The 19th-ranked UTC wrestling team was knocked out of the championship round of the NWCA National Duals by No. 20 North Dakota State on Sunday. The Mocs won three matches, but lost the team dual by a 28-10 score.
Freshmen Michael Pongracz (141) and Dawson Peck (285) and senior Alex Hudson (157) all scored wins in the loss that saw NDSU lead from start to finish. After giving up an opening pin at 125, the match really swung at 133. UTC’s 11th-ranked Nick Soto lost in overtime (6-4) to Justin LaValle, dropping the Mocs into a 9-0 hole.
Pongracz responded with a 4-3 win at 141 over Clayton Cathey, but UTC gave up a four-point major decision at 149. Hudson improved to 26-6 on the year with a 12-2 major decision over Nicholas Olejnik at 157, closing the gap to 12-7 in the team score.
165 was a battle of top-10s between the Bison’s No. 3 Steven Monk and Chattanooga’s ninth-ranked junior Corey Mock. A takedown in the first and a reversal in the third was the only scoring in Monk’s 4-0 win.
NDSU wrapped up the match when No. 17 Kurtis Julson posted a 6-2 decision over sophomore John Lampe at 184. That made the team score 22-7 with two bouts left. Peck rounded out Chattanooga’s scoring with an 8-2 decision over Evan Knutson at heavyweight to improve to 10-1 on the season.
With the loss, UTC drops to 15-6 on the year, while the Bison improve to 10-4. Chattanooga has a bye in the back draw for this evening, so their next match will be against the loser of No. 4 Cornell and No. 16 Virginia Tech on Monday at 11:00 a.m. (E.D.T.). The Mocs could have two additional matches on Monday if they continue to win.
Links for live scoring from Trackwrestling.com and live video from Flowrestling.org are available on the wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com. Check the schedule later tonight to see which team UTC will face in the morning.
No. 20 North Dakota State 28 – No. 19 Chattanooga 10
NWCA National Duals – Columbus, Ohio
125: Hunter Weber (NDSU) - Fall 2:58 - Byron Smith (UTC) – NDSU 6-0
133: Justin LaValle (NDSU) – Dec. 6-4 (SV1) - No. 11 Nick Soto (UTC) – NDSU 9-0
141: Mike Pongracz (UTC) – Dec. 4-3 - Clayton Cathey (NDSU) – NDSU 9-3
149: Tanner Carlisle (NDSU) – Dec. 9-5 – Shawn Greevy (UTC) – NDSU 12-3
157: Alex Hudson (UTC) – MD 12-2 - Nicholas Olejnik (NDSU) – NDSU 12-7
165: No. 3 Steven Monk (NDSU) – Dec. 4-0 - No. 9 Corey Mock (UTC) – NDSU 15-7
174: No. 12 Hayden Zillmer (NDSU) – MD 11-3 - Levi Clemons (UTC) – NDSU 19-7
184: No. 17 Kurtis Julson (NDSU) – Dec. 6-2 - John Lampe (UTC) – NDSU 22-7
197: Tyler Lehmann (NDSU) – Fall 1:16 - Scottie Boykin (UTC) – NDSU 28-7
285: Dawson Peck (UTC) – Dec. 8-2 - Evan Knutson (NDSU) – NDSU 28-10