ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Chattanooga wrestling team’s postseason came to an end Friday after its last two competitors were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament in St. Louis, Mo.
After two sessions, freshman Nick Soto and senior Brandon Wright were the only two of five Chattanooga wrestlers that UTC sent to the tournament to survive day one of competition. Wright and Soto, though, exitited after their first matches of the second day.
Soto was the first Mat Moc to be sent home, pinned by Edinboro University’s No. 7 seed Aaron Schopp. With the loss, the freshman fell to 1-2 in NCAA Tournament experience, but finished his first season with a 25-8 overall record. The Southern Conference champion in the 133 weight class was named to the SoCon All-Conference Team, SoCon All-Freshman Team and was honored as the SoCon Freshman of the Year.
Wright fell 13-2 in a blowout loss against Virginia Tech’s No. 6 seeded Peter Yates. Wright finished his career with a 55-31 mark, winning a career high 22 matches in his senior season. Wright was named the 2012 SoCon champion of the 165 weight class after upsetting Appalachian State’s 15th-ranked Kyle Blevins at the SoCon Tournament at McKenzie Arena.
As a team, Chattanooga gained 3.5 points and will receive its final placing after tomorrow’s finals. The defending national champion Penn State Nittany Lions sit atop the team totals at 124 points, 22.5 points ahead of second-place Minnesota.