GREENWOOD, S.C. –
Franky Medina and
Ethan Lopez of the King University men's wrestling team placed third at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Super Region II tournament, qualifying for the national tournament. The Tornado finished fourth with eight placers including those two national qualifiers.
THE BASICS
KING RESULT: 4th of 11 (82.5)
LOCATION: Finis Horne Arena; Greenwood, S.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- At 133 pounds, Medina started his day with a 17-0 tech fall over Limestone University's Richard Patanjo. He then won his quarterfinal match over Logan Robinson of UNC Pembroke in 6:19, advancing him to the semifinals, where he dropped a 12-0 major decision to top-ranked Gabe Hixenbaugh from the University of Montevallo. He advanced to the third-place match with a 9-3 win over Newberry College's Ben Guilliam. In his placement match, he earned a narrow 4-3 decision over Elijah Boyd of Belmont Abbey College to secure his place at the national tournament.
- Ethan Lopez opened his tournament at 197 pounds with a tech fall victory over Noah Williams from the University of Mount Olive before falling via decision in the semifinals. He advanced to the third-place match via injury default. He took third after winning a 4-2 decision over UNC Pembroke's Garrett Steele, locking in a spot in the national tournament.
- After dropping his first match via pin, Tyson Upchurch bounced back with an 8-4 decision over Belmont Abbey's Brett Balzan before rallying for a 13-12 win over Corey Gallivan of Coker University, sending him to the consolation semifinals, where he dropped a 16-0 tech fall. He finished sixth after losing the fifth-place match via fall to Colt Brown of Montevallo.
- Demetri Teddlie lost his first match of the day at 141 pounds, 13-3 to Mount Olive's Dallas Wilson, he won a 17-9 major decision over Emmanuel's Davin Lundquist. After falling via 2-1 decision in the consolation semifinals, he won a 12-2 major decision over Limestone's Brandon Seawright to place fifth.
- Eleventh-ranked Trent Mahoney received a first round bye, before winning his quarterfinal match 10-5 over Caleb Moore from Belmont Abbey before dropping a narrow 14-10 decision to UNC Pembroke's Caleb Grau in the semifinals. After losing an overtime decision in the consolation semifinals, he won a 4-1 decision over Chase McKinney of Limestone.
- Vincent Galang lost his first match to Brandon Matthews of Lander via tech fall before winning a 16-2 major decision over Aiden Knight from Montevallo. He dropped his next match before winning a 10-2 major decision over Michael McCarthy from Emmanuel University in the fifth-place match
- At 184 pounds, Clint Morrisette dropped his first match of the day, 9-4 to Kyler Pickard of Belmont Abbey College, before advancing via medical forfeit. He then won his next match 5-1 before dropping a major decision in the consolation semifinals. He ended the day with a 11-4 decision over Christopher Dickey of UNC Pembroke.
- Jacob Telles lost a narrow 4-0 decision in the quarterfinals before winning a first period pin over Marcus Harnarain of Belmont Abbey. He earned another win over Emmanuel's Anthony Olea, 4-0 before dropping a 10-2 major decision to Hamilton Cooper of Coker. He placed fifth after pinning Slade Watkins from Mount Olive in the fifth-place match.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
- The fourth-place finish for the Tornado matches the best in program history, coming in 2018-19.
RESULTS BY WEIGHT CLASS
125 –
Tyson Upchurch 2-3, 6th
133 –
Franky Medina 4-1, 3rd
141 –
Nico Crosnoe 1-2
149 –
Demetri Teddlie 2-2, 5th
165 - #11
Trent Mahoney 2-2, 5th
174 –
Vincent Galang 2-2, 5th
184 –
Clint Morrisette 3-2, 5th
197 –
Ethan Lopez 3-1, 3rd
285 –
Jacob Telles 3-2, 5th
UP NEXT
- Those that qualified will compete at the NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships on March 15-16 in Park City, Kan.
