PEMBROKE, N.C. – After almost two weeks of not being in action, Men's Wrestling made the relatively short road trip up to Pembroke, North Carolina, to take on the Braves from UNC Pembroke. With the Wolves and Braves coming into the match in third and fourth place in the conference, respectively, this would be a big matchup early in the season. To add to the stakes, both teams come into the match with an undefeated record at 2-0 and coming off of big wins in both their previous duals (Newberry over Lincoln Memorial 43-12; UNC Pembroke over Limestone 39-12)
Starting off at 125 lbs, the Braves would get going early with Logan Seliga securing a major decision victory over the Wolves' Zach Shupp (Fairfield, Ohio). The 133 lb match would be no different as Logan Robinson of UNCP would pin the Wolves' JP Gamez (Dade City, Fla.) at the 2:48 mark. Newberry's Fletcher Swindall (Alexandria, Ala.) would finally get the Wolves on the board at 141 lbs by pinning the Braves' Brandon Smith at 5:57.
The Braves would respond in the 149 lb match as Jake Piccirilli would score a decision over Devan Moore (Baxely, Ga.), followed by a major decision victory for the Braves at 157 lbs as William Lowery would defeat Newberry's Nolan Wheeler (Dahlonega, Ga.). The momentum would continue to be on the Braves' side as Caleb Grau of UNCP would score a tightly-contested decision victory over Asa Walton (Buena, N.J.) of Newberry at 165 lbs.
In need of a victory to swing the momentum toward Newberry's way, up stepped Dayton Fields (Seneca, Mo.) at 174 lbs to take on UNCP's Logan Hoffman, but the result would not come to fruition as Hoffman would win by decision, 10-6. The next match at 184 lbs would not go the Wolves' way either as Shylik Scriven of UNCP would beat Newberry's Armando Acosta (Gainesville, Fla.) by major decision by a score of 16-8.
At 197 lbs, the Braves would continue their run as Garrett Steele would defeat the Wolves' John Parker (Temecula, Calif.) by a close decision of 8-7, but Newberry would end on a high note at 285 lbs as Devon Rice (Rock Hill, S.C.) would beat UNCP's Ryan Walker by decision, 10-5.
In extra matches, the Wolves' Des Marshall (St. Petersburg, Fla.) would pin the Braves' Christopher Dickey at the 2:58 mark, and UNCP's Chad Metikosh would score a decision victory over Newberry's Chance Jackson (Georgetown, S.C.) by a score of 5-2.
The Wolves will look to bounce back this weekend as they take on the Patriot Open at George Mason University on December 4th before heading to the Midwest Classic in Indianapolis, Indiana from December 17th - 18th. Newberry's next dual comes at home on January 3rd, 2023 in Eleazer Arena against King University, scheduled for a 7 PM start time.
UNC PEMBROKE 30, Newberry College 9
125: Logan Seliga (UNCP) over Zach Shupp (NC), MD 10-0
133: Logan Robinson (UNCP) over Jp Gamez (NC), Fall 2:48
141: Fletcher Swindall (NC) over Brandon Smith (UNCP), Fall 5:57
149: Jake Piccirilli (UNCP) over Devan Moore (NC), Dec. 7-3
157: William Lowery (UNCP) over Nolan Wheeler (NC), MD 19-7
165: Caleb Grau (UNCP) over Asa Walton (NC), Dec. 5-4
174: Logan Hoffman (UNCP) over Dayton Fields (NC), Dec. 10-6
184: Shylik Scriven (UNCP) over Armando Acosta (NC), MD 16-8
197: Garrett Steele (UNCP) over John Parker (NC), Dec. 8-7
285: Devon Rice (NC) over Ryan Walker (UNCP), Dec. 10-5
184 Extra: Des Marshall (NC) over Christopher Dickey (UNCP), Fall 2:58
285 Extra: Chad Metikosh (UNCP) over Chance Jackson (NC), Dec. 5-2
