PURDUE 19, UTC 16
(Meet started at 125 pounds) 125–Sean Boyle (UTC) major dec. Aaron Assad, 9-1; 133–Dannay Sabatello (P) pinned Nick Soto, 5:21; 141–Nick Lawrence (P) dec. Michael Pongracz, 8-6 SV; 149–Shawn Greevy (UTC) dec. Brandon Nelson, 13-7; 157–Doug Welch (P) dec. Austin Sams, 4-1; 165–Pat Robinson (P) major dec. Jared Presley, 10-0; 174–Chad Welch (P) dec. Levi Clemons, 9-3; 184–McCoy Newberg (UTC) dec. Tanner Lynde, 9-6; 197–Scottie Boykin (UTC) dec. Braden Atwood, 6-4 SV; 285–Jared Johnson (UTC) dec. Tyler Kral, 5-1. Records: Purdue 6-2, UTC 3-1.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling dual match with visiting Purdue was a contest of inches Friday night. The Mocs were so close so many times.
Yet they could point also to bonus points allowed, questionable officiating or the loss of their top-ranked wrestler in their home-opening loss, 19-16 to the Boilermakers.
When asked about the absence of dismissed Corey Mock, who had been ranked 12th nationally at 165 pounds, Mocs coach Heath Eslinger said, “We were at full strength.”
That said, the Mocs likely would have won, despite a loss by pin by ranked senior 133-pounder Nick Soto, if Mock participated.
Mock was dismissed from school, and that expulsion for alleged sexual misconduct is to be scrutinized further in chancery court in Davidson County on Dec. 20.
“I don’t know that it will be a full-blown hearing, but it will be a hearing,” said Jeff Rufolo, Mock’s attorney.
Mock, a senior, was denied the opportunity to take final exams, but that decision by UTC chancellor Dr. Steven Angle was overturned after the court in Davidson County issued an injunction.
Regardless, Mock was not there Friday, Soto got pinned and Jared Presley, the fill-in at 165 pounds, gave up a major decision.
The Mocs’ Michael Pongracz came out on the short end of an overtime decision in a match that had Eslinger questioning, if not berating, the official.
“It’s a game of inches and we missed some opportunities,” Eslinger said. “And you can’t give up pins, especially by your more seasoned veterans. ‘Pongo’ (Pongracz) wrestled well. If he wins it, we’d be saying he wrestled great.”
There were, Eslinger would say later in the interview, definitely some highlights for the Mocs.
Those included a come-from-behind win — in the final moments — by McCoy Newberg at 184 pounds, 197-pound Scottie Boykins’ 6-4 overtime victory over eighth-ranked Braden Atwood, and heavyweight Jared Johnson’s 5-1 victory over Tyler Kral.
The win by Newberg, a former Tennessee state champion who transferred to UTC from Nebraska, got his first in-state collegiate win and did it with a three-point near fall. The winning points came on a tilt with 0:10 left in his match.
“It felt good to get a win at the end,” he said. “Yeah, I was nervous. I was wrestling in front of people I haven’t been able to wrestle in front of in a couple of years.”
Boykins, a sophomore, picked up his first win over a top 10 opponent with an overtime takedown.
“It’s definitely a milestone — first big win over a ranked opponent,” he said. “It was a breakthrough for me, something I needed for myself. I wasn’t thinking about him being ranked. I was thinking about the pressure being on him.”
The Mocs will be on the road Sunday, wrestling North Carolina in Atlanta.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.