CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College men's wrestling team faced off against Truett McConnell on Wednesday night inside the Templeton Center, defeating the Bears by a final score of 37-7.
Five Blue Hose were given awards based on their performances last season.
Reid Stewart and
Jacob Brasseur earned Academic All-SoCon awards,
Michael Ramirez, Benny Gomez, and Brasseur were given Academic All-American awards, and
Justin Nobles was given the SoCon Commissioner's Academic Medal, the highest academic honor in the Southern Conference.
The match began with
Jacob Brasseur at 125 lbs. where Brasseur was able to get out to a quick lead with takedowns in the first period. He scored three more takedowns in the second and followed that with more in the third to win the match 17-6.
Dominic Chavez was next for PC at 133 lbs. as he made quick and easy work of his opponent with a pin in just over a minute.
Khalid Brinkley had the next chance for the Blue Hose, but an early injury timeout seemed to hinder the redshirt-junior. Brinkley earned a late takedown in period three, but it wasn't enough as Truett McConnell put three points on the board.
Evan Clark, in his collegiate debut, was able to get points back for Presbyterian as he won with a 16-0 technical fall early in the second round at the 149 lbs. weight class.
Reid Stewart added to the PC score with an 18-5 victory at 157 lbs. to put Presbyterian up 18-3 midway through the match. Although Stewart was inches away from a pin fall victory, he scored plenty of takedowns to win handily. Next up was freshman
Logan Spell who was wrestling up weight classes at 165 lbs... Spell did very well above his weight as he battled to win seven points in a 15-7 defeat, as the team score was now 18-7 in favor of PC.
174 lbs. was next as
Mason Watkins took to the mat. An early takedown from the New York native saw him gain top position and from there was able to secure the pin 2:00 into the first period. David
Bertrand found the mat next as he wrestled at 184 lbs. and came away with a 17-7 decision win. Early takedowns in the first period and late takedowns in the third saw Bertrand put Presbyterian up 28-7 in the match.
Aiden Jean had the final match that counted towards the team points as he wrestled at 197 lbs… A tough match for the near 200-pounder as a late takedown earned him enough points to overcome his competition for an 11-7 win.
Will Pontoon weighed in at 285 lbs., but Truett McConnell had to forfeit that weight so the Blue Hose earned the points for a 37-7 match win.
Khalid, Clark, Stewart, Spell, Watkins, and Bertrand all picked up wins in extra matches.
Justin Nobles fell in his lone match of the evening.
