NEWBERRY- The Newberry Wrestling team has locked up the South Atlantic Conference Carolinas Championship after a whirlwind of events during the 2020 campaign. The Wolves took a devastating loss to rival Limestone College in the second bout of the year, but Coach Cy Wainwright's team showed nothing but resilience as they battled through the rest of the season epically. 

Last year was nothing shy of monumental as the Wolves had a come from behind victory against Limestone College to win the inaugural South Atlantic Conference of the Carolinas conference championship. Newberry found themselves down 17-13 after the 197-pound match with one match to go. The fate of the season rested upon Patton Gossett's (285) shoulders, knowing that a technical fall or fall would win the dual and the conference championship. Gossett got two quick points off Daniel Bland, and from there, Gossett made his move and got the fall in:40 to lift his team victorious.

As if last year's way of raising the trophy wasn't enough stress, the Wolves battled their way back to the top after being knocked down early. The Wolves went near perfect after the loss to Limestone, showing Grit during every bout. The team knew that it would take some impeccable performances to be able to squeeze every point. The Wolves were quick to respond following their matchup against the Saints, picking three consecutive victories with over 100 team points towards their tally. The last two conference matchups would be crucial as the Wolves still needed to get as many team points as possible. The Wolves took care of business, defeating a very competitive Coker side 26-18. They were then faced with Mount Olive University, knowing that every point would matter. The Wolves came out to prove that they deserved the conference title, obliterating the Trojans 55-0. The Wolves accumulated over 220 team points during the 2020 campaign, winning the conference title for the fifth year in a row. 

Head Coach Cy Wainwright had a few remarks towards the tenacity of his wrestlers, "Being able to win 5 conference titles in a row is no easy feat. I'm fortunate enough to have kids who buy-in and an institution that invests into the sport of wrestling".

Isiah Royal led the pack as he remained ranked No. 1 at the 141-pound division. Royal was listed at the top of the podium since the NWCA released their preseason rankings, and the Guyton, Ga. native, did not let off the gas the entire season. Royal has been perfect in the conference and leads the team with the best individual record at 18-2 on the season. 

Transfer Caleb Spears came onto the scene for the Wolves and proved himself to be a standout since day one. The Rutherfordton, N.C. native has been perfect in conference play and has an overall record of 18-9. 

Junior Austin Neal put together a great season, wrestling up a pound division on a few occasions to help his team get the victory. Neal finished 5-4 in conference play. 

Pins from Keenan Graham, Nick Giantono, and Damien Penichet were all crucial to the Wolves accumulating significant points during the last conference match of the year.