SALEM, Va. – Heath Eslinger viewed 14th-ranked Kent State as a measuring stick for his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team.
What he found was something he suspected: The Mocs are lacking.
“We’re close, but till you get past close it’s irrelevant,” Eslinger said following the Mocs’ 24-12 loss Saturday to the Golden Flashes. “I see we’re right on the hump, but we’re on the wrong side. There’s a big difference in wrestling the No. 14 team close and beating the No. 14 team.”
The Mocs, though, were a few seconds from opening the season with a win.
“We lose 5-4 at 149 because they have a minute of riding time,” Eslinger said. “A second less and it goes overtime and I feel sure we win, and we lost at 133 with six seconds left.”