Despite having just one wrestler selected to the preseason all-conference team, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga was picked by the league’s coaches to repeat as Southern Conference champion.
The Mocs received five of the eight first-place votes with Gardner-Webb getting two and Appalachian State one.
“It doesn’t mean much right now,” UTC coach Heath Eslinger said. “We have a lot of question marks, but we have several guys that want to be the answer. I think we have some great guys, but I also think we have some question marks.”
The Mocs have won three straight SoCon regular-season titles and 15 overall since the conference starting crowning a season winner in 1994. They also have taken five consecutive tournament championships and 29 overall since joining the league in 1978.
In the overall balloting announced Thursday, UTC received 45 points, Appalachian State 40, The Citadel 35 and Gardner-Webb 34. Campbell was fifth, Southern Illinois-Edwardsville sixth, VMI seventh and Davidson eighth.
The Mocs’ representative on the preseason all-conference team is 174-pound Sean Mappes, a defending SoCon champion.
Appalachian State placed three on the preseason team and Campbell, Southern Illinois and The Citadel had two apiece.
Appalachian is represented by Vito Pasone (125), Mike Longo (141) and Denzel Dejournette (285); Campbell by Nathan Kraisser (133) and Ville Heino (184); SIUE by Connor McMahon (165) and Jake Tindle (197); and The Citadel by Matt Frisch (149) and Aaron Walker (157). Walker is a two-time conference champ at 157.
The Mocs’ question marks are at 125 and 133 pounds, specifically, and possibly at 157 and 165. There are returning starters at the other weights: Michael Pongracz (141), Mappes, John Lampe (184), Scottie Boykin (197) and Jared Johnson (285). Johnson, Mappes, Boykin and Pongracz all are returning NCAA qualifiers.
Alonzo Allen, who redshirted last year, is the front-runner at 125 pounds while Alex Ward, back from his Mormon mission trip, and newcomer Chris DeBien are the top 133-pound contenders.
Eslinger expects Kamaal Shakur to step in at 157 pounds, a weight class occupied last year by Austin Sams, who has dropped to 149. There could be quite a scrap for the 165-pound slot between true freshman Dominic Lampe and Barrett Walthall, a former Christian Brothers standout beginning his third year with the Mocs.
Among the other new Mocs is Bryce Carr, a junior college national champion from Darton College in Albany, Ga. Carr is a probable 174-pounder.
* The Mocs will have extra help in the practice room this year in former wrestlers Levi Campbell, who now is the team’s volunteer assistant coach, former 125-pounder Sean Boyle and 133-pound Nick Soto.
* The Mocs’ Blue-Gold meet is scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at Maclellan Gym. Admission is free.
“There will be some really good matchups, and it will be a chance for folks to see the young guys for whom we have high expectations,” Eslinger said.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.