Mocs Prepare for Southern Scuffle

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Four hundred collegiate wrestlers from 21 schools (besides UTC) will decend on Chattanooga this coming weekend for the Southern Scuffle collegiate tournament and the UTC wrestlers, coaches and wrestling supporters are ready.

 

From the Northwest to the Midwest, and from the South up the East Coast, numerous nationally-ranked wrestlers, including two NCAA champions, will battle for two days - Jan. 1-2 at McKenzie Arena - for a shot at a first place medal in one of the nation's most prestigious in-season tournaments.

 

Southern Scuffle - Quick Facts

Event: 2012 Southern Scuffle

City: Chattanooga, Tenn.

Arena: McKenzie Arena

Dates: Jan. 1-2, 2012

 

Finals Broadcast:

6 p.m. Jan. 2 - Championship finals will be streamed live through MocsVision on GoMocs.com.

 

Tickets: 423/266-6627

Prices: adults ($15), students under 18 ($5) ... all seats are general admission

 

Online - Bracket updates on GoMocs.com and finals stream via MocsVision.

 

Do You Know ... ?

* 8 teams in the top 25

* 7 more in top 54

* 5 (of a possible 10) No.1 ranked wrestlers will be here

* 2 NCAA champs in town

* 25% of all ranked wrestlers will compete

 

No.1 Ranked Wrestlers

125 - Zach Sanders (Minnesota)

149 - Frank Molinaro (Penn State)

165 - David Taylor (Penn State)

157 - Kyle Dake (Cornell)

197 - Cam Simaz (Cornell)

 

 

Start Times for the Scuffle ...?

Jan. 1 - Doors open at 9:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) to the general public ... action begins at 10 a.m. ... 6:30 p.m. - championship quarterfinals

 

Jan.2 - doors open at 8 a.m. - 11 a.m. - championship semis ... (conso matches prior and during semis)

2:30 p.m. - medal matches for 3rd-8th places

6 p.m. - championship finals (on gomocs.com) - 1 mat

 

CHATTANOOGA PARTICIPANTS:

125: Cole Gallagher (Fr. - 4-7) & Blake Thomas (Fr. - 1-3)

133: Nick Soto (Fr. - 9-3)

141: Shawn Greevy (So. - 5-6) & Joe Burns (So. - 0-4)

149: Kelly Felix (Sr. - 6-4) & Dean Pavlou (Jr. - 6-3)

157: Dan Waddell (Sr. - 6-5), Jared Presley (Fr. - 10-4) & Trey Stavrum (Fr. - 4-2)

165: Brandon Wright (Sr. - 6-4)

174: Levi Clemons (So. - 7-78

184: Robert Prigmore (Jr. - 8-6)

197: Niko Brown (Jr. - 7-3)

285: Kevin Malone (Fr. - 13-7) & Bradley Rogers (Jr. - 3-2)

 

125

Two Chattanooga freshmen are listed in the 125 bracket, including Cole Gallagher (Davidsonville, MD.) and Blake Thomas (Brentwood, Tenn.). Gallagher is 4-7 overall, including a 5th place finish at the Shorter Open on Nov. 12. Thomas Currently has a 1-3 record.

 

The 125 bracket includes six ranked wrestlers, highlighted by No. 1 Zach Sanders from Penn State. Gallagher will face Missouri's Daniel Boyd in the first round while Thomas received a bye and faces Old Dominion's Buddy Scarborough in the second round.

 

133

Nick Soto (Spring Hill, Fla.) continues a quick start to his collegiate career. The current SoCon Wrestler of the Week is coming off a big win over No. 4 B.J. Futrell in a dual against No. 7 Illinois on Dec. 18. He is 9-3 overall, including a third place finish at the Hokie Open. He has wins in six of his last seven outings.

 

Soto will be tested against a group that includes five from the top-20. He is set to take on the winner of North Carolina's Cameron Throckmorton and Missouri's Eric Wilson in his first match.

 

141

Sophomores Shawn Greevy (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) and Joe Burns (Morristown, Tenn.) are competing at 141. Greevy is currently 5-6 overall while Burns is looking for his first win in four tries.

 

The 141 bracket features five ranked wrestlers and Burns could see one in his first match. He is awaiting the winner of Virginia's No. 19 Nick Nelson and Cleveland State's Joe Palivoda. Greevy will take on Taylor Moeder of Old Dominion.

 

149

Senior Kelly Felix (Franklin, Tenn.) has solidified his spot for the Mocs at 149 but will be joined by junior Dean Pavlou (Cleveland, Tenn.). Felix is 6-4 overall while Pavlou has a 6-3 mark.

