Saturday, March 09, 2013
- by B.B. Branton
LEXINGTON, Va. -- Led by seniors Josh Condon and Niko Brown, Chattanooga used four individual winners to claim the 2013 Southern Conference Wrestling team championship here Saturday at VMI.
Chattanooga champions were Nick Soto (So, 133), Alex Hudson (So., 149), Condon (Sr., 165), and Brown (Sr., 197). Soto also won a title in 2012, while Condon claimed a championship in 2011
SoCon runners-up were Dean Pavlou (Sr., 141), John Lampe (Fr., 174), Robert Prigmore (Sr.
, 184) and Kevin Malone (Sr., 285).
Chattanooga won its third straight SoCon tournament title and 27th overall since 1978 with 102.5 points, while Campbell Univ. was second with 62.5 points. The Citadel took third, followed by Gardner-Webb in fourth and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville in fifth in the eight-team field.
Five NCAA Qualifiers: The four Mocs champions and Pavlou (runner-up at 141) receive automatic bids to the NCAA championship, Mar, 21-23.
Win Streaks: Brown and Hudson will carry 11-match win streaks into the NCAA tournament, while Soto and Condon have won 10 straight.
SoCon Coach of the Year: Heath Eslinger (Chattanooga)
SoCon Regular Season Champion: Chattanooga, 7-0
SoCon Tournament Champion: Chattanooga
SoCon Tournament Team Standings
1 Chattanooga, 102.5
2 Campbell, 62.5
3 The Citadel, 59
4 Gardner Webb, 49.5
5 Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 29.5
6 Appalachian State, 27
7 Davidson 25.5
8 VMI, 22.5
contact B.B. Branton at William.branton@comcast.net