UTC 33, SIUE 7
(Meet started at 125 pounds)125 — Alonzo Allen (UTC) pinned Joe Antonelli, 3:32; 133 — Dakota Leach (SIUE) dec. Cody Hill, 9-7; 141 — Michael Pongracz (UTC) tech. fall over John Muldoon, 6:48; 149 — John Fahy (SIUE) major dec. Roman Boylen, 9-1; 157 — Kamaal Shakur (UTC) dec. Nate Higgins, 9-7; 165 — Dominic Lampe (UTC) dec. Erik Travers, 10-6; 174 — Sean Mappes (UTC) tech. fall over Clayton Bass, 6:26; 184 — John Lampe (UTC) pinned Derek Nagel, 1:42; 197 — Scottie Boykin (UTC) dec. Jake Tindle, 8-3; 285 — Jared Johnson (UTC) dec. Chris Johnson, 6-0.Records: UTC 5-2, 2-0 SoCon; SIU-Edwardsville 1-5, 0-1.
Eager for a brief Christmas break, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team presented coach Heath Eslinger with an early present Sunday afternoon.
The Mocs won eight of 10 matches in a 33-7 Southern Conference victory over the visiting Cougars of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville.
Several Mocs had parents at the meet and were ready to head for home and a six-day respite. They’ll return to campus the day after Christmas and begin preparations for the super-strong Southern Scuffle, which is scheduled Jan. 1-2 at McKenzie Arena.
UTC (5-2, 3-0) recorded two pins and a pair of technical falls in the opening conference match for SIUE (1-5), which was coming off its first win over a Big Ten opponent since 1989. That was a 28-18 upset of Northwestern after losses to Arizona State, ranked Illinois and Missouri and Indiana.
“We had a lot of winnable matches and were doing some good things,” SIUE coach Jeremy Spates said. “However, we followed it up with some inconsistency.”
The Cougars’ wins came at 133 pounds, where Dakota Leach outlasted Cody Hill 9-7, and at 149 as John Fahy scored a 9-1 major decision over true freshman Roman Boylen. Boylen is likely to remain in the Mocs’ lineup for the foreseeable future due to multiple injuries that have sidelined junior Austin Sams.
One of the Mocs’ biggest victories was registered by 18th-ranked 197-pounder Scottie Boykin. The junior avenged a loss in last season’s SoCon tournament with an 8-3 victory over Jake Tindle.
“It was good conference-wise and inside. Losing that one last year ate at me all spring and summer,” Boykin said.
Jared Johnson, ranked 12th nationally at 285 pounds, posted a 6-0 victory over SIUE’s Chris Johnson.
“We had good wins at 197 and heavyweight,” Eslinger said. “Those were two guys that we had losses to last year, and it was good to see our guys come out and dominate.”
There was excitement from the flash of 125-pound Alonzo Allen to the power of 184-pound John Lampe, the only senior in UTC’s lineup. Allen forged an 11-1 lead before getting his final back points midway of the second period for a pin in 3:32. Lampe improved to 12-2 with a first-period pin of Derek Nagel, whom he whipped to his back with 1:42 remaining.
The tech falls were earned by unbeaten Michael Pongracz (149) and Sean Mappes (174). The lanky Pongracz improved to 10-0 for the season.
UTC’s other winners were Kamaal Shakur, who came from behind in the final 15 seconds for a 9-8 victory at 157 pounds, and Dominic Lampe, who rallied from a 5-3 deficit and a 6-6 tie to win 9-6 at 165.
“Up and down the lineup we looked decent, and I think we’re a little tired in spots. We have to make sure we’re training the right way individually,” Eslinger said. “Each guy has a different set of struggles, and we have to dial those in, because at the end of the year there is no room for error.”
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.