 

No. 1 Frank Molinaro of Penn State is the featured wrestler in the 149 bracket. He is joined by four others ranked in the top-20. Felix is set to go against Shawn Harris of Virginia while Pavlou will also face a Cavalier in Augustus Sako.

 

157

Three Mocs are in the 157 bracket, including senior Dan Waddell (Chattanooga, Tenn.) and freshmen Jared Presley (Harrison, Ohio) and Trey Stavrum (Chattanooga, Tenn.). Waddell is a preseason All-SoCon selection and is 6-5 overall. Presley has a 4th place showing at The Citadel Open on Nov. 6 and a second place finish at the Shorter Open on Nov. 12. Stavrum is 4-2 at 165, including a second place of his own at the Shorter Open.

 

Cornell's No. 1 ranked Kyle Dake is one of three ranked wrestlers in the 157 bracket. Waddell is set to face Virginia Tech's Matt Stephens while Presley is facing the winner of Navy's Zach Basich and Indiana's Ryan Konz. Stavrum will face the Hoosier's Sawyer Morris.

 

165

Brandon Wright (Germantown, Tenn.) puts his 6-4 overall record to the test against a 165 field that includes five ranked competitors.

 

Penn State's David Taylor is No. 1 in the country and highlights this bracket. Wright will face Koort Leyner from Cleveland State.

 

174

Sophomore Levi Clemons (Kissimmee, Fla.) is 7-8 overall and faces Missouri Todd Porter. The 174 group has six ranked wrestlers, led by No. 2 Ed Ruth from Penn State.

 

184

Junior Robert Prigmore (Southlake, Texas) is 8-6 overall and looking to add to his win at the Davidson Open on Dec. 3. He has won six of his last seven matches, including three pins in that stretch.

 

Prigmore is in a bracket that has four of the top-10 wrestlers in the nation and seven of the top-20. He will go against Army's Mike Gorman to start competition.

 

197

Junior Niko Brown (Kissimmee, Fla.) is off to a strong start. He advanced to the quarterfinals at the Hokie Open and scored pins in the Mocs first three duals. Add in a decision against Central Michigan and a win over Ohio and he is 5-1 in dual action. His pin against Alex Yen clinched Chattanooga's 22-15 upset over No. 12 Stanford and earned him SoCon Wrestler of the Week honors.

 

Brown is trying to crack the top-20 and a strong showing this weekend could land him there. The 197 group has three of the top four in the nation and six from the top-20 overall. He will face Hofstra's Matt Loew.

 

285

Freshman Kevin Malone (Carrollton, Ohio) has a fifth-place showing at the Hokie Open and a third place result at the Davidson Open on his resume. He leads the team with a 13-7 record and will be joined by junior Bradley Rogers (Collierville, Tenn.)

 

The four ranked wrestlers in the heavyweight bracket are all in the top-10, including No. 4 Clayton Jack (OSU), No. 5 Jeremy Johnson (Ohio), No. 7 Tony Nelson (Minn.) and No. 8 Cameron Wade (PSU).

 

Malone will face Virginia's Ethan Hayes while Rogers is set to go against Penn State's Jonathan Gingrich.

 

 

Teams CompetingNationally-Ranked Teams: No.3 Minnesota, No.4 Cornell, No.5 abnd defending NCAA champion Penn State ... also No. 10 Missouri. No. 11 Oregon State, No. 15 Virginia Tech, No. 21 Virginia and No. 25 Hofstra round out those from the top-25.

 

Other ranked teams include No. 32(t) Indiana, No. 32(t) Ohio, No. 43 Appalachian State, No. 44 Navy, No. 49(t) North Carolina, No. 49(t) Old Dominion and No. 54 The Citadel.

 

UTC is among the seven remaining teams, along with Army, Campbell, Cleveland State, Duke, Gardner-Webb and N.C. State.

 

info compiled by UTC Sports Information

Edited December 28, 2011 by bbb

[USMC09]

Indiana's Ryan Konz is the Ryan Konz that graduated from Franklin isn't he? Looks like a great tourney! Wish I could attend and watch from what it looks like phenomenal wrestling that will take place!! Good luck UTC!

 

 

Semper Fi

[bbb]

Indiana's Ryan Konz is the Ryan Konz that graduated from Franklin isn't he? Looks like a great tourney! Wish I could attend and watch from what it looks like phenomenal wrestling that will take place!! Good luck UTC!

 

 

Semper Fi

 

 

That he is ... thanks for pointing that out .. Ryan was a 4x state medalist at Franklin HS.

 

is 4-6 with two pins this season and 33-31 for a career .. is a junior

 

If he beats Zach Bosich (Navy) then he faces Jared Presley of UTC in round of 32 on Sunday morning

 

-- b.b.b.