Franklin Springs, Ga – Sunday was a record-setting day for the Lincoln Memorial Men's Wrestling team, as James Thaxton and Holden Corbin came away with a pair of first-place finishes to cap off a dominant day on the mats.  

The Railsplitters finished with a record of 15-8, tying the most individual wins in a tournament while earning a win percentage of .555, the programs highest ever win percentage in an individual tournament, besting their .455 mark from the 2023 East Strodusburg Open.  

Of the seven wrestlers sent to Emmanuel, five would make it to at least the quarterfinal match of the tournament, with four fighting on into the semifinals and three making the championship meets. 

Christopher Puryear would start his day with a key win in the 141-pound division, earning a 8-5 decision victory against conference-foe Newberry. Puryear started from behind, as his opponent netted a first-round takedown to lead 3-1 at the break. Puryear would turn an escape for the lone point of the second-round, trailing 3-2 entering the final round. Puryear would force overtime thanks to a takedown and a Newberry escape, but Puryear's second takedown of the day ended the match with a 8-5 win and a trip to the quarterfinals.  

Puryear would next earn a bid into the semifinals thanks to a razor-thin victory against his opponent from Truett-McConnell. Puryear had to fight back early, finding himself down 6-1 after the first period thanks to two takedowns from his opponent. An escape point in the second round would start the comeback, and the turnaround was cemented thanks to a brilliant four-point nearfall in the final period, and controlling the ride-time point would lead to a 7-6 decision and a victory for Puryear.  

The streak continued for Puryear into the semifinal match, as Puryear fought another tough battle against Allen, working to a decision victory. Puryear secured a takedown in the first round before netting a reversal point to go up 5-2 into the later stages, where Puryear turned a pin into an escape and a takedown to earn a 9-6 victory, and a trip to the finals where he would be defeated in a Fall in 3:54. 

Thaxton again showed up strong from the 165 class, as the senior would open his day with a trip to the quarterfinals thanks to a dominating Major Decision win in the opening round. Against his foe from Montevallo, Thaxton would pair a first-round takedown with a four-point nearfall, dominating the opening minutes before sealing the victory thanks to a third-round takedown, earning a 13-0 win. 

Thaxton would be the third from LMU to earn a bid into the championship match, outlasting his Keiser opponent in a nearly seven-minute match. The lone points would come early, as Thaxton netted a takedown in the first minute to go up 3-0 before the match remained deadlocked until the 6:34 mark, when Thaxton found his gear and secured the win via fall, earning a trip to the finals.  

In the championship bout, Thaxton found himself trailing early, as his opponent from Lander secured a takedown in the first period, and despite the escape point, Thaxton found himself down 3-1 at the first break. A pair of reversals would keep Thaxton's Lander foe up 5-3 going into the final frame. The last period was all Thaxton, as the senior secured an early reversal before netting two more points from a pin and riding time, coming away with a 7-5 decision for the first number one finish in his collegiate career.  

In the 174 division, Quinton O'Driscoll picked up where he left off from the East Stroudsburg Open, as a dominant first round performance would put O'Driscoll into the quarterfinals. In his matchup against North Georgia, O'Driscoll would battle to a stalemate early in the first round, until a late takedown pinned his opponent, and gave O'Driscoll the fall victory in 2:59. 

O'Driscoll would fight hard in the quarterfinals, forcing three sets against his opponent and nearly taking him the distance, but a last second pin would drop O'Driscoll a Fall in 4:27 and earn him a spot in the second-round of the consolation bracket.  

O'Driscoll would turn that close loss into inspiration, controlling his matchup against Rienhardt from start to finish, as the freshman would secure a Major Decision victory thanks to four takedowns and a four-point nearfall, dominating the match to the tune of 19-10.  

Moving to the 285, two Railsplitters would compete in the heavyweight class, with both making a trip to the quarterfinals. Brady Comerford would pick up a win in the first round thanks to a close battle with Emmanuel. After no points were scored in the first round, Comerford netted a second-round takedown from the neutral position, and would hold onto that lead thanks to a second takedown, securing the 6-2 decision victory.  

After earning a first-round bye, Holden Corbin would join Comerford in the win column, needing just 57 seconds to pin his opponent from Emmanuel in the quarterfinals, and earning a fall victory into the semifinal match.  

Comerford would join his teammate just a few minutes later in the semifinals, dominating his matchup against Allen to the tune of a 17-5 Major Decision victory, highlighted by two takedowns and two four-point nearfalls in the final two sets, creating an unscalable chasm for his foe.  

Despite losses in his next two bouts, Comerford would end the day on a high note, as in the fifth-place match, Comerford battled to a win via fall in 3:37. Comerford dominated the day, as he led going into the first break 11-2. Comerford would ride that momentum until the end, knocking down his foe in a Fall victory in 3:37. 

Corbin continued his domination by earning a bid to the championship match, as in a matchup against his opponent from Keiser University, Corbin would secure his second top-three finish in as many collegiate bouts thanks to a Fall victory, needing just 1:38 to earn a bid into the finals.  

The final would be a tough draw for Corbin, facing the wrestler from Lander that knocked Comerford out of the championship meet. But Corbin would continue his torrid start to his collegiate career, needing just 1:04 to knock down his Bearcat foe and lock up the win, taking first after taking third in last weekend ESU open.  

RESULTS 

125 

Round 1 

Kameron Harrell def by D. McEntyre (Life): Fall 1:24 

Consolation Round 2 

Kameron Harrell def by T. Young (Life): Fall 5:54 

141  

Round 2 

Christopher Puryear over N. Gates (Newberry): Dec 8-5 

Quarterfinals  

Christopher Puryear over Y. Bran (Truett-McConnell): Dec 7-6 

Semifinals 

Christopher Puryear over D. Lirgg (Allen): Dec 9-6 

First-Place Match 

Christopher Puryear def by B. Williams (UNAT): Fall 3:54 

165 

Round 2 

James Thaxton over L. Berguson (Montevallo): MD 13-0 

Quarterfinals 

James Thaxton over J. Clark (Shorter): Dec 1-0 

Semifinals 

James Thaxton over N. Catala (Keiser): Fall 6:34 

Final 

James Thaxton over W. Damon (Lander): Dec 7-5 

174 

Round 1 

Quinton O'Driscoll over C. Akin (North Georgia): Fall 2:59 

Quarterfinal 

Quinton O'Driscoll def by K. Hernandez (Keiser): Fall 4:37 

Consolation Round 2 

Quinton O'Driscoll over D. Coon (Reinhardt): MD 19-10 

Consolation Round 3 

Quinton O'Driscoll def by J. Farthing (Life): MD 15-3 

Seventh-Place Match 

Quinton O'Driscoll def by Bisong (Emmanuel): Dec 12-6 

285 

Round 1 

Brady Comerford over F. Moore (Emmanuel): Dec 6-2 

Quarterfinal 

Holden Corbin over E. Rabanales (Emmanuel): Fall 0:57 

Brady Comerford over T. Goodwin (Allen): MD 17-5 

Semifinal 

Holden Corbin over R. Jones (Keiser): Fall 1:38 

Brady Comerford def by E. Gators (Lander): Dec 11-4 

Consolation Semifinal 

Brady Comerford def by S. Eudeda-Torres (Montevallo): Fall 3:44 

5th-Place Match 

Brady Comerford over W. Turner (Emmanuel): Fall 3:57 

First-Place Match 

Holden Corbin over E. Gators (Lander): Fall 1:04