EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – SIUE wrestling provided excitement at the lightest weight and the heaviest weight Sunday against 23rd-ranked Chattanooga.
The Mocs went on to win 35-6 over the Cougars at the Vadalabene Center. Chattanooga improved to 11-5 overall and is 2-0 in the Southern Conference (SoCon). SIUE fell to 3-10 overall and 1-1 in the SoCon.
SIUE's Dakota Leach earned a 9-6 victory over Byron Smith at 125 pounds. David Devine took the 285-pound weight class with a 7-5 triumph in the first overtime period over previously-undefeated Dawson Peck.
"Dakota has been really close in a lot of recent matches. When he got that win, I thought it was going to jump start us," said SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates.
"That was a huge win for Devine. He really toughed it out so I was happy about that," Spates added.
Sunday also was the debut for former Oklahoma standout Matthew Lester who has one season of eligibility remaining as a graduate student. He competed in his first match of the season, dropping a technical fall to No. 6-ranked Corey Mock.
"He knows how it works and what it takes to get to the NCAA Championships. He's really going to help us. He's already helped us in the wrestling room," added Spates.
Chattanooga 35 SIUE 6
125 Dakota Leach (SIUE) def. Byron Smith (UTC) 9-6
133 Nick Soto (UTC) won by major decision over Patrick Myers (SIUE) 15-2
141 Mike Pongracz (UTC) won by major decision over Drew Vrbenec (SIUE) 8-0
149 Austin Sams (UTC) def. Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) 14-10
157 Alex Hudson (UTC) won by major decision over Logun Taylor (SIUE) 13-0
165 Corey Mock (UTC) won by tech fall over Matthew Lester (SIUE) 5:58
174 Levi Clemons (UTC) pinned Jake Residori (SIUE) 6:46
184 John Lampe (UTC) pinned Derek Nagel (SIUE) 4:24
197 Scottie Boykin (UTC) def. Chris Johnson (SIUE) 12-6
285 David Devine (SIUE) won in sudden victory 1 over Dawson Peck (UTC) 7-5
Records: SIUE 3-10, 1-1 SoCon, Chattanooga 11-5, 2-0 SoCon
