Newberry, S.C. - On an afternoon where the Newberry Wrestling Team honored their senior class, it seemed fitting that all three seniors in the lineup would win their bouts, two of which came by pin, to help secure the Wolves fourth straight South Atlantic Conference Carolinas win in a 21-19 win over the Coker Cobras.
The afternoon would get started at 157 where Will Evans dominated the first two periods of action and headed to the last two minutes with an 8-2 lead. However, Evans could not secure the points for the Wolves as a slip up would lead to a takedown and pin for Coker and the Scarlet and Gray found themselves down six early. Coker would follow that up with a 12-3 major decision at 165 and suddenly the Wolves were down ten.Â
However, Caleb Spears stepped up to the challenge at 174. The senior, who was recently ranked as the 12th best wrestler in his weight class by the NWCA, got a takedown late into the third period to secure what would be a tech fall but Spears would not settle for five points as he would have Coker's Alex Miller on his back and would secure the pin to cut the Cobra lead to 10-6. Armando Acosta and Kaleb Haven would follow Spears with back to back gritty decisions to flip the scoreline in the Wolves favor at 12-10.Â
Coker would not go away quietly as they would take the lead back at 13-12 after a decision at 285. That's when another senior would take the lead as Evan Carrigan stepped to the mat and earned a 6-0 shutout decision over Stephen Spitko to put the Wolves back up 15-13. But the Cobras would strike hard at 133 and 141 as back to back decisions put Coker up and put the Wolves on the brink of dropping out of contention for a SACC Title and a loss to the Cobras for the first time ever. With one bout left, hope seemed dim for the Wolves.Â
But, Isiah Royal had other plans.
The defending national champion is no stranger to high pressure matches. The senior from Guyton, GA has qualified for the national tournament every year with Newberry and has been an All-American three of those four years. Saturday afternoon, Royal found himself with another chance to leave his mark on the program. With Coker leading 19-15 and the final bout coming at 149, Royal needed at least a technical fall to secure a Newberry win and keep the Wolves in the hunt for their seventh straight conference title. Royal would answer that call emphatically with a pin in under two minutes that ignited both the Newberry bench and a fired up Eleazer Arena as the Wolves would emerge victorious with their fourth straight conference win, 21-19.
"No better closer to have than the defending National Champion" said head coach, Deral Brown. "Super proud of him especially on senior day to go out in the dual meet and be the leader he has always been."
The Wolves now turn their attention to Thursday as they will make the trek down Highway 34 to Greenwood for a crucial tri-match with Lander and Limestone, currently first and third in the conference standings. The Wolves are scheduled to face off with the Saints at 4 PM and will face the Bearcats at approximately 7 PM.
