BELMONT, N.C. – The opening dual of the season for the King University men's wrestling team was a rollercoaster tilt at Belmont Abbey College. The Tornado opened up a sizable advantage, but the Crusaders came back to take a lead before a
Cade Ridley pin gave King the 22-21 win.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 22, Belmont Abbey 21
LOCATION: Wheeler Center; Belmont, N.C.
RECORDS: King 1-0, 1-0 South Atlantic Conference Carolinas; Belmont Abbey 0-2, 0-1 South Atlantic Conference Carolinas
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Elijah Hicks started the Tornado day with a 6-5 decision over Brandon Crowder at 125 pounds before a Rylee Billings 8-3 decision at 133 pounds over Ben Fielding gave King a 6-0 lead.
- Christian Small fought well in his first collegiate match, but fell 1-0 on riding time to Tyler Pepe at 141 pounds.
- Trent Mahoney started his career with a 1:29 pin over Matt Daner, stretching the Tornado lead to 12-3 after the 149-pound match.
- Dallas Boone made a solid collegiate debut, following with a 7-0 victory over Jacob Dodson at 157 pounds to give King a 15-3 lead.
- Belmont Abbey then rolled off four straight wins to take a 21-15 lead with the 285-pound weight class remaining.
- Ridley came up with a pin in 1:32 over Jordan Hawthorne and evening the score.
- King took the 22-21 win following an unsportsmanlike conduct call against Belmont Abbey earlier in the dual.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- King wins their first dual of the season and starts the SACC slate with a win for the fourth time in five years.
- In three of those years, King has defeated Belmont Abbey in the conference opener.
UP NEXT
- King stays on the road to take on Newberry College on Thursday. The SACC dual is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. in Newberry, S.C.
- Belmont Abbey travels to Coker University on Friday night.
