UTC Mocs logoUTC 32, CAMPBELL 10(Meet started at 184 pounds)125--Byron Smith (UTC) pinned Cody Ryba, 3:22; 133--Nick Soto (UTC) major dec. Drew Walker, 15-5; 141--Mike Pongracz (UTC) dec. Michael Dalstrom, 3-2; 149--Brent Jorge (C) pinned Austin Sams, 0:18; 157--Alex Hudson (UTC) tech. fall over Grant Lumenthal, 5:00; 165--Corey Mock (UTC) tech. fall over Paul Duggan, 1:48; 174--Levi Clemons (UTC) pinned Cody Ryba, 3:22; 184--John Lampe (UTC) dec. Ville Heino, 4-3; 197--Scottie Boykin (UTC) dec. Taylor McGiffen, 13-11; 285--Dawson Peck (UTC) major dec. Eloheim Palma, 8-0.Records: UTC 14-5, 5-0 SoCon; Campbell 4-2, 4-1.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga opened against Campbell at the Fighting Camels' strengths, reeled off six straight wins and left Buies Creek, N.C., with a 32-10 Southern Conference wrestling victory Saturday.
Campbell's Ville Heino (184) and Taylor McGiffen (197) were undefeated in the conference until they ran into John Lampe and Scottie Boykin. Those Mocs won their matches for a 6-0 advantage that UTC would not relinquish.
"Campbell has a good team," UTC coach Heath Eslinger said. "They have 10 solid guys and we were fortunate to win the close matches. Four of the first matches were toss-ups with them probably favored at 125 and 285."
Following Lampe and Boykin, the Mocs' Dawson Peck posted a major decision at 285. Then 125-pound Byron Smith, a late sub for Campbell Lewis, pinned his man.
The 19th-ranked Mocs also got a pin from Levi Clemons (174), technical falls from Alex Hudson (157) and Corey Mock (165) and a major decision from Nick Soto (133).
"Again, we were just consistent and we were able to open it up late, ending the meet with the meat of our lineup. I'm super proud of these guys. They're such a fun group of kids," Eslinger said.
The Mocs, now with a seven-match win streak, wrestle at Davidson this afternoon with a chance to clinch at least a share of the Southern Conference championship.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.