Mocs take home two wins, look to take conference lead

The UTC wrestling team continued its SoCon dominance with two convincing wins over in-conference rivals Campbell and Davidson.

Chattanooga took a 30-7 decision over Campbell in Buies Creek, N.C. Jan. 20, extending its win streak in conference dual matches to 37 straight victories. Head coach Heath Eslinger got another stellar performance from Nick Soto, who took an 18-5 decision at 133. Soto is ranked fourteenth in the nation in the 133 weight class.

The lone pin of the day came from freshman Kevin Malone, from Carrolton, Ohio, who earned his 20th win of the year. Fellow freshman Cole Gallagher, from Davidsonville, Md., scored his first victory of the season by major decision at 125.

The winning continued Jan. 22 at Davidson, where the Mocs grabbed a 47-3 win over the Wildcats. Chattanooga scored two forfeits and scored bonus points in all seven of its victories. The win moved Chattanooga to 10-3 on the year and a perfect 3-0 in SoCon matches.

Eslinger said he was proud of his team's performance and was impressed with the dominance his squad showed.

"We scored a lot of bonus points and we wrestled really hard," Eslinger said. "We wrestled with a lot of authority and confidence which is something we need to be doing at this point in the year."

Soto won his 19th match of the year with another major decision at 133 and sophomore Shawn Greevy, from Mechanicsburg, Pa., was victorious in his seventh straight match after a pin at 141.

Junior Robert Prigmore, from  Southlake, Texas, also won by pin in the 197 bout. Prigmore, who normally wrestles at 184, wrestled at 197 in place of junior Niko Brown, of Kissimmee, Fla., who was out with a knee injury he sustained in the match with Campbell.

The Mocs will look to take a full lead in the SoCon and extend their winning streak win the take on the Citadel Sunday Jan. 29. The Bulldogs won a 36-6 contest with VMI Jan. 22 and currently sit fifth in the Southern Conference standings.

 The win over VMI ended the Bulldogs three-match losing streak and improved their record to 5-6-1 overall and their conference record to 1-1.

Eslinger said a win over the Citadel will help put the Mocs in position for success during the conference tournament, which is slated for March 3

Eslinger said that he will look to keep his team focused as they prepare for the conference championships.

"This is one of the best group of guys I've been around," Eslinger said. "The hardest thing as a coach is reminding the guys that the days are long, but the months go by quick. A lot of times you can get bogged down in the moment and lose focus toward the future. I think our guys see that now. We have a very mature group of guys and they know how to handle themselves."

 The Mocs are looking to win their eighth straight SoCon title and their 27th overall. UTC will take on the Citadel Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. in Charleston, S.C.