—Staff photo by Kelly Snow BIG WIN — Newberry College’s Josh Whitelock tries to get away from North Carolina’s Kevin Owen in the 174-pound match. Whitelock picked up the only pinfall victory in the match for either team.

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The second-ranked Newberry College wrestling team defeated its third Division-I opponent of the year with a 24-14 triumph against the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The scarlet and gray won six of 10 matches against the Tar Heels in front of a frenzied crowd of 601 attendees for the marquee dual match.

“It was a great statement win for our program, fans and our student athletes, who really performed amazing tonight in our victory,” coach Jason Valek said.

The dual meet was a showdown between the top-two teams in the Carolinas as determined by The Takedown Report, with Newberry tabbed as the top team and UNC as second place. Newberry scored three major decisions, two decisions and one pinfall to defeat the Tar Heels.

The match started at 125-pounds, where Matt Oliver (Toms River, N.J.) defeated Justin Shields by a 3-1 decision. Oliver's reversal in the final period sealed the match as he added an extra point for a minute of riding time. Oliver improved his record to 23-3 on the year and gave Newberry a 3-0 lead.

Sheridan Moran (Lafayette, La.) sent the crowd into a frenzy with his 10-0 major decision against Mike Robinson at 133 pounds. Moran scored three takedowns in the match to go along with a three-point nearfall as he propelled his record to 22-8 on the year. With Moran’s major, Newberry took a 7-0 lead.

Vincent Ramirez put UNC on the scoreboard with his 13-3 major decision against Newberry’s Tony Washington (Georgetown) at 141-pounds. Washington allowed six points in the final period to give Ramirez the major decision. The loss dropped Washington to 20-7 on the year as UNC narrowed Newberry’s lead to 7-4.

North Carolina tied the dual when Nicholas Stabile, scored a 2-0 decision over Newberry’s Latra Collick (Berlin, Md.) at 149-pounds. Stabile was unable to score a takedown in the match, but scored points with an escape and a riding-time advantage. Collick’s season record dropped to 23-7 as UNC tied the match at seven.

In the 157-pound match, freshman Sean Byrnes (Jackson, N.J.) lost to Thomas Scotton by a 14-2 major decision. Scotton scored three takedowns in the match as he gave the Tar Heels an 11-7 lead and dropped Byrnes’ record to 16-10.

Brandon Kelly (Fort Myers, Fla.) nearly scored an upset of nationally-ranked Keegan Mueller, but fell short as he lost by a 3-0 decision. Mueller scored a takedown in the opening period and an escape in the final period to push UNC’s lead to 14-7.

The Newberry crowd was reenergized when Josh Whitelock (Rhodesdale, Md.) scored a pin over Kevin Owen at the 5:54 mark to narrow UNC’s lead to 14-13. Whitelock was leading 4-0 at the time of the pin, which was his fourth of the season. His record improved to 22-8 on the year.

Riding the momentum of Whitelock's pin, Bryant Blanton (Summerville) scored a 8-0 major decision against Robert McCarthy to give the lead back to Newberry, 17-14. Blanton scored five points in the opening period and three in the final to improve his record to 25-5.

“We knew we were better than them in the final four weight classes, but for Whitelock to get a pin and then for Blanton to follow with a major was the turning point of the match,” Valek added of the two matches.

Sealing the victory for Newberry was Keeno Griffin (Jacksonville, Fla.) at 197-pounds. Griffin scored a 16-4 major decision against Andrew Cekuta to give the scarlet and gray an insurmountable 21-14 advantage. Griffin used his explosive speed to score seven takedowns in the match, which included three in the closing period. Griffin, a 2008 Division II All-American, pushed his season record to 25-2.

In the night’s final match, Cy Wainwright (Green Cove Spring, Fla.) capped the match with a 4-2 decision against Justin Dobies. Wainwright scored a takedown in the second period, which was the difference in the match as he pushed his record to 29-0 on the year and his winning streak to 31.

Newberry finished the season 23-2 and will travel to Erie, Pa. for the East Regional Tournament, where it will look to defend its 2008 title. The tournament will span two days and will begin on February 27.

Courtesy of Newberry College Sports Information