SoCon Weekly Recap (2/22/2024)

Hi besties, long time, no see. 

The season is ending almost as quickly as it began - with less than 10 duals left on the calendar, we’re less than 20 days away from the conference tournament (but who’s counting?)

This past weekend kicked off on Thursday, App State served up back-to-back SoCon Shutouts, with road victories over Presbyterian (54-0) and Davidson (44-0). 

The Citadel continued with their success on Friday, advancing to a 5-2 record after a 19-14 win over Gardner-Webb. The dual kicked off at 197, where The Citadel scored the first six points for the dual via decisions at 197 and heavyweight. The Runnin’ Bulldogs’ Drew West (125) answered with a major decision victory over Malik Hardy - followed by two victories via decision by Tyson Lane (133) and Todd Carter (141). Arguably one of my favorite pastimes is watching matches go into sudden-victory - and the 149-pound bout did not disappoint. Jeff Boyd and Zach Price battled it out - with Boyd cinching the 5-2 victory. Two more decisions were up on the board from The Citadel’s Hayden Watson (157) and Brodie Porter (174). Lest we forget Ben Haubert’s 13-1 major decision win over Andrew Wilson at 165. Jha’Quan Anderson brought a finale of fireworks with a 12-1 major decision victory over Adam Ortega. The Citadel will be back in action one last time against Presbyterian College on Thursday, February 22.

Davidson, bouncing back from a tough loss against App State, took to the road against VMI and surged through with a 24-19 victory. The dual was tied 19-19 after eight bouts, with notable pins from Wyatt Ferguson (184, Davidson), Dyson Dunham (133, VMI), and Ryan Vigil (149, VMI) - the Wildcats then pulled away at 157, after Tanner Peake’s major decision victory, and Bryce Sanderlin (165) closing out the dual with a technical fall. 

Campbell continues with their unscathed conference record after they defeated Chattanooga 33-6 on Saturday. The Mocs scored six points at 125 and 141, with #29 Brayden Palmer and Isaiah Powe bringing home the wins of the day. There were some close matches, notably at 133 - #24 Domenic Zaccone  (CU) earned the SoCon Wrestler of the Week for his 5-2 win over #25 Blake Boarman (UTC). On Sunday Campbell traveled to Presbyterian, where they shut out the Blue Hose 55-0.

Gardner-Webb hosted VMI and celebrated senior day on Sunday - picking up their second conference win, 28-10. The dual started off at 197, where Josh McCutchen (GWU) set the tone for the match with a 5-1 decision over Josh Evans (VMI). Heavyweight Tyler Mousaw (VMI) answered with 6 team points - pinning Peyton McComas (GWU). The Runnin’ Bulldogs dominated from 125 through 165 and 184, but at 174 VMI’s Braxton Lewis defeated Sam Mora by 10-1 major decision. VMI will wrestle again this upcoming weekend - hosting Campbell in Lexington. 

And surprise, surprise, guess who found herself in Boone last weekend. After a long weekend at North Carolina’s State Tournament (it’s States not State by the way), the family decided to take a trip up the mountain for the double-header in Varsity Gym. The Mountaineers wrestled Bellarmine first, winning 38-6 - giving up six points via injury default at heavyweight. #9 Cornell was the main event of the afternoon - the Mountaineers fought hard but lost to the Big Red 36-6. #27 Ethan Oakley (133) and #22 Will Miller (165) were the two wins for the Mountaineers. 

We’ll have a few more dual meets to watch before we wrap up the regular season - then it’ll be time for the Matness to begin!

xoxo