Harrogate, TN - The Lincoln Memorial men's wrestling team was back on its home mat Wednesday night, hosting Shorter and King Universities. The Railsplitters defeated Shorter in the first dual 32-12 before falling to King 54-0.
Following a Shorter forfeit in the 125 class,
Adam Szewczyk was the first wrestler to take the mat for Lincoln Memorial on the evening, defeating James Willingham by fall in just 1:26. Another Hawks forfeit in the 141 class saw the Railsplitters take an 18-0 advantage early on.
Kade Millsaps took the mat in the 149 class, defeating Shorter's Ethan Ross in three rounds by a 9-2 decision to give Lincoln Memorial a 21-0 lead. The Railsplitters continued to perform exceptionally well as
James Thaxton took down Jack Ponder in the 157 class by tech. fall, seeing the Railsplitters' lead increase to 26-0.
Julian Smith took care of business in the 165 class, defeating Cumberland Kines in a 13-8 decision. Randy Bucsok was the final wrestler of the evening for Lincoln Memorial, claiming victory in the 174 class over Martin Gonzalez by way of decision, 10-8, giving the Railsplitters a 32-0 lead. Shorter took the 184 and 285 classes by forfeit to tally 12 points, seeing Lincoln Memorial secure the 32-12 victory.
The Railsplitters struggled against King, falling 54-0.
Hernand Pinto fell to Tyson Upchurch in the 125 class in a narrow 9-5 decision to give the Tornadoes a 3-0 early lead. Alex Fernandez III defeated
Adam Szewczyk in the 133 class by major decision, 13-2 to extend King's lead to 7-0. Ashtan Hendricks defeated
Andrew Overbay by tech. fall in the 141 class in 3:30 to extend the lead to 12-0. Jamarius Koshko defeated
James Thaxton in the 149 class by fall in :33. In the final bout of the evening, Trent Mahoney defeated
Julian Smith by fall in 3:33 to give the Tornadoes a 24-0 lead. Five consecutive victories by forfeit for King in bouts 165-285 saw the Tornadoes take a 54-0 victory.
The Railsplitters will square off against Newberry on Feb. 2, followed by Bluefield State on Feb. 6 to wrap up the season.
