Complete SoCon Tournament Brackets
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Ten SIUE wrestlers will be competing Saturday at the Arby's Southern Conference Championships looking for a spot in the NCAA Championships.
The winner in each of the 10 weight classes has a guaranteed spot in the NCAA finals set to take place Mar. 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Arby's SoCon Championships will take place on the campus of the University of North Carolina-Asheville. Doors to Kimmel Arena open at 9 a.m. ET. First-round matches are set to begin at 10 a.m. ET, with finals slated to start at 7 p.m. ET.
"We've wrestled a lot of good people so I think we're ready for the tournament," said SIUE Head Coach Jeremy Spates. "Now that we have had a few wrestlers who have been there before, with Jake Tindle and Connor McMahon winning last year, we know what to expect."
John Fahy holds the lowest seed for the Cougars as the No. 2 seed at 149 pounds. Tindle is the No. 3 seed at 197 pounds.
SIUE finished the regular season with a 5-11 record in dual meets, including a 3-3 mark in SoCon events. The Cougars finished a program-best fourth place in the league standings.
Spates said his team has been more aggressive on the mat as the season has progressed.
"That's something we have talked a lot about as a coaching staff. You have to put a lot of points on the scoreboard if you expect to win. We've talked about controlling the pace and getting to our offense," said Spates.
SIUE Lineup (Seed)
125 – Freddie Rodriguez (7th)
133 – Dakota Leach (4th)
141 – John Muldoon (5th)
149 – John Fahy (2nd)
157 – Erik Travers (6th)
165 – Nate Higgins (5th)
174 – Connor McMahon (4th)
184 – Derek Nagel (4th)
197 – Jake Tindle (3rd)
HWT – Chris Johnson (5th)
