Sean Boyle wrestles at the Southern Conference wrestling tournament Saturday, March 7, 2015.UTC wrestlers in NCAA tournament
Championship preliminary 197–Scottie Boykin dec. Nathan Rotert (South Dakota State), 2-0.Championship round 1 125–Sean Boyle dec. Scott Parker (Lehigh), 6-5; 133–Mark Gray (Cornell) pinned Nick Soto, 2:32; 141–Joe Ward (UNC) dec. Mike Pongracz, 4-0; 149–Zack Beitz (Penn State) major dec. Shawn Greevy, 10-1; 174–Zach Epperly (Va. Tech) dec. Sean Mappes, 8-3; 197–J’Den Cox (Missouri) dec. Boykin, 8-1; 285–Austin Masden (Okla. State) dec. Jared Johnson, 6-1.Championship round 2 125–Korey Mines (Edinboro) dec. Boyle, 12-7.Consolations round 1 133–Soto dec. Troy Heillman (UNC), 8-4; 141–Josh Dziewa (Iowa) major dec. Pongracz, 12-3; 149–Marcus Cain (Duke) pinned Greevy, 0:36; 174–Mark Martin (Ohio State) dec. Mappes, 6-3; 197–Boykin dec. Elliott Riddick (Lehigh), 8-6; 285–Ryan Solomon (Pitt) dec. Jared Johnson, 6-4.
If the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is going to earn a wrestling All-American plaque at the NCAA tournament, the Mocs are going to have to go the long way around.
Sean Boyle, fifth-seeded at 125 pounds, won his initial outing but then lost in Thursday night’s second championship round in St. Louis.
The senior was unable to capitalize on a 6-5 win over Lehigh’s Scott Parker — his 31st victory this season. He then lost to 12th-seeded Kory Mines of Edinboro.
The tournament resumes at 11 EDT this morning with quarterfinals on four mats and the second consolation round on four mats with the Mocs still seeking the first All-American for coach Heath Eslinger.
UTC will have three wrestling in those rounds: Boyle, Nick Soto (133) and Scottie Boykin (197).
Ohio State was the first-day leader with 23 points. Iowa had 21, Oklahoma State 19.5, Penn State 18.5 and Missouri 18. The Mocs were in a tie for 45th with 2.5 points.
Soto won over North Carolina’s Troy Heillman and Boykin beat Lehigh’s Elliott Riddick. It was a rebound for Boykin, who lost to Missouri’s J’Den Cox, the top seed and defending champion at 197 pounds.
Boykin actually had the Mocs’ best record for the first day at Scottrade Center. He had to wrestle a preliminary bout, beating South Dakota State’s Nathan Rotert prior to his match with Cox.
Following Boyle’s opening win, UTC lost the rest of its first-round matches. Senior Soto, a four-time tournament qualifier, got caught and pinned in the waning moments of the first period by Cornell’s Mark Grey.
Mike Pongracz (141), Shawn Greevy (149), Sean Mappes (174) and Jared Johnson (285) had their seasons end with consecutive losses.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.