NEWBERRY — The No. 9 Newberry College Wolves’ wrestling team eased to four big wins in the Ninth Annual South Carolina National Guard Newberry Duals in Eleazer Arena on Sunday. The Wolves are now 4-0 in dual action on the season, with the following four wins:
Match One — Newberry 38, Brewton-Parker 12
The No. 9 Newberry Wolves opened their dual season with a 38-12 rout of the NAIA’s No. 40-ranked Brewton-Parker Barons in the opening session of the Ninth Annual South Carolina National Guard Newberry Duals on Sunday morning.
Trung Duong kicked off Newberry’s dual season at 125 lbs. with a dominant 18-0 win by technical fall, but the Barons took a lead at 9-5 after three bouts with a win by fall and a decision.
Newberry had two wins by forfeit at 149 and 157 followed by a first period pin at 165 lbs. by Lukas Gilmore to regain the lead and push ahead to 23-9.
Sean Kennedy edged Zach Perez with an 8-7 decision at 174 lbs. before No. 2 Huston Evans rolled to a first period pin of Marcus Gaines to make it a 32-9 lead.
After a forfeit win at 197 lbs. the match wrapped up with a narrow loss at 285 lbs.
Match Two — Newberry 28, Cumberland 9
The Wolves powered to a 28-9 win over NAIA No. 16 Cumberland (Tenn.) in the second session of the Ninth Annual South Carolina National Guard Newberry Duals.
Trung Duong got the Wolves off to the lead with an 11-4 win by decision at 125 lbs., but the Bulldogs earned a narrow 2-1 win at 133 lbs. to tie the dual at 3-all.
Austin Solari pushed the Wolves’ lead to 9-3 with a pin at the 3:57 mark at 141 lbs. and Zack Dobbins was dominant in a 3-0 decision at 149 lbs. with nearly four minutes of riding time.
The Bulldogs cut the lead to 12-6 at the halfway point of the dual with a 2-1 decision in the first tiebreaker, but Lukas Gilmore was able to regain momentum for the scarlet and gray with a 6-2 decision at 165 lbs. to make it a 15-6 lead.
After a narrow defeat at 174 lbs., the Wolves closed out the dual with three straight wins. No. 2 Huston Evans took an 8-2 decision at 184 lbs., Cody Brundage rolled to a 14-0 major decision at 197 lbs. and Mike Kennedy put the wraps on the dual with a pin at the 1:09 mark.
Match Three — Newberry 57, Spartanburg Methodist 0
The Wolves were dominant in a 57-0 victory over local foe Spartanburg Methodist in the scarlet and gray’s third match of the Ninth Annual South Carolina National Guard Newberry Duals in Eleazer Arena on Sunday afternoon.
The visiting Pioneers forfeited five bouts to the Wolves and Newberry picked up four first period pins.Trung Duong at 125 lbs., Austin Solari at 141 lbs., Nick Young at 165 lbs. and Huston Evans at 184 lbs. all ended their matches by fall in the opening period.
The only match to go the full distance was Cody Brundage’s 4-1 win at 197 lbs.
Match Four — Newberry 57, Truett-McConnell 0
The Wolves closed out a perfect 4-0 day at the Ninth Annual South Carolina National Guard Newberry Duals with a 57-0 shutout victory over Truett-McConnell.
Trung Duong started the dual off with a pin in the first period at 125 lbs. and Austin Solari pinned his opponent in the first period at 141 lbs.
Dennis Flores won a 7-0 decision at 165 lbs. and the Kennedy brothers closed the contested matches with pins. Sean Kennedy had a first period pin at 174 lbs. and Mike Kennedy had a second period pin at 285 lbs.
The Wolves are next in action next weekend (December 19-20) at the annual Midwest Classic at the University of Indianapolis. Newberry is a four-time champion at the Midwest Classic.