EMORY, VA.– Homestanding Emory & Henry was no match for the Braves wrestling team Wednesday night, as the Black & Gold used seven pins, two tech falls, and a forfeit to take a 58-0 victory in their Conference Carolinas dual match opener.
The Braves (1-0, 1-0 CC) moved to 2-0 all-time against the Wasps (0-1, 0-1 CC) after taking a 54-3 win last season in Pembroke.
UNCP's Logan Seliga got the night off to a good start with a pin in just 49 seconds in the 125 pound match. Logan Robinson (133), Keegan Roberson (157), Will Lowery (165), Scott Joll (174), Jose Zambrano Canuto (184), and Ryan Walker (285) would all follow Seliga with pins of their own.
Chance Cottingham picked up five points via tech fall in the 141 pound bout, while Brandon Smith would do the same in the 149 pound match. Christopher Dickey won via forfeit in the 197 pound class.
FRANKLIN SPRINGS, Ga. (Nov. 8) – Redshirt sophomore Jayln McClammy anchored the Trojans with a critical 12-4 major decision at heavyweight, as the University of Mount Olive men's wrestling team edged Emmanuel by a 20-19 margin in Conference Carolinas action on Wednesday night.
With the win, the Trojans improve to 1-0 overall and earned its first win in league action after being selected fourth in the Conference Carolinas preseason poll. It marks the first season that the Conference Carolinas will solely sponsor the sport between two divisions with 14 programs competing. Meanwhile, the Lions drop to 0-1 in dual meets with an identical record in conference play.
At 125, junior Lens Mathurin built an early 3-0 advantage for the Trojans following an 11-5 decision over Alex McMiller in the first match of the night. He established a 5-1 advantage following the first period and a four-point near fall in the third sealed the win. In the 133-weight class, redshirt freshman Logan Tortual held a 6-5 edge after the initial period before Eli Holton registered a fall at the 4:30 mark to put the Lions ahead, 6-3. Redshirt sophomore Taylor Robinson, a 2023 national qualifier, responded with an 11-7 win at 141 to tie the meet at 6-6 before Davin Lundquist of Emmanuel posted a narrow 13-12 decision against senior Isaiah Olive in the 149-weight class.
With the Lions leading 9-6, No. 12 nationally ranked junior Jake Nicolosi made his first appearance of the season and dominated with a first-period pin at 157 to flip the advantage back to UMO, 12-9. At 165, Emmanuel registered an 8-3 decision to tie the meet at 12-12. No. 7 ranked Calan Staubalso made his debut for Mount Olive this season and delivered a critical 17-8 major decision with eight points in the third period to give the edge back to UMO, 16-12. The Lions answered back with a 2-1 decision at 184 and an 11-3 major decision in the 197-weight class to extend the lead to 19-16. Entering the final match, the Trojans need a major decision or better to escape with the win. McClammy responded with a dominant 12-4 major decision to earn four points and secure the 20-19 victory.
FRANKLIN SPRING, Ga. (Nov. 12) – The University of Mount Olive men's wrestling program featured six individuals on the podium on Sunday after competing at the Georgia Open hosted by Emmanuel University.
The Trojans featured 23 wrestlers in the event after picking up a conference win earlier in the week at Emmanuel. Mount Olive tallied nearly 40 victories while recording 11 falls and five tech falls during the competition.
Sophomores Calan Staub and Noah Williams each placed second overall in their respective weight classes on Sunday.
At 174, Staub posted a 4-1 record after registering multiple dominant performances while in Georgia. In the opening round, he delivered a 17-1 tech fall over Aiden Knight of Montevallo before producing a 12-8 decision against Justin Grant of Brewton-Parker. Staub posted a 20-5 tech fall in the quarterfinals before advancing to the finals with a 15-5 major decision over Brad Mahoney. In the title match, he was narrowly defeated by an 11-10 decision to Logan Hoffman.
Williams also registered a 4-1 mark while competing at 197 and received a first-round bye. In the second round, he pinned Coen Heinrich of Brewton-Parker in the second period before recording another win via fall to advance to the quarterfinals. Williams continued his dominance with a late pin over Ahmahd Denmark of Florida A&M and delivered a first-period fall in the semifinals. In the first-place match, he suffered a 13-1 loss by a major decision to Khalil Abdushshakur of Life. Williams finished the event tied for an event high with four falls.
Freshman Benjamin Wimberly delivered another stellar performance after competing unattached at the event to place fourth at 141. Following a bye, he posted a 20-6 major decision over Jonah Lavendar of Truett-McConnell before defeating Christian Gordan of Emmanuel by a 15-5 major decision. In the quarterfinals, Wimberly defeated teammate Isaiah Olive by a 5-0 decision but fell in the next round via fall in the first period. He eventually took fourth after a no-contest and a forfeit was recorded in the final two rounds.
Additionally, three other Trojans joined the podium on Sunday, including freshman John Domencic, who competed unattached and finished fifth at 285. Redshirt sophomore Slade Watkins placed sixth at 285 and redshirt freshman Logan Tortual finished seventh overall in the 133-weight class.
Mount Olive returns to conference dual meet action on Wednesday, Nov. 15, when they face King in Kornegay Arena, starting at 7 p.m.