Greenwood, S.C. - With an electric atmosphere surrounding them in Finis Horne Arena for both of their matches, the Newberry Wrestling Team took down the Limestone Saints by a score of 24-16 but couldn't withstand a late Bearcat rally, falling to Lander 19-14. That loss snapped a streak of five straight conference wins for the Wolves after starting the season 0-2 in conference play. The Scarlet and Gray now sit at 8-5 on the season and 5-3 in SACC competition.
Newberry 24, Limestone 16
The evening got started with one of the tensest rivalries in the region as the Wolves faced off against the Limestone Saints. The match did not get off to a smooth start for the Wolves as the Saints took the first two bouts via decision with Zach Shupp falling 8-4 and Timothy Decatur dropping a hard fought 4-3 bout where a late penalty point tied the match but Decatur couldn't overcome the riding time advantage. After two bouts, the Saints held an early 6-0 advantage.
But that's when the heart of the Wolves lineup took over and flipped the match completely. It started at 141 where Devan Moore took down Limestone's Auston Hall four times in the first period but couldn't secure any back points. However, Moore didn't let an opportunity go to waste in the second period as Hall would choose bottom and Moore wouldn't let him off the mat and would secure the pin at 3:58 to tie the match, igniting the large contingency of his teammates beside the bench.
At 149, Isiah Royal would follow Moore up with a dominant 17-4 major decision to give the Wolves a 10-6 lead. Royal took down his opponent seven times and only was on bottom once because he chose it at the start of the third and he used a quick reversal to get back in the offensive position.
At 157, Will Evans was determined not to let the late slip up against Coker keep him down as he earned a dominant pin of his own in which he had a 13-4 lead before he put Alex Dilegge's shoulder blades to the mat and the Wolves now had completely flipped the match with three straight wins and now led by ten, 16-6.
The Saints would get back on the board at 165 where Talon Seitz would take part in a back and forth bout that saw back to back reversals in the third period. However, a late stalling point and a four-point near fall would doom Seitz as he would fall in a 12-8 decision giving the Saints' bench and their supporters in the stands something to cheer about.
However, at 174,
Caleb Spears would silence the Limestone contingent with a 23-7 technical fall over Christopher Drakeford to increase the lead to 21-9. Spears would take down Drakeford nine separate times in the 6:10 bout. After the ninth and final takedown that gave Spears the 15 point technical fall, Spears got up and shushed the Limestone bench who had been chirping at him and his teammates all match.
Spears' win put the Saints in must-win position for the rest of the match as any victory by a Newberry wrestler would secure the victory for the Scarlet and Gray. The Saints were up to that challenge as they would respond with a 10-2 major decision at 184 where a late stall call gave the Saints the eight point advantage. They then followed up with a 5-1 decision at 197 to put pressure on Devon Rice at 285 and the Wolves now leading 21-16.
Rice knew he could not get pinned and he responded in kind with a gritty, determined 3-1 win in Sudden Victory. After the bout, the junior from Rock Hill, S.C. jumped into the stands where his non-competing teammates were going wild.
After that hard fought win, the Wolves got a break as they waited for Lander and Limestone to wrestle before taking on the top team in the SACC, the Lander Bearcats.
Lander 19, Newberry 14
Entering into one of the most hostile atmospheres they will see this year, the Wolves would get off to the perfect start as
Zach Shupp would just miss out on a major decision, earning a 10-3 decision over Isham Peace to give Newberry the early 3-0 lead. However, the Bearcats would respond at 133 and 141 earning 9-2 and 6-0 decisions in those weight classes to give the hosts the 6-3 lead.
Isiah Royal would respond with a 8-0 shutout major decision where he looked just as dominant as he did against Limestone, never conceding the offensive position in the full seven minute bout as he would remain perfect since rejoining the Wolves lineup at the start of 2022. Those four points made it a one point Newberry lead at 7-6
At 157, Will Evans would fight back from 5-1 down to get to sudden victory but was taken down by Bryson Ethington to give the Bearcats the lead back at 9-7.
At 165, Nolan Wheeler would go down 10-0 early in the first period and it would seem that all hope was lost for the bout. However, Wheeler would not go away quietly as he would scratch and claw his way back into his but unfortunately would run out of time on the clock needing just one more takedown to send it to sudden victory. The 18-16 decision would make it 12-7 Lander.
Caleb Spears would cut the Lander lead to one with a 20-7 major decision at 174. Spears would spend the whole third period taking down and cutting loose Daniel Kitts to try to get to the 15 point technical fall to tie the match but he could not secure it, coming two points short.
Unfortunately, the Bearcats would wrap up the victory with a 3-1 decision at 184 and a 16-3 major decision at 197 giving them a insurmountable 19-11 lead with only one bout left.
At 285, Devon Rice would secure three takedowns on his way to a 7-3 decision over Cody Fleming to cap off a perfect 2-0 afternoon for him.
"It was not the results we wanted but our season is far from over," said Head Coach Deral Brown. "We are looking forward to a strong showing next week at Mount Olive and at the Newberry Open and you can expect us to peak at regionals and nationals"
The Wolves are scheduled to compete next in the aforementioned Mount Olive match on February 9th, as that match has taken the place of the originally scheduled match with Lincoln Memorial which has been canceled.
