Takedown Report

UTC tops Campbell to earn share of SoCon regular season title

With a share of the Southern Conference regular season title on the line, first-year head coach Kyle Ruschell and his staff guided the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team to a gutty 18-12 win over No. 25 Campbell in Maclellan Gym today.  UTC took six of the 10 matches in a clean dual that did not see either team score any bonus points. The Mocs move to 7-6 overall and close out its SoCon slate with a 5-1 mark. Both Appalachian State (6-6, 3-1 SoCon) and Campbell (5-1, 3-1 SoCon) have one conference loss each, and will likely share the league crown with Chattanooga.

“This is one that we marked early in the year,” stated Ruschell. “We knew it was home, we knew it was going to be tight and if we wrestled like that, we knew we could win. “There were two or three that we were supposed to win. There were two or three that they were supposed to win, but our guys fought hard. Everything we’ve been preaching, it all came together.” After the Mocs went up 12-6 through six bouts, Campbell closed the gap with victories at 174 and 184. Freshman Hunter Fortner made it very interesting against the Camels’ 17th-ranked Andrew Morgan, before falling 9-4. 
Rest of the story at https://intermatwrestle.com/articles/21422

February 10, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

#8 WolfPack Falls in Home Finale to #16 Pitt 18-16

#4 Hidlay scores a decision over #11 Rahmani at 157 pounds

RALEIGH, N.C. – After #8 NC State won five of the first six bouts, #16 Pitt won the final four to come away with an 18-16 road win Sunday afternoon. Both the Wolfpack (14-3, 2-1 ACC) and the Panthers (11-3, 1-2) won five matches, but Pitt scored three bonus points to the Pack’s one. Zurich Storm started the Pack off with a 13-6 decision at 125 pounds, scoring a pair of takedowns in both the first and second periods. Pitt got the first bonus point win of the day, at 133 pounds to take a 4-3 lead in the team totals. NC State then went on to win four straight matches. On his Senior Day, Jamel Morris scored the lone takedown of the match at 141 pounds to score a 4-2 win. The bout went to OT, and Morris secured the win 18 seconds in. Using a nine-point first period with a pair of takedowns and a four-point near fall, #8 Justin Oliver scored bonus points for the Pack with a 15-7 win at 149 pounds. In a battle of the top two ACC wrestlers at 157 pounds, an escape to start the third led #4 Hayden Hidlay to a 3-2 decision over #11 Taleb Rahmani. Thomas Bullard scored takedowns in the first and third period and picked up a 6-1 decision at 165 pounds. NC State led 16-4 with four bouts remaining, but the Panthers closed the dual with four straight wins and a pair of major decisions. Pitt broke the four-match winning streak with a 6-4 decision at 174 pounds, followed by a major decision at 184 pounds in a match-up of ranked wrestlers. #13 Nino Bonaccorsi scored an 8-0 major decision over #3 Nick Reenan. At 197 pounds, Kellan Stout scored the winning takedown in the final 20 seconds to upet #20 Malik McDonald 5-4. With a winner-take-all bout, #14 Demetrius Thomas pulled out a 17-5 major decision at heavyweight to close the dual. Up Next: The Pack will conclude the regular season with back-to-back road duals at ranked ACC foes. First up, a trip to #15 North Carolina for a Friday night dual.

#16 Pitt 18, #8 NC State 16
125: Zurich Storm (NCSU) dec. Brendon Fenton; 13-6 – 3-0
133: #5 Micky Phillipi (Pitt) major dec. John Devine; 17-5 – 3-4
141: Jamel Morris (NCSU) dec. LJ Bentley; 4-2 (SV1) – 6-4
149: #8 Justin Oliver (NCSU) major dec. Robert Lee; 15-7 – 10-4
157: #4 Hayden Hidlay (NCSU) dec. #11 Taleb Rahmani; 3-2 – 13-4
165: Thomas Bullard (NCSU) dec. Tommy O’Brien; 6-1 – 16-4
174: Tommy O’Brien (Pitt) dec. #20 Daniel Bullard; 6-4 – 16-7
184: #13 Nino Bonaccorsi (Pitt) major dec. #3 Nick Reenan; 8-0 – 16-11
197: Kellan Stout (Pitt) dec. #20 Malik McDonald; 5-4 – 16-14
285: #14 Demetrius Thomas (Pitt) major dec. Deonte Wilson; 17-5 – 16-18
Attn: 1,544

February 10, 2019 Posted by The TakeDown Report | Uncategorized | Leave a comment