air Force’s Parker Hines (10-8 (SV1).

Freshman Roman Boylen is still alive in the backdraw at 149. Junior Sean Mappes and sophomore Barrett Walthall are also in the wrestlebacks at 174. They are joined in the consolations by Pongracz, Lampe and Boykin.

Doors open tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. with the quarterfinals beginning at 9:00 a.m. The championship semifinals are 1:30 p.m. and the medal matches are 7:00 p.m. 

Southern Scuffle Results for Chattanooga

125

Alonzo Allen

           Jacob Fontanez (Army) – L-D, 5-9

           Connor Schram (Stanford) – L-D, 5-8

Cody Minnick

           Tanner Shoap (Drexel) – W-D, 2-0

           Ethan Lizak (Minnesota) – L-Fall (0:44)

133

Cody Hill

           Franco Ferraina (Drexel) – L-D, 3-7

           Jason Delacruz (Cal Poly) – L-Fall (2:17)

141

Michael Pongracz

           Jon Mele (Lehigh) – W-D, 6-2

           Kyle Noonan (CMU) – W-D, 4-2

           No. 15 Bryce Meredith (Wyoming) – L-D, 5-6

149

Zach Shareef

           T.J. Miller (Virginia) – L-D, 3-8 (SV1)

           Cole Mendenhall (Wyoming) – L-MD, 7-18

Andrew Webb

           No. 20 Patricio Lugo (Edinboro) – L-MD, 0-8

           Jensen Lorea (Edinboro) – W-D, 10-4

               Roman Boylen (UTC) –  L-D, 10-12

Roman Boylen

           Gary Dinmore (Penn State) – L-MD, 1-10

           Benjamin Polkowske (Northern Colorado) – W-TF, 16-0

           Andrew Webb (UTC) – W-D, 12-10

Jacob Murphy

           Timmy Box (Northern Colorado) – L-D, 3-9

           Chandler Pyke (N.C. State) – L-Inj. Def.

157

Kamaal Shakur

           Drew Daniels (Navy) – W-D, 11-5

           Andrew Atkinson (Virginia) – W-D, 3-2 (SV1)

165

Dominic Lampe

           Connor Flynn (WVU) – L-D, 7-9

           Travis Berridge (Cal Poly) – L-Fall (4:30)

174

Sean Mappes

           Fox Baldwin (Virginia) – L-Fall (1:56)

           Sohrab Movahedi (Cal Poly) – W-TF, 19-0

Barrett Walthall

           Casey Kent (Penn) – L-D, 4-10

           Nicholas Elmer (Drexel) – W-D, 5-4

184

John Lampe

           Samson Imonode (Army) – W-D, 7-5

           No. 18 Nolan Boyd (Oklahoma State) – L-D, 2-5

McCoy Newberg

           Broc Berge (Minnesota) – W-MD, 11-0

           No. 15 Mathew Miller (Navy) – L-Fall (1:33)

           Zach Nevills (Stanford) – L-Fall (3:28)

197

Scottie Boykin

           Scott Marmoll (North Carolina) – W-D, 6-3

           Parker Hines (Air Force) – L-D, 8-10 (SV1)

D.J. Franklin-Smith

           Nate Shaw (Wyoming) – W-D, 3-2

           Vincent Pickett (Edinboro) – L-D, 0-12

           Ben Honis (Cornell) – L-MD, 0-8

285

Jared Johnson

           Marcus Malecek (Air Force) – W-D, 4-1

           Joseph Bexley (The Citadel) – W-Fall (1:35)

Connor Tolley

           Patrik Garren (Penn) – L-D, 5-6

           Marcus Malecek (Air Force) – L-D, 4-10