The Chattanooga Mocs took home a pair of individual titles at the 2024 Southern Conference Wrestling Championships in Boone, N.C., Saturday. Chattanooga senior Brayden Palmer (125) and freshman Isaiah Powe (141) both punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships.
The Mocs came into the event with a very young team. Seven of the 10 who competed were making their SoCon Tournament debuts. The Mocs finished in third place overall with 65.3 points, trailing Campbell (97.5) and team champion Appalachian State (114.0).
In addition to Palmer and Powe's wins, the Mocs also had three others make the podium. Freshman Sergio Desiante (18-8) lost by one in the finals to Campbell's Austin Murphy for a runner-up finish at 174. Junior Lincoln Heck (11-4) finished third at 157 after entering as the fifth seed.
Freshman Kamdyn Munro (18-12) dropped his opening match but battled through the consolation draw to place third. With two allocations up for grabs at 165, the fifth-seeded Munro forced the need for a true second-place match after the finals. Munro battled till the final whistle but fell 1-0.
The No.
3 seed in the tournament, Palmer (16-2) avenged his only two losses on the season to second-seeded Chad Bellis of App State with a big win in the semis. He took on Gardner-Webb's fourth-seeded Drew West in the finals after West upset Campbell's top-seeded Anthony Molton in the semifinals.
The finals began with an early takedown by Palmer, followed quickly by a pair of back points. The two near-fall was not initially awarded, but Coach Kyle Ruschell threw a timely challenge block that resulted in the score after replay.
Palmer escaped and added a takedown in the second period to carry a 9-0 lead into the final frame. West chose neutral, but Palmer added to the lead with another takedown with just over a minute left. Palmer went on to post a 14-2 major decision for his second-straight SoCon Title.
"Brayden looks like he is getting back to form and at the best possible time," stated Ruschell. "He was able to beat the guy who gave him his only two losses on the year and then took care of business in the finals."
Palmer's win was the 160th individual SoCon trophy for the Mocs, by far the most in the league and ahead of App State (119) & VMI (112). He won the title at 133 last season and is the first Moc to win at different classes since Chris Debien [2017 (133) & 2019 (141)]. He is also the first back-to-back winner at UTC since Bryce Carr at 184 in 2017 & 2018.
SoCon Freshman of the Year and top-seeded Powe (24-2) survived a tough semifinal bout against Campbell's Wynton Denkins to advance at 141 pounds. Powe was cruising up 8-1 when Denkins caught him and nearly scored a fall. Powe was able to avoid the upset, but the rest of the match was tight. He used a late takedown to secure a 15-12 win to move on to the finals.
In the finals, Powe faced Gardner-Webb's second-seeded Todd Carter in the finals and built an early 6-1 lead. Powe chose down to start the second period and was turned to close the gap to 6-5. The score tied when Powe got his third caution on a restart. He escaped to go back up 7-6.
Cater chose down in the third and Powe kept him there for almost a minute, all but locking up riding time. Powe scored a pair of back points with just over a minute left, but Carter immediately reversed to make the score 9-8. After an escape, Powe sealed the 14-8 decision with a late takedown.
"You never know how freshmen are going to react, but it was great to see Isaiah fight through some adversity and get the win," stated Ruschell. "All matches are tough this time of year, and he was able to do what he needed to do to have his hand raised.
Freshman Sergio Desiante is the No. 3 seed at 174 and advanced to the finals after topping VMI's No. 2 seed Braxton Lewis 8-4. He took on top-seeded Austin Murphy of Campbell in the finals.
Early in the match, Desiante went for a takedown and inadvertently butted heads with Murphy. Murphy needed a few minutes to return to action, as is allowed in the case of a potential concussion.
After the restart there was little action throughout the match. Desiante chose top to start the second and Murphy quickly escaped. After no score, the reverse happened in the third. Desiante got in on a shot early in the third, but Murphy was able to turn the table and score the takedown.
Murphy went up 5-2 after a stalling call with 48 seconds left. Desiante closed the gap to 5-3 with a stalling point of his own. He got another stalling point as time expired but fell 5-4.
"Sergio competed hard today," said Ruschell. "I was proud of his effort, and he nearly pulled off a huge upset."
The Mocs now turn their attention to the NCAA Championships in two weeks. At-large bids will be announced next week. Both Blake Boarman (#28 at 133) and Noah Castillo (#25 at 149) entered the tournament with national rankings and will be in the mix for a spot in the field.
This year's national tournament takes place on March 21-23 at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Mo.
Team Scores
1. Appalachian State - 114.0
2. Campbell - 97.5
3. Chattanooga - 63.5
4. Gardner-Webb - 49.5
5. The Citadel - 44.5
6. Davidson College - 23.0
7. VMI - 18.0
8. Presbyterian College - 5.5
Individual Results
125 - Brayden Palmer –15 points - 1st PLACE
Anthony Burke (VMI) – W-Fall (3:49)
Chad Bellis (Appalachian State) – W-D, 5-2
Drew West (Gardner-Webb) – W-MD, 14-2
133 - Blake Boarman – 1 point
George Rosas (The Citadel) – W-D, 6-0
#21 Ethan Oakley (Appalachian State) – L-D, 4-5
Tyson Lane (Gardner-Webb) – L-Fall (4:57)
141 - Isaiah Powe – 13.5 points – 1st PLACE
Ryan Luna (Presbyterian) – W-TF, 17-1 (4:23)
Wynton Denkins (Campbell) – W-D, 15-12
Todd Carter (Gardner-Webb) – W-D, 14-8
149 - Noah Castillo – 1 point
Ryan Vigil (VMI) – W-D, 12-7
Jeffrey Boyd (The Citadel) – L-D, 1-4
Zach Price (Gardner-Webb) – L-D, 1-2
157 - Lincoln Heck – 9 points - 3rd Place
Hayden Watson (The Citadel) – W-MD, 17-5
#21 Tommy Askey (Appalachian State) – L-D, 2-8
Tyler Brignola (Gardner-Webb) – W-TF, 16-1 (2:37)
Hayden Watson (The Citadel) – W-MD, 16-8
165 - Kamdyn Munro – 10 points – 3rd Place
Bryce Sanderlin (Davidson) – L-D, 6-11
Caleb Chandler (VMI) – W-Fall (2:01)
Benjy Haubert (The Citadel) – W-MD, 13-4
Bryce Sanderlin (Davidson) – W-Fall (2:42)
Domonic Baker (Campbell) – L-D, 0-1
174 - Sergio Desiante – 9 points – 2nd PLACE
Marc Koch (Davidson) – W-D, 8-6
Braxton Lewis (VMI) – W-D, 8-4
#28 Austin Murphy – L-D, 4-5
184 - Jackson Hurst
#33 Caleb Hopkins (Campbell) – L-TF, 8-21 (2:37)
Adam Ortega (The Citadel) – L-D, 6-7
197 - David Harper – 2.5 points
Josh McCutchen (Gardner-Webb) – L-Fall (4:03)
George Hopkins (Presbyterian) – W-Fall (2:16)
Carson Floyd (Appalachian State) – L-Fall (2:00)
285 - Kaleb Snodgrass – 2.5 points
Ben Stemmet (The Citadel) – L-D, 1-5
Morvens Saint-Jean (Presbyterian) – W-Fall (3:24)
Jake Fernicola (Davidson) – W-D, 4-0
NEXT UP
March 21-23: NCAA Championships