The Mocs claimed six individual league champions, each earning an automatic berth to the upcoming NCAA Championships March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Senior John Davis won his third consecutive title at 184 pounds, becoming the ninth wrestler in UTC history to win at least three SoCon titles.
Also claiming weight class titles for the Mocs were sophomore Javier Maldonado at 125 pounds, junior Matt Keller at 133, junior Aaron Martin at 149, junior Jake Yost at 157 and senior Israel Silva at 285.
Keller was voted Outstanding Wrestler. He will be making his third straight appearance at Nationals, having competed there the last two years for the University of Nebraska. Maldonado, Martin, Yost and Silva are first-time NCAA Qualifiers.
Junior Michael Keefe earned a wildcard entry to the NCAAs as determined by the league's coaches following the tournament. Keefe was a SoCon Champion at 141 in 2005 and earned All-America status with a fifth-place finish. He will be making his third trip to Nationals.
UTC Head Coach Joe Seay was voted the SoCon Coach of the Year by the conference coaches.
UTC, which recorded four major decisions in the championship finals, also received team points with third-place finishes from Michael Keefe at 141, Daniel Peterson at 165 and Justin Otis at 174 and a fourth-place from Lloyd Rogers at 197.
Final Team Standings
1. Chattanooga 107.5
2. UNC Greensboro 77.0
3. The Citadel 63.5
4. Appalachian State 49.5
5. VMI 28.5
6. Davidson 17.0
Individual Results
125
#1 Javier Maldonado (UTC) pinned #5 Justin Walp (UNC Greensboro), 2:54; Maldonado maj. dec. #2 Patrick Coman (Davidson), 11-2 (Maldonado first place)
133
#1 Matt Keller (UTC) pinned #5 Brandon Stillo (VMI), 4:51; Keller maj. dec. Terreyl Williams (Appalachian State), 15-3 (Keller first place)
141
#3 Michael Keefe (UTC) maj. dec. David Metzler (VMI), 14-6; #2 Kevin Artis (UNC Greensboro) dec. Keefe, 8-2; Keefe pinned #5 Jim Avola (Davidson), 4:22; Keefe dec. Metzler (VMI), 8-3 (Keefe third place)
149
#3 Aaron Martin (UTC) pinned #6 Nick Orio (The Citadel), 3:57; Martin maj. dec. #2 Sam Alvarenga (VMI), 10-0; Martin pinned #4 Cody Harrington (UNC Greensboro), 7:57 (Martin first place)
157
#1 Jake Yost (UTC) dec. #5 Andrew Krieger (UNC Greensboro), 5-1; Yost maj. dec. #2 Scott Ervin (Appalachian State), 13-3 (Yost first place)
165
#2 Lee Roper (Appalachian State) dec. #3 Dan Peterson (UTC), 6-2; Peterson dec. #5 Chris Hardy (VMI), 14-7; Peterson (UTC) dec. #4 Mark Ring (UNC Greensboro), 7-3 (Peterson third place)
174
#4 Neal Martin (Appalachian State) dec. #5 Justin Otis (UTC), 1-0; Otis maj. dec. #3 Marcus Boyd (Davidson), 15-3; Otis dec. #6 Dustin McCabe (VMI), 5-2 (Otis third place)
184
#1 John Davis (UTC) maj. dec. #4 Kane Smith (UNC Greensboro), 12-4; Davis maj. dec. #2 Corry Murray (VMI), 13-2 (Davis first place)
197
#3 Lloyd Rogers (UTC) pinned #6 Wil Carter (Davidson), 3:40; #2 Mark Thompson (The Citadel) dec. Rogers, 8-3; Rogers pinned #5 Kyle Elgert (Virginia Military), 4:59; #4 Josh Carroll (Appalachian State) dec. Rogers, 4-3 (Rogers fourth place)
285
#3 Israel Silva (UTC) dec. #2 Scott Buhman (VMI), 4-3; Silva dec. #1 Tyler Shovlin (UNC Greensboro), 2-1 (Silva first place)
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