The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will be trying for its first wrestling wins of the season this morning when the Mocs host Gardner-Webb and Division II member Anderson University.
They will wrestle Gardner-Webb at 10 and Anderson at 11 and will depart afterward for a Sunday afternoon meet at No. 13 Central Michigan.
The Mocs lost to Kent State and Virginia Tech at Blacksburg, Va., last Saturday but rebounded on Sunday by taking six medals in Virginia Tech's Hokie Open.
"As a team we missed a great opportunity to knock off two really good teams. We let it slip by," coach Heath Eslinger said. "Both were close duals, and we have to find a way to win those types of matches."
Weekend highlights included 141-pound Cody Cleveland beating Tech's Chris Diaz, the nation's seventh-ranked wrestler, 11-6, and true freshman Jake Young winning the Hokie Open 174-pound championship.
"Effort-wise, we did a really good job. There are some things we can do as coaches to fix some things technically and mentally," Eslinger said.
In addition to Cleveland and Young, Eslinger expects to start Bucky Johnson (125), Dea Pavlou (149), Joey Knox (157), Brandon Wright (165), Jason McCroskey (184) and Niko Brown (197). Josh Statum steps in at 133 and Tom Minwell at 285.
Minwell will have his hands full against Gardner-Webb, whose Dustin Porter is a three-time NCAA qualifier. Porter is ranked 21st nationally.
Anderson's top wrestlers are junior Chris Francis (133) and senior J.J. Jackson (157).
Ward Gossett is an assistant sports editor and writer for the Times Free Press. Ward has a long history in Chattanooga journalism. He actually wrote a bylined story for the Chattanooga News-Free Press as a third-grader. He Began working part-time there in 1968 and was hired full time in 1970. Ward now covers high school athletics, primarily football, wrestling and baseball and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling. Over a 40-year career, he has covered ...
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