HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The King University men's wrestling team returned to action after a long layoff when they faced three tough matches at the Coker College Duals. The Tornado earned a 28-27 comeback victory over Brewton-Parker College, but fell to #9 Shorter University 48-6 and Coker 42-3.
King started the day against ninth-ranked Shorter, and the Hawks took command of the match early. Shorter won the first eight bouts of the dual, the first the by forfeit. At 197 pounds, Eldon Valery took King's lone win of the dual, defeating Kimani Navrullah on a fall in 4:25. However, Shorter took the 48-6 win to start the day.
The Tornado again got off to a slow start in their next dual when they faced Brewton-Parker. The Barons won the first five matches, including the first three by forfeit to take a 27-0 lead before Jordan Reece got the Tornado going at 165 pounds. Reece earned an 8-2 decision to get King on the board and Trevor Wentt followed with a win by forfeit at 174 pounds. Jesse Masters and Jackie Miller than earned back-to-back wins by fall to give King a chance to even the score. Masters defeated Heath McGregor in 6:58 at 184 pounds and at 197 pounds Miller topped Trevin Goodman in 1:09. The Tornado still need a win by fall at 285 to even the score at 27, and senior Garrett Fosdyck gave King just that. Fosdyck pinned MaShawn Knight in 3:54 to even the score at 27. King earned the 28-27 win on tiebreakers.
However, the Tornado couldn't keep the momentum going into the nightcap against Coker. The Cobras earned wins by forfeit at the first four weight classes before taking five more victories to open up a 42-0 lead. Fosdyck got King on the board with a 3-0 win over Alex Green to make the final score 42-3.
King will be in action again on Wednesday when they travel to take on Limestone College. The dual from Gaffney, S.C., is slated for 7:00 p.m.
