IOWA STATE 22, UTC 13
125—Kyle Larson (ISU) dec. Alonzo Allen, 10-4; 133—Earl Hall (ISU) major dec. Cody Hill, 16-4; 141—Mike Pongracz (UTC) major dec. John Meeks, 8-0; 149—Gabe Moreno (ISU) dec. Chase Zemenak, 5-2; 157—Kamaal Shakur (UTC) dec. Logan Breitenbach, 16-9; 165—Tanner Weatherman (ISU) pinned Dominic Lampe, 6:36; 174—Sean Mappes (UTC) dec. Lelund Weatherspoon, 4-3; 184—Dane Pestano (ISU) dec. McCoy Newberg, 6-3; 197—Marcus Harrington (ISU) dec. Scottie Boykin, 5-3, SV1; 285—Jared Johnson (UTC) dec. Joe Scanlan, 4-1.Records: Iowa State 6-2; UTC 7-3.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga made a fight of it, but the Mocs dropped their Virginia Duals semifinal to 15th-ranked Iowa State in Hampton, Va., on Saturday.
“We wrestled really tough and I’m really proud of the attitude and the effort,” coach Heath Eslinger said. ‘We were in it. We gave ourselves a chance to win.”
The Mocs, who reached the semis with Friday wins over Grand Canyon and Rider, fell to the Cyclones 22-13.
Before they could begin the long ride home, they had a late Saturday meet against Arizona State for third place.
Heading into that last meet, UTC’s 141-pound Mike Pongracz was 3-0 in the tournament, including a major decision over Iowa State’s John Meeks.
“He’s just been consistent – super consistent,” Eslinger said.
Also getting his third win in the tournament was 157-pound Kamaal Shakur, who just missed a major decision against Logan Breitenbach. Heavyweight Jared Johnson also was undefeated although he did not wrestle the opener against Grand Canyon.
A highlight for UTC had to be the performance of Sean Mappes. The 174-pounder pulled out a 4-3 victory Saturday afternoon over 12th-ranked Lelund Weatherspoon.
“He just put together a full match,” Eslinger praised.
The Mocs, when they finally pulled in this morning, were going to have a day off, and Eslinger said Monday’s workout would probably consist only of lifting weights. They’ll return to the practice room in force on Tuesday to prepare for Friday’s home Southern Conference meet against Gardner-Webb. That meet, to start at 6 p.m., will be at Maclellan Gym.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.