UTC’s Drew Nicholson hoists Campbell’s Cameron Pine off the mat, “trying to split the middle and come out the back door,” Nicholson said, during his 3-2 decision over Pine in the 165-pound weight class Sunday inside Maclellan Gym. UTC beat Campbell 18-12 to earn a share of the Southern Conference regular-season championship.
UTC’s Chris Debien wins a 6-2 decision over Campbell’s Nathan Boston in the 141-pound weight class Sunday inside Maclellan Gym.
The referee stops the two-legged hold on UTC’s Drew Nicholson as he lifts Campbell’s Cameron Pine off the mat during their match Sunday at Maclellan Gym.It was as low-scoring as any collegiate wrestling match can be without points being taken away, and in the end the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga topped 25th-ranked Campbell 18-12 Sunday at Maclellan Gym.
In doing so, the Mocs earned a share of the Southern Conference regular-season title, the program’s 17th league championship and first since 2016.
UTC (7-6, 5-1) took six of the 10 matches in a clean dual in which neither team scored any bonus points, leaving Campbell (6-6, 3-1) and Appalachian State (6-6, 3-1) with one league loss each. Appalachian State beat Campbell 19-17 last month, and Appalachian State beat UTC 21-14 this month.
“This is one we marked early in the year,” first-year Mocs coach Kyle Ruschell said in a UTC release. “We knew it was home, we knew it was going to be tight, and if we wrestled like that we knew we could win. There were two or three (matches) that we were supposed to win. There were two or three that they were supposed to win, but our guys fought hard.
“Everything we’ve been preaching, it all came together.”