HARTSVILLE – The No. 14 Newberry Wolves’ wrestling team started the 2015 calendar year off on the right foot for the scarlet and gray with a 28-6 win over the Coker Cobras at the DeLoach Center on Friday afternoon.

With the victory, Newberry moves to 6-1 on the year and hands Coker (6-1) its first loss of the season. The Wolves’ next action will be in Fort Wayne, Ind., next weekend for the National Duals.

After Trung Duong (Lynchburg, Va.) was handed a forfeit victory at 125 lbs., Jordan Simpson (Oxford, Ala.) was edged by a riding time point at 133 lbs. to cut an early Newberry lead to 6-3 

At 141 lbs., Nick Lankford (Braselton, Ga.) held a slight lead going towards the end of each period, but late flurries allowed him to pick up enough points for a 10-4 win by decision and push the Wolves’ lead to 9-3.

Seiji Borja (Charleston, S.C.) was challenged in his 149 lbs. bout, but controlled the action and won a 9-2 decision. At 157 lbs., Dennis Flores (Hanahan, S.C.) was unable to finish off a late takedown with control on only one leg, losing a 6-5 decision and making it a 12-6 Newberry lead at the halfway point of the dual.

At 165 lbs., Lukas Gilmore (Greenville, Mich.) suffered an early takedown but was in control for the majority of the bout, winning a 9-2 decision. 174-pounder Joe Pittman (Forsyth, Ga.) cruised to a 15-1 major decision to push the Wolves’ advantage to 19-6.

No. 6 nationally ranked 184-pounder Jared Holliday (Burlington, N.J.) earned a 2-0 decision victory in a defensive battle to clinch the dual victory at 22-6.

Huston Evans (Springfield, Ohio) made his Newberry debut at 197 lbs. and took an 8-4 decision victory in a high-paced match. Cody Brundage (Chapin, S.C.) bumped up to heavyweight with Evans’ entry into the lineup and wrapped up a solid dual win with a 7-2 win by decision.