When one gets to the NCAA
Division I Wrestling Championship, the difference between success and failure
is a very thin line. That was evident for the Mocs Thursday as the wrestlers lost four,
one-point matches on the opening day of competition in Oklahoma City,
Okla.
The Mocs did
score 3.0 points and are tied for 42nd in the team race. Juniors
Nick Soto and Corey Mock each posted a win and are still alive in the
consolation brackets.
Soto is the No.
10 seed at 133 pounds and opened with a 9-5 decision over Purdue’s Joey Palmer.
That set up a second round bout with Purdue’s All-American Cashé Quiroga. Soto
defeated Quiroga 10-8 in the dual with the Boilermakers on Dec. 15 in
Atlanta.
Today’s outcome
was one of those close losses, as the seventh seeded Quiroga pulled out the 8-7
win. Soto opened with a takedown in the first period for a 2-0 lead after three
minutes. The second frame was full of action, including two takedowns and an
escape for Quiroga. Soto still held a 7-5 lead with two escapes, a reversal and
a penalty point in the second frame. Quiroga escaped and scored a takedown with
48 seconds left in the final period for the 8-7 win.
Mock is the No.
6 seed at 165 and opened with a 9-1 major decision over Navy’s Peyton Walsh.
That setup a repeat of the SoCon Championships with No. 11 Turtogtokh Luvsandorj
of The Citadel. Luvsandorj won the first matchup in the regular season, but
Mock took the SoCon title with a win on March 8.
Today’s meeting
was just as close, but Luvsandorj came out on top with a 4-3 win. A takedown
and two back points in the first period was all of the offense Luvsandorj
needed. Mock scored on two penalties for stalling in the second and third
periods, and held the riding time advantage.
Senior Alex Hudson, junior Levi Clemons and freshman Dawson Peck were all eliminated with two losses today.
Clemons dropped his preliminary round match to Army’s Brian Harvey 3-2. Harvey
escaped with less than a minute left for the win.
Peck lost his
first round match Maryland’s Spencer Meyers 2-1. Fourteen seconds of riding
time was all that stood between Peck and overtime in that match. He lost his
next match to West Virginia’s Anthony Vizcarrondo 2-0 after giving up a takedown
in the second period.
Mock and Soto
continue their All-American quest from the back draws tomorrow. Mock has a
tough one against Iowa’s No. 5 seeded Nick Moore, while Soto opens with Northern
Illinois’s Nick Smith.
Action begins
at 11:00 a.m. as ESPN3 continues its coverage of every match. Links for the
broadcast, as well as live scoring from Trackwrestling.com are available on the
wrestling schedule page on GoMocs.com.
Chattanooga Mocs
Results
133 – Nick Soto
Joey Palmer (Oregon St.)
– W-D, 9-5
Cashé Quiroga (Purdue) –
L-D, 7-8
157 - Alex Hudson
Taylor Walsh (Indiana) –
L-Fall (2:19)
Austin Matthews
(Clarion) – L-Fall (0:55)
165 - Corey Mock
Peyton Walsh (Navy) –
W-D, 9-1
Turtogtokh Luvsandorj
(Citadel) – L-D, 3-4
174 - Levi Clemons (25-14)
Brian Harvey (Army) –
L-D, 2-3
Tanner Weatherman –
L-Fall (2:09)
285 - Dawson Peck
Spencer Myers (Maryland)
– L-D, 1-2
Anthony Vizcarrondo
(West Virginia) – L-D, 0-2