Two big pieces of news were released today. The Chattanooga Mocs kickoff the 2022-23 wrestling season with a takedown of football tailgating in First Horizon Pavilion is the biggest. The annual Blue-Gold exhibition begins at 10 a.m., as fans prepare for the eighth-ranked football Mocs to grapple with No. 11 Mercer at 1:30 p.m., in Finley Stadium.
Twelve matches are on tap from the 125 debut of Stanford transfer Logan Ashton to the heavyweight return of Logan Andrew. Mix in NCAA qualifier Brayden Palmer (133), 2022 SoCon Freshman of the Year Noah Castillo (149) along with first looks at transfers Rocky Jordan (174-Ohio State) and Jake Boyd (197-Oklahoma), and you have a pretty full day before heading into Finley Stadium.
The scheduled matches…Blue on the left/Gold on the right
1: Logan Ashton vs Dom DiTomasso
2: Eli Knight vs Brayden Palmer
3: Franco Valdes vs Cole Thomas
4: Austin Paradice vs Noah Castillo
5: Grant Lundy vs Jackson Hurst
6: Weston Wichman vs Cole Cochran
7: Ben Bumgarner vs Kamdyn Munro
8: Rocky Jordan vs Landon Lewis
9: Logan Webster vs Sergio Desiante
10: Jake Boyd vs Nick Benton
11: Ryan Stein vs Logan Andrew
Returning starters (7): Brayden Palmer (133), Franco Valdes (141), Noah Castillo (149), Lincoln Heck (157), Carial Tarter (174), Thomas Sell (184) & Matthew Waddell (197)
NCAA Qualifiers on Roster (5): Logan Ashton (125), Brayden Palmer (133), Rocky Jordan (174), Matthew Waddell (197) & Logan Andrew (285)
"I think it's a great opportunity for our guys to wrestle in front of a different atmosphere, a different crowd," Coach Kyle Ruschell began. "Not only our wrestling fans, but also football fans, alumni, casual sports fans...it allows them to walk up to the mat and see our guys compete and hopefully get them to our matches as well."
As alluded above, that’s not the only piece of news breaking on a Thursday afternoon. The Southern Conference released the 2022-23 Preseason Coaches Poll. It appears the league mat leaders are expecting a photo finish.
Campbell is picked to win it ahead of Appalachian State and Chattanooga. Four points separate 1-3. The full list with the top three almost evenly splitting first-place votes.
School (1st-place Votes): Points
1) Campbell (4): 59
2) App State (2): 57
3) Chattanooga (3): 55
4) Gardner-Webb: 41
5) The Citadel: 32
6) Davidson: 30
7) VMI: 22
8) Bellarmine: 14
Tie) Presbyterian: 14
Preseason All-SoCon Team
125: Caleb Smith, App State
133: Brayden Palmer, Chattanooga
141: Shannon Hanna, Campbell
149: Jonathan Millner, App State
157: Cody Bond, App State
165: RJ Mosley, Gardner-Webb
174: Rocky Jordan, Chattanooga
184: Caleb Hopkins, Campbell
197: Levi Hopkins, Campbell
HWT: Taye Ghadiali, Campbell
“We were just looking at it this morning and it's gonna be a battle (for the title),” Ruschell added. "I like how our group has bonded together over this short period of time. They're holding each other accountable to the team goal, which is not just SoCon, but national level stuff. I think the transfers really helped set that tone in taking us to another level and made our team solid in each weight class.
"Now it's just to go out there and do it."
The season officially begins on November 5 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Battle in the River City features matches against Wisconsin, Little Rock and Buffalo. The first home match is Dec. 10 when the Iowa Hawkeyes come to the Scenic City. That match is part of a doubleheader with the men’s basketball team in McKenzie Arena with the wrestlers taking over in prime time.
Wrestling season tickets are on sale now on GoMocs.com. Click the link above or call (423) 266-MOCS (6627). Prices start at just $75 for one of the best home slates in years. There are three levels available with mat-side seats already sold out.