CSU-Bakersfield's Russell Rohlfing, behind, scores on UTC's Mason Wallace to win in overtime during their Southern Scuffle wrestling tournament round of 16 bout at McKenzie Arena on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019, in Chattanooga, Tenn. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior wrestler Alonzo Allen got 2019 off to a good start.
Allen reached the quarterfinals Tuesday in the championship bracket of the 125-pound class of the Southern Scuffle - billed as the nation's top in-season collegiate wrestling tournament - hosted by UTC at McKenzie Arena. He registered wins in the first two rounds before falling to second-seeded Rico Montoya of Northern Colorado.
"Overall, I think I did pretty good today," said Allen, a defending Southern Conference champion. "In that last match I just let that kid outwrestle me, but if I can keep the momentum going through tomorrow, I'll be on that podium."
Allen's two wins didn't come easily. Tied 5-5 after two periods in the first round, he scored a third-period escape and takedown to beat Audey Ashkar from Binghamton.
Allen (12-4) nearly gave away his second-round bout against Rider's Richie Koehler. After an early takedown in the final period gave the Moc a commanding 12-4 lead, a flurry of points from Koehler - including a near fall with just over a minute left - tightened the match. Allen fended Koehler off, however, to win 14-12.
"This tournament is a good opportunity to wrestle some of the best wrestlers in the country," Allen said. "It helps me prepare for the SoCon tournament because I want to win it again."
Two other Mocs nearly joined Allen in the quarterfinals. Junior Chris Debien (141) and freshman Mason Wallace (149) both took seeded opponents to overtime before being defeated.
"Our guys are wrestling hard, but we're just making some young mistakes right now," UTC coach Kyle Ruschell said. "We lost some matches by a point or in overtime, but the guys are fighting hard and we can fix the mistakes."
After winning a 9-3 decision in the first round, Wallace (12-6) faced Cal State-Bakersfield's Russell Rohlfing in the round of 16. Down 4-2 midway through the third period, Wallace scored an escape and subsequent takedown with 22 seconds left to take a 5-4 lead.
Wallace was assessed a techical violation, however, when he locked his hands just before the end of the match, which gave Rohlfing a point and sent the matchup to overtime, where Wallace lost 7-5.
No. 1-ranked Penn State continued its dominance at the Scuffle - the Nittany Lions have won every year since 2012 except 2017, when they did not participate - with 11 wrestlers reaching the championship semifinals. But the Lions' lead over 2017 champion and third-ranked Oklahoma State after day one was just 10 points, 121.5 to 111.5.
Iowa State and Lock Haven are tied for third with 60 points, followed by Navy with 47.5, Duke with 46.5 and Stanford with 41. UTC begins the final day in 17th place with 22 points.
The Mocs have three wrestlers still fighting for places on the podium: Allen, Debien (12-6) and Fabian Gutierrez (125). Gutierrez (16-3), seeded fourth, lost in the first round but rattled off four wins in a row to reach day two.
Action resumes at 10 a.m. with the championship finals set to start at 7 p.m.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com