ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Connor McMahon and Jake Tindle won Southern Conference titles Saturday and have automatically qualified for the NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships in St. Louis.

"We're excited to have the nationals in our backyard, and we're excited to see what we can do on the big stage," said SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates.

The NCAA Division I Championships will be held at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis Match 19-21. Tickets are available by contacting SIUE Athletics at 855-SIUE-TIX.

McMahon, of Stow, Ohio, was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament after his top-notch performance at 165 pounds. He avenged three losses and collected a pin and a major decision before defeating Shabaka Johns of VMI 4-3 in the championship final.

"It was pretty special," said Spates. "That's also the first time he has been named the outstanding wrestler of a tournament at any level and he picks winning a conference title and heading to national to do it for the first time."

McMahon entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed and started with a pin over Chattanooga's Justin Lampe in 4:13. He added a major decision in the semifinals over Appalachian State's Nick Kee.

Tindle, of Troy, Illinois, will likely give his family one of the shorter trips to see their son compete at nationals. A No. 4 seed at 197 pounds heading into the SoCon Tournament, Tindle avenged two losses en route to the title.

He defeated The Citadel's Marshall Haas in the finals 4-3.

"Like Connor, he wrestled really smart from the first match on. He wrestled mentally tough," said Spates.

SIUE placed fifth as a team with 38.5 points. Chattanooga won the tournament with 89.0.

SIUE's Jake Residori, who entered as a No. 1 seed at 174 pounds, was upset in the semifinals by Chattanooga's Sean Mappes 17-9.

"He came back to battle hard and placed third. That helps his chances of getting a wild card bid," said Spates.

Residori may have a chance to join McMahon and Tindle at the national championships. "Wild Card" spots are handed out by the NCAA wrestling committee for individuals who did not fare as well as expected in their conference competition but meet a high set of criteria such as coach's voting, the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), and record against wrestlers who will compete in the Division I Championship.

The Wild Cards will be announced early next week.

Team standings

Chattanooga – 89.0

Appalachian State – 70.5

The Citadel – 62.0

Gardner-Webb – 54.0

SIUE – 38.5

Davidson – 27.5

VMI – 24.5

Individual champions/NCAA qualifiers

125 – Sean Boyle, Chattanooga

133 – Nick Soto, Chattanooga

141 – Michael Longo, Appalachian State

149 – Matt Frisch, The Citadel

157 – Aaron Walker, The Citadel

165 – Connor McMahon, SIUE

174 – Sean Mappes, Chattanooga

184 – Scott Patrick, Davidson

197 – Jake Tindle, SIUE

HWT – Denzel Dejournette, Appalachian State

Additional NCAA allocations

125 – Joaquin Marquez, The Citadel

149 – Ryan Mosley, Gardner-Webb; Shawn Greevy, Chattanooga

HWT – Jared Johnson, Chattanooga

Southern Conference Co-Coaches of the Year

JohnMark Bentley, Appalachian State

Daniel Elliott, Gardner-Webb

Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler

Connor McMahon, SIUE

2015 SoCon Tournament Results for SIUE
125 - Nathan Day (5-6)
    Quarterfinal - Joaquin Marquez (The Citadel) 22-13 won by fall over Nathan Day (SIUE) 5-6 (Fall 2:37)
    Cons. Round 1 - Nathan Day (SIUE) 5-6 received a bye () (Bye)
    Cons. Semi - Cortez Starkes (Gardner-Webb) 15-17 won by fall over Nathan Day (SIUE) 5-6 (Fall 2:17)

133 - Dakota Leach (2-4) scored 2.50 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Vito Pasone (Appalachian State) 21-15 won by decision over Dakota Leach (SIUE) 2-4 (Dec 9-6)
    Cons. Round 1 - Dakota Leach (SIUE) 2-4 won by medical forfeit over Hunter Starner (Vmi) 7-19 (M. For.)
    Cons. Semi - Anthony Elias (Davidson) 14-11 won by decision over Dakota Leach (SIUE) 2-4 (Dec 10-3)

