Seniors Scottie Boykin and Bryce Carr led the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team with individual titles at the 2017 Hokie Open in Roanoke, Va., today. Carr won his second title in three years at 184, while Boykin took home the title at 197.
"It was a great way to end the weekend for Scottie and Bryce," stated head coach Heath Eslinger. "I thought we had a lot of guys wrestle well and I was prrouf of our effort. We know what we have to work on to get ready for some tough matches coming up on the schedule."
Senior Chad Pyke also represented the Mocs on podium with a runner-up showing at 165. Senior Michael Pongracz finished third at 141, while junior Alonzo Allen was fourth at 125.
Allen was 2-0 on the day, but was pulled from competition following his second win. He opened with a 4-1 decision over Stanford's Brian Rossi and followed that with a 6-4 decision against Virginia Tech's starter Kyle Norstrem. Allen is coming off an injury, so he was limited in competition this weekend.
Pongracz shut out three Southern Conference opponents today. He opened with major decisions over Appalachian State's Irvin Enriquez (10-0) and Davidson's Dustin Runzo (12-0). His lone loss was a one-point decision to eventual champion A.C.
Headlee from North Carolina. Pongracz came back to tech fall App. State's Bradley Irwin (16-0 – 4:14) in the third place match.
Pyke won four straight matches to advance to the finals at 165. There he faced All-American and ninth-ranked David McFadden from Virginia Tech. Pyke battled hard, but couldn't pull off the upset and fell 10-3 to finish second in the bracket.
Carr cruised to his second career win at the Hokie Open. He also won the tournament at 184 as an unattached redshirt for the Mocs in 2015. Today he capped four wins with a 4-2 decision over N.C. State's Nick Reenan.
Boykin redshirted last season, and has had a strong opening weekened. He needed a third-period escape for a 6-5 win over Army's Ryan Caywood in the semifinals. He took down Stanford's Nathan Traxler in the third period to score an 11-9 decision in the finals.
The Mocs also had a number of competitors in the Freshman/Sophomore brackets. Fabian Gutierrez placed fourth at 125, while Dominick Petrucelli was third at 165.
Up next for the Mocs is a visit from No. 9 Virginia Tech on Friday, Nov. 17. Match time is set for 7:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) in Maclellan Gym. Single-match and season tickets are still on sale on GoMocs.com.
2017 Hokie Open
Roanoke, Va. – Nov. 5
Open Division
125 – Alonzo Allen – 4th Place
Brian Rossi (Stanford) – W-D, 4-1
Kyle Norstrem (Va. Tech) – W-D, 6-4
125 - Cody Hill
Conner Ziegler (Army) – L-D, 6-12
Kyle Norstrem (Va. Tech) – L-Fall (2:36)
133 – Wade Cummings
Jacob Romano (Limestone) – W-MD, 19-5
Dennis Gustafson (Va. Tech) – L-MD, 4-17
Nolan Whitely (Newberry) – L-D, 4-11
141 – Chris Debien
Stephen Hart (GSCW) – W-Fall (4:33)
A.C. Headlee (UNC) – L-D, 3-4
Isaiah Locsin (Stanford) – W-For.
Zach Barnes (Campbell) – L-D, 5-11
141 – Michael Pongracz – 3rd Place
Irvin Enriquez (App. St.) – W-MD, 10-0
Dustin Runzo (Davidson) – W-MD, 12-0
A.C. Headlee (UNC) – L-D, 2-3
Bradley Irwin (App. St.) – W-Tech. Fall, 16-0 (4:14)
149 – Jake Adcock
Jobby Armenta (GWU) – W-D, 9-6
No. 17 Troy Heilmann (UNC) – L-MD, 4-16
Roman Boylen (UTC) – L-Fall (6:56)
149 – Roman Boylen
Austin O'Connor (UNC) – L-D, 3-6
Brandon Leynaud (Duke) – W-D, 6-3
Jake Adcock (UTC) – W-Fall (6:56)
Josh McClure (UNC) – L-D, 4-8
165 – Chad Pyke – 2nd Place
Thomas Williams (Ohio) – W-Tech. Fall, 16-1 (5:48)
Angel Najar (App. St.) – W-D, 9-3
Blake Hohman (VMI) – W-D, 4-1
Andrew Mendel (Army) – W-D, 10-4
No. 9 David McFadden (Va. Tech) – L-D, 3-10
174 – Justin Lampe
Alex Agulair (Newberry) – W-D, 8-2
Garrett Church (App. St.) – W-MD, 14-5
No. 7 Ethan Ramos (UNC) – L-MD, 5-13
Graham Ratermann (Army) – W-D, 11-6
Seldon Wright (ODU) – L-D, 4-7
184 – Bryce Carr – 1st Place
Clif Decius (Limestone) – W-Tech. Fall, 17-1 (4:34)
Jack Wedholm (Army) – W-D, 7-4
Noah Stewart (Arum) – W-MD, 10-1
Nick Reenan (N.C. State) – W-D, 4-2
197 – Scottie Boykin – 1st Place
Taylor Thomas (VMI) – W-Tech. Fall, 22-6 (5:51)
Haszell West (Newberry) – W-D, 9-3
Rocco Caywood (Army) – W-D, 6-5
Nathan Traxler (Stanford) – W-D, 11-9
285 – Connor Tolley
Michael McAleavey (Citadel) – W-D, 6-2
Andrew Gunning (UNC) – L-D, 5-8
Demazio Samuel (App. St.) – W-D, 6-4
Kyle Wilkins (Army) – W-MD, 13-4
Will Cooley (Davidson) – W-D, 10-4
Cory Daniel (UNC) – L-MD, 0-8
Freshman/Sophomore
125 – Fabian Guiterrez – 4th Place
Trevor Edwards (N.C. State) – W-MD, 12-2
Coleton Chase (Ohio) – W-MD, 13-3
Zurich Storm (N.C. State) – L-D, 3-8
Charles Lennox (N.C. State) – L-D, 2-4
149 – Zach Shareef
Knox Fuller (Army) – L-D, 4-10
Frank Bruno (Ohio) – W-D, 7-3
Jody McAlister (Newberry) – W-D, 6-3
Brendan Grames (Va. Tech) – L-D, 3-5
165 – Dominick Petrucelli – 3rd Place
Louis Wilson (Newberry) – W-MD, 16-5
Calvin Nimely (Emmanuel) – W-MD, 12-0
Mekhi Lewis (Va. Tech) – L-Tech. Fall, 7-22 (5:58)
Steele Stout (Ohio) – W-D, 8-3
184 – Rodney Jones
Hunter Yeargen (Ohio) – W-D, 6-2
Connor Frey (ODU) – L-D, 3-4
Sam Ashway (Emmanuel) – W-Tech. Fall, 20-5 (5:11)
Timothy Bowers (Ohio) – L-D, 1-3
197 – Ben Stacey
Max Gallahan (VMI) – W-D, 5-4
Elijah Seay (King) – L-MD, 0-8
Bryce Walker (UNCP) – L-Fall (3:51)