New beats old in UTC wrestling matchup

If Jake Yost wasn't the smartest ex-wrestler at Maclellan Gym on Saturday morning, then he was second behind Pat Murphy.

"No, dude," Yost replied when asked if he considered competing for the alumni team in a match with current University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestlers. "Did you see how bad they looked?"

Yost, a recent Southern Conference champion, might have been upped by Murphy. The three-time conference winner said, "I have more sense."

The alums scored a pair of wins - from Ben Reichel and Josh Ward - while the current Mocs got victories from Prescott Garner, Devante Brown, Dean Pavlou, Alex Hudson, Levi Clemons, Josh Condon, Dan Waddell, Brandon Wright, Jason McCroskey, Robert Prigmore and Matt Lettner.

Waddell beat his opponent handily, but his opponent, father Joe Waddell, was ready for pre-postmatch interviews.

"I haven't wrestled much in 20 years other than wrestling in the living room with Dan over the remote control," he said.

Each match consisted of three 90-second periods, and the elder Waddell was one of several of the alumni to call for injury (rest) time. It should have been anticipated considering his "entrance" music was "Amazing Grace."

"I entered the match wanting to not puke on anybody and to have a little wiggle left at the end," Joe said. "I tried to practice a little on Tuesday, and my knee swelled up big-time. I'm not hurt too much, I hope. I have a bike ride tomorrow."

One of the old-timers scheduled to wrestle had to surrender his opportunity after pulling a groin muscle earlier in the week, and one of the younger alums, Adam "Hank" Raines, rediscovered that there is a difference in being in shape and being in wrestling shape.

Raines, who lost to promising freshman Brown, ran a 50-kilometer race two weeks ago and said that might have been as bad as wrestling Saturday.

"I couldn't move his arms to try and get angles, so I just tried sneaking under him," he said.

Other alumni who participated in the fundraiser were Adrian Tramutola, Chris Light, Josh and Michael Keefe, Jacob Harris, John Cofer, Jeff Rufolo, Kevin Baltz and Daryk Cochran.

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