UTC wrestlers Alonzo Allen, Chris Debien stand out at Southern Scuffle [photos]
January 3rd, 2019by Kevin Llewallynin Sports – CollegeRead Time: 3 mins.
Penn State’s Bo Nickal, back, controls Stanford’s Nathan Traxler during the 197-pound championship final at the Southern Scuffle at McKenzie Arena on Wednesday.
Photo by C.B. Schmelter /Times Free Press.
SOUTHERN SCUFF
Tuesday-Wednesday
At McKenzie Arena
Team Standings
Penn State 216.5, Oklahoma State 188.5, Iowa State 104, Stanford 82.5, Navy 75.5, Lock Haven 71.5, Duke 70, Ohio 54.5, Virginia Tech 48.5, Cal State-Bakersfield 46.5, Northern Colorado 45.5, Appalachian State 43, Rider 41, Binghamton 37.5, UTC 37.5, George Mason 27.5, Drexel 26, Air Force 24.5, Edinboro 24.5, The Citadel 21, Lehigh 19, Columbia 17.5, Gardner-Webb 8.
Finals started at 174 pounds
Championship Matches
125 — Nick Piccininni (Okla. State) dec. Rico Montoya (N. Colorado), 7-2
133 — Daton Fix (Okla. State) dec. Austin Gomez (Iowa State), 6-3
141 — Nick Lee (Penn State) dec. Real Woods (Stanford), 6-3
149 — Kaden Gfeller (Okla. State) dec. Mitch Finesilver (Duke), 3-2
157 — Jason Nolf (Penn State) tech. fall Bo Pipher (Penn State), 16-1
165 — Vincenzo Joseph (Penn State) dec. Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven), 6-5
174 — Mark Hall (Penn State) dec. Joe Smith (Okla. State), 5-1
184 — Shakur Rasheed (Penn State) dec. Hunter Bolen (Va. Tech), 3-1
197 — Bo Nickal (Penn State) fall Nathan Traxler (Stanford), 2:09
285 — Derek White (Okla. State) dec. Anthony Cassar (Penn State), 3-2
Third-place Matches
125 — Jakob Camacho (N.C. State) dec. Luke Werner (Lock Haven), 10-4
133 — Roman Bravo-Young (Penn State) dec. Sean Nickell (CS-Bakersfield), 10-1
141 — Nick Gil (Navy) dec. Cameron Kelly (Ohio), 3-2
149 — Brady Berge (Penn State) dec. Requir Van der Merwe (Stanford), 5-2
157 — Dom Mandarino (Stanford) dec. Zac Carson (Ohio), 12-10
165 — Shane Griffith (Stanford) dec. Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider), 7-2
174 — David McFadden (Va. Tech) dec. Trent Hidlay (N.C. State), 3-2
184 — Lou Deprez (Binghamton) dec. Jacobe Smith (Okla. State), 6-2
197 — Tom Sleigh (Va. Tech) dec. Dakota Geer (Okla. State), 9-3
285 — Nick Nevills (Penn State) dec. Matt Voss (George Mason), 2-1
If the Southern Scuffle is a good midseason indicator of what the NCAA championships might bring in March, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga has at least two wrestlers who are primed to make an impact on the national scene.
Senior Alonzo Allen placed fifth at 125 pounds and junior Chris Debien was sixth at 141 as what is billed as the top in-season collegiate wrestling tournament in the nation came to a close Wednesday evening after two days of competition at McKenzie Arena. Host UTC scored 37.5 points to tie for 14th place in the event, which included representatives from 25 teams and was won by Penn State.
Allen won an exciting fifth-place match, 6-5 over Iowa State’s Alex Mackall, after scoring a late point on an escape in the third period. Midway through the second period, the 2018 Southern Conference champion waved his hands to quiet the boisterous home crowd amid a chorus of boos from the Mocs faithful, who believed his opponent was stalling.
“Everything’s clicking right now,” Allen said. “I’m just keeping my mind focused during the matches. That was just me trying to say, ‘Hey y’all, don’t worry. I got this.’ It’s easier for me just to block everything out.”
Allen also won arguably the tournament’s most exciting match of the day in the consolation quarterfinals as he defeated Stanford’s Gabriel Townsell 9-7 in overtime after nine grueling periods.
“I haven’t been a part of anything like that since my senior year of high school,” Allen said about the marathon match. “I’m just going out there to wrestle all seven minutes, or twelve minutes if I have to. It just feels awesome.”
After Debien lost a heartbreaker in overtime to Navy’s Nick Gil in the consolation semifinals, the Cleveland High School graduate’s fifth-place match started off well. Debien led 3-1 thanks to an early takedown, but his opponent, Lock Haven’s Kyle Shoop, took control late in the second period and won 8-3.
“I just have to be more offensive and believe in my shots,” said Debien, a SoCon champ two years ago. “I thought I performed pretty well, but this is not where I want to peak; I want to peak in March. I want to get to the NCAA tournament and be an All-American.”
Top-ranked Penn State continued its dominance at the Southern Scuffle in record-breaking fashion, winning for the eighth time in the tournament’s 15-year history. The Nittany Lions scored a tournament-record 216.5 points, breaking Oklahoma State’s mark of 198 set in 2017.
The third-ranked Cowboys finished second with 188.5 points in this year’s event.
Three Nittany Lions became part of elite company, with Jason Nolf (157), Mark Hall (174), and Bo Nickal (187) joining 10 other wrestlers as three-time Southern Scuffle champs. Penn State had six champs out of 10 weight classes at this year’s event, while Oklahoma State had the other four.
Iowa State was third with 104 points, with Stanford (82.5), Navy (75.5), Lock Haven (71.5), Duke (70), Ohio (54.5), Virginia Tech (48.5) and Cal State-Bakersfield (46.5) rounding out the top 10 in the team standings.
Contact Kevin Llewallyn at sports@timesfreepress.com.
