SoCon Recap (1/15/2025)

Hey friends, happy New Year!

It’s been a while, I know, but let’s catch up on what’s been going on in the SoCon. 

Bellarmine started out strong after Christmas, placing seventh overall at the Soldier Salute, putting four wrestlers on the podium. Jack Parker (125), Keenan Wyatt (184), Devan Hendricks (184), and Daulton Mayer (285) took home top-eight placements. 

Notable wins for Mayer included a fall over Iowa’s Easton Fleshman and a 10-6 victory over then-ranked #26 Daniel Herrera of Iowa State. Wyatt and Hendricks battled it out for the 7th-place bout, where Hendricks sought a victory over the redshirt freshman Wyatt. 

The Knights wasted no time getting back to work, this time heading to the Southern Scuffle, hosted by UT-Chattanooga. The conference was well-represented, with eight of the nine schools in attendance (missing VMI). Out of a total of 110 SoCon entries, the conference produced 21 placements - Campbell and The Citadel leading the pack with 5 placewinners, followed by UTC with 4, Gardner-Webb with 3, and Bellarmine and Davidson with 2. Program milestones were made for Bellarmine and Davidson, as they had their program’s first podium finishes at the Scuffle. Another first was earned by UTC’s Sergio DeSiante, the 174lb Southern Scuffle Champion, and shared the limelight with teammate Jackson Hurst (165) after securing a fifth-place finish. Fun Scuffle trivia: this is the third time that the Mocs have sent 2+ wrestlers to the semifinals, another time in 2006, and last year’s Scuffle, with four wrestlers in the semifinal round. 

DeSiante’s path to a championship included a 7-6 semifinal victory over Virginia Tech’s Lennox Wolak, defeating Oklahoma’s top-ten Gaven Sax, 3-2. DeSiante saw an improvement in his ranking post-Scuffle, from 33 to 27 (now 26). 

The Citadel was the only other SoCon program to have a finalist - 197lb Pat Brophy. Brophy finished the tournament with two major decision victories and two wins by decision. The finals bout against Connor Mirasola (PSU) was lost by a 7-3 decision. 

SoCon Scuffle Placewinners:

125

• 3rd - Anthony Molton (CAMP)
• 8th - Jeff Jacome (GWU)

133

• 5th - Blake Boarman (UTC)
• 6th - TK Davis (GWU)
• 8th - Bryce Luna (UTC)

141

• 4th - Shannon Hanna (CAMP)
• 7th - AJ Rallo (BU)
• 8th - Tyson Sherlock (DAV)

149

• 4th - Wynton Denkins (CAMP)
• 6th - Tyler McKnight (DAV)
• 7th - Carson Desrosier (CIT)

157

• 3rd - Tyler Badgett (CIT)
• 8th - Hayden Watson (CIT)

165

• 5th - Thomas Snipes (CIT)
• 6th - Jackson Hurst (UTC)
• 7th - Domomic Baker (CAMP)

174 

• 1st - Sergio DeSiante (UTC)

197

• 2nd - Patrick Brophy (CIT)
• 5th - Levi Hopkins (CAMP)
• 8th - Josh McCutchen (GWU)

285

• 8th - Daulton Mayer (BU)

The Camels took to the mat at the F&M Open this past weekend - boasting two champions, five semifinalists, and six placements. Anthony Molton (125) and Wynton Denkins (149), both finished at the top of their weights, followed by runners-up Cooper Shore (125), Shannon Hanna (141), Levi Hopkins (197), and Chris Earnest’s (157) sixth place finish.

The Citadel hosted App State for their first conference dual of the season. Starting off at 125 lbs, the Bulldogs’ own Gylon Sims defeated Bryson Terrell by an 8-2 decision. App State answered with nine wins, besting the Bulldogs 31 to 3. The marquee matchup of the weekend came at 197 - both ranked opponents, Pat Brophy (CIT) and Carson Floyd (APP), were neck and neck the entire match, with Floyd pushing ahead with a 4-3 victory. The Bulldogs were tough this dual, and I’m looking forward to watching their performance throughout this conference season. 

Last, but certainly not least, the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs faced off against ACC foes Duke. Call Mike Wazowski and the Child Detection Agency because we have a 23-19! (joke posted for reference)

Anyway - the Dawgs started off strong with four back-to-back wins from 125 through 149, Jeff Jacome (125) and Todd Carter (141) put some bonus points on the board by way of a major decision and tech fall, respectively. After three losses, Jackson Potts (184) and Josh McCutchen (197) sealed the deal for the Dawgs, earning a Power 5 win. 

SoCon in the Rankings:

125

• 25 - Anthony Molton (CAMP)

133

• 26 - Blake Boarman (UTC)
• 29 - TK Davis

141

• 20 - Todd Carter (GWU)
• 26 - Shannon Hanna (CAMP)

165

• 8 - Will Miller (APP)
• 32 - Dom Baker (CAMP)

174 

• 26 - Sergio DeSiante (UTC)

184

• 31 - Billy Janzer (CIT)

197

• 31 - Levi Hopkins (CAMP)
• 32 - Carson Floyd (APP)
• 33 - Pat Brophy (CIT)

285

• 6 - Taye Ghadiali (CAMP)