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Matthew Waddell, Tanner Smith earn medals for Mocs at Southern Scuffle

UTC wrestler Matthew Waddell, right, shown during the Mocs' Southern Scuffle tournament earlier this month, when he finished fourth in the 184-pound weight class, won a title Saturday at Appalachian State's tournament. / Staff photo by Patrick MacCoon
UTC wrestler Matthew Waddell, right, shown during the Mocs' Southern Scuffle tournament earlier this month, when he finished fourth in the 184-pound weight class, won a title Saturday at Appalachian State's tournament. / Staff photo by Patrick MacCoon UTC wrestler Matthew Waddell, right, shown during the Mocs' Southern Scuffle tournament earlier this month, when he finished fourth in the 184-pound weight class, won a title Saturday at Appalachian State's tournament. / Staff photo by Patrick MacCoon

By Jim Tanner 4 min read

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestler Tanner Smith made it to the podium at the Southern Scuffle without breaking a sweat in Thursday night’s medal round at McKenzie Arena.

Smith finished fifth at 149 pounds in a walkover after Stanford’s Requir van der Merwe retired from the competition with an injury. Van der Merwe was the bracket’s No. 1 seed.

“I guess I’ll take that after a long two days,” the sixth-seeded Smith said. “I’m just happy I was able to get fifth place.”

Smith’s forfeit win paired with a fourth-place finish by fellow sophomore Matthew Waddell, the 184-pound bracket’s No. 4 seed, highlighted the final session of the two-day tournament for the host Mocs. UTC finished 13th in the prestigious competition with 46 points against some of the nation’s top teams.

“It was great having our fans and being on our home turf,” Smith said. “This is like having home-field advantage. So it was important for us to put on a show for our fans and give them something to cheer about.”