141 - Angelo Silvestro (6-11) scored 2.00 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Angelo Silvestro (SIUE) 6-11 won by major decision over Emmitt Kelly (Vmi) 12-11 (MD 9-0)
    Semifinal - Mike Pongracz (Chattanooga) 19-15 won by decision over Angelo Silvestro (SIUE) 6-11 (Dec 4-2)
    Cons. Semi - Ryan Hull (Gardner-Webb) 11-19 won by decision over Angelo Silvestro (SIUE) 6-11 (Dec 10-5)

149 - Karsten Van Velsor (4-16)
    Quarterfinal - Javon Johnson (Appalachian State) 8-19 won by decision over Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) 4-16 (Dec 12-11)
    Cons. Round 1 - Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) 4-16 received a bye () (Bye)
    Cons. Semi - Shawn Greevy (Chattanooga) 20-11 won by major decision over Karsten Van Velsor (SIUE) 4-16 (MD 18-4)

157 - Clayton Bass (8-14)
    Quarterfinal - Tyler Marinelli (Gardner-Webb) 10-12 won by tech fall over Clayton Bass (SIUE) 8-14 (TF-1.5 6:01 (17-0))
    Cons. Round 1 - Clayton Bass (SIUE) 8-14 received a bye () (Bye)
    Cons. Semi - Austin Sams (Chattanooga) 19-18 won by major decision over Clayton Bass (SIUE) 8-14 (MD 12-4)

165 - Connor McMahon (9-6) placed 1st and scored 15.00 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Connor McMahon (SIUE) 9-6 won by fall over Justin Lampe (Chattanooga) 4-13 (Fall 2:15)
    Semifinal - Connor McMahon (SIUE) 9-6 won by major decision over Nick Kee (Appalachian State) 20-10 (MD 12-2)
    1st Place Match - Connor McMahon (SIUE) 9-6 won by decision over Shabaka Johns (Vmi) 24-11 (Dec 4-3)

174 - Jake Residori (17-9) placed 3rd and scored 5.50 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Jake Residori (SIUE) 17-9 received a bye () (Bye)
    Semifinal - Sean Mappes (Chattanooga) 18-11 won by decision over Jake Residori (SIUE) 17-9 (Dec 5-3)
    Cons. Semi - Jake Residori (SIUE) 17-9 won by major decision over Nathaniel Powers (Davidson) 13-16 (MD 11-1)
    3rd Place Match - Jake Residori (SIUE) 17-9 won by decision over Brett Stein (Gardner-Webb) 19-12 (Dec 6-1)

184 - Derek Nagel (8-11)
    Quarterfinal - Derek Thurman (Vmi) 11-14 won by decision over Derek Nagel (SIUE) 8-11 (Dec 4-3)
    Cons. Round 1 - Derek Nagel (SIUE) 8-11 received a bye
    Cons. Semi - John Shrader (Chattanooga) 15-8 won by decision over Derek Nagel (SIUE) 8-11 (Dec 8-4)

197 - Jake Tindle (11-10) placed 1st and scored 12.00 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Jake Tindle (SIUE) 11-10 won by decision over Ian Solcz (Davidson) 18-15 (Dec 4-0)
    Semifinal - Jake Tindle (SIUE) 11-10 won by decision over Scottie Boykin (Chattanooga) 25-11 (Dec 5-4)
    1st Place Match - Jake Tindle (SIUE) 11-10 won by decision over Marshall Haas (The Citadel) 21-14 (Dec 4-3)

285 - Chris Johnson (10-12) scored 1.50 team points.
    Quarterfinal - Denzel Dejournette (Appalachian State) 33-4 won by decision over Chris Johnson (SIUE) 10-12 (Dec 2-0)
    Cons. Round 1 - Chris Johnson (SIUE) 10-12 won by major decision over Ed Isola (Davidson) 4-20 (MD 12-0)
    Cons. Semi - Juan Adams (Vmi) 16-11 won by major decision over Chris Johnson (SIUE) 10-12 (MD 8-0)