NEWBERRY – Nick Weldon clinched a thrilling, come-from-behind Newberry victory with a takedown in the final seconds of his heavyweight bout, delivering a 20-18 win over Ouachita Baptist in the team's first home event of the season.
The Wolves (8-6) entered the final match trailing Ouachita Baptist (0-3) 18-17, fighting from behind for most of the day against the 14th-ranked team in Super Region 4 due to a forfeit at 125 pounds. Weldon scored the first point of the match and led 1-0 entering the third period.
The Tigers’ Jerhett Lee tied the score with an escape early in the third and looked to earn a takedown midway through the period. But Weldon pounced at the opportunity and notched a takedown of his own for a 3-1 lead.
Lee’s escape point made the score 3-2. With advantage time a non-factor, Lee fought for another takedown. It was Weldon, however, that scored a takedown with one second remaining to clinch the 5-2 win and a two-point Wolves’ victory.
Jordan Simpson earned the only fall of the afternoon for either team at 133 pounds. A takedown and a two-point nearfall gave Simpson a significant first-period cushion. The nation’s eighth-ranked wrestler in his weight class earned another nearfall early in the third period before a fall 23 seconds into the frame. His result erased the Tigers’ six-point advantage from the early forfeit and was instrumental in Newberry’s victory.
Newberry picked up major decisions from Nick Young and Huston Evans at 165 and 174 pounds, respectively, while Cody Brundage’s 8-2 decision helped Newberry turn a 15-6 deficit into a 17-15 advantage heading into the final two weight classes. Those results countered three consecutive Ouachita Baptist decisions, including Tyler Wicken’s narrow 6-5 defeat in Tiebreaker 1, in the preceding bouts.
A significant moment in the match came at 149 pounds, where Newberry’s Timmy Martinez squared off with Blake Clevenger, ranked No. 3 nationally and first in Super Region 4. Clevenger earned a takedown 37 seconds into the match and maintained the advantage throughout, appearing close to a pin several times and earning a four-point nearfall as time expired in the first period.
But Martinez refused to give in to the highly-touted Clevenger, earning an escape point early in the second period before turning the tables with a takedown and two-point nearfall of his own and draw within a point as the period drew to a close. While Clevenger went on to a 10-6 decision, Martinez’s grit prevented the Tigers from earning critical additional points in the bout and played a role in Newberry’s victory.
The match served as Newberry’s final tune-up before Eastern College Athletic Conference duals begin next Friday at Limestone. The Wolves will return to Eleazer Arena on Saturday, Jan. 28 during the Super Region 2 Duals.
