NEWBERRY — Newberry began its Eastern College Athletic Conference matchup against Coker in style, then accumulated enough points to make the 29-9 lead unreachable. The Wolves kept its conference championship hopes alive in the Tuesday night dual at Eleazer.

The Wolves applied pressure early on to build a large lead. Newberry (11-6, 4-1 ECAC) opened with an 14-2 major decision win by Austin Neal to secure an early 4-0 lead over Coker (5-11. 1-5 ECAC).

However, Newberry was far from done. Nolan Whitely secured his third tech fall of the season with a 21-3 demolition of Drew Crabtree. Moments later, Isaiah Royal powered through his competition to earn an 8-3 decision win over his opponent. Tyler Wicken followed suit, with a 5-3 edge over Matthew Kieta to help Newberry jump out to a 15-0 lead against the Cobras’.

Senior Alex Rice, who competed in his last home match in Eleazer Arena, picked up the 19-2 tech win over Hunter Corwin in a little under three minutes. Joey Rocca, the junior from Elmwood Park, N.J., picked up the team’s only win by fall on the night.

Patton Gossett ended the dual with a 10-3 decision win over Robert Parland. He found himself down early in the match, but rebounded successfully to take full control. Gossett flew by conference opponents, tallying a 4-0 record in ECAC competition.

Coker was headed by Bret Shurina, as he downed Jody McAlister, 7-2. Jordon Garlow picked up a decision win over Austin Crocker.

Luis Peguero rounded out the night for the Cobras’, taking down Nick Weldon, 5-1. With the win, Newberry moves to 4-1 in ECAC action. A win over Emmanuel Friday night would clinch a share of the ECAC title with UNC Pembroke, which concluded its league slate on Monday night at 5-1, its lone loss coming to Belmont Abbey.

The Wolves kept its conference championship hopes alive in the Tuesday night dual at Eleazer.
https://www.newberryobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_Wrestling-2018.jpgThe Wolves kept its conference championship hopes alive in the Tuesday night dual at Eleazer. Courtesy photo

Staff Report