BRISTOL, Tenn. – The King University men's wrestling team host a tri meet on Friday night and the Tornado opened the night by handing the University of Mount Olive their first South Atlantic Conference Carolinas defeat of the season, 22-15. The Tornado followed that with a dominating nonconference win over Truett McConnell University 41-9.
THE BASICS
FINAL SCORE: King 22, Mount Olive 15; King 41, Truett McConnell 9
LOCATION: Student Center Complex; Bristol, Tenn.
RECORDS: King 7-7, 2-3 SACC; Mount Olive 8-3, 3-1 SACC; Truett McConnell 2-7
HOW IT HAPPENED – MOUNT OLIVE
- Mount Olive took a lead, winning the 125-pound bout before Franky Medina came up with a win for the Tornado.
- Medina took a 14-1 major decision for the Tornado over Richard Williams at 133 pounds.
- Austin Kolikas followed with a pin of Taylor Robinson in 1:52 at 141 pounds to give King a 10-3 lead.
- Mount Olive took a win at 149 pounds before King took three straight wins.
- Trent Mahoney started with a 7-6 decision over Mikey Vernagallo at 157 pounds, taking the win with the riding time point.
- At 165 pounds, Bo Perkins took a sudden victory over Jake Nicolosi as Perkins earned a takedown in the first overtime period.
- Vincent Galang then stretched the King lead to 19-6 with a 7-3 decision over Seth Thomas at 174 pounds.
- Following a pair of Mount Olive wins, Jacob Telles clinched the victory for the Tornado at 285 pounds.
- Telles earned a pair of escapes to defeat Nico Ramirez 2-0, giving King the 22-15 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED – TRUETT MCCONNELL
- Tyson Upchurch got the Tornado off to a good start at 125 pounds, taking a pin as time expired over Brandon Navixay.
- Medina then earned a well-fought 6-3 decision over Frankie Salecedo at 133 pounds with more than five minutes of riding time.
- Kolikas followed with a 1:27 pin of Stanley Lal at 141 pounds to give King a 15-0 lead.
- At 149 pounds, Demetri Teddlie hung on to defeat Leonel Silvestre 14-12 before another King pin.
- Mahoney pinned Mason Johnson in 2:57 at 157 pounds, giving King a 24-0 lead.
- Perkins then came up with a 16-0 technical fall win over Ian James at 165 pounds before Clint Morrissette pinned Spencer Fields in 4:28 at 174 pounds.
- Truett McConnell won back-to-back matches before forfeiting at 285 pounds to give King the 41-9 victory.
UP NEXT
- King is in action again on Thursday at Lincoln Memorial University where the Tornado will take on the host Railsplitters and UNC Pembroke.
- Mount Olive hosts Belmont Abbey College and Lander University on January 21.
- Truett McConnell is in action at the Reinhardt Duals on January 21.
