PEMBROKE, N.C. –
Clint Morrisette won the championship at 174 pounds Saturday to lead the King University men's wrestling team at the Super Region II Tournament.
David Bertrand,
Trent Mahoney and
Brennan Watkins also earned trips to the NCAA Division II National Championships for the Tornado.
THE BASICS
KING RESULT: T4th of 13 (107.5 points)
LOCATION: Lumbee Guarantee Bank Court; Pembroke, N.C.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Wrestling at 174 pounds, Morrisette won his first match of the day via pin, advancing to the semifinals where he won a 4-2 decision over Newberry's Dayton Fields. In the championship match, he earned a 12-9 decision over Maxwell Kiel of Belmont Abbey to claim the region title.
- Mahoney started his day with a first-round bye, before earning a win by pin over Isaiah Castro of Emmanuel in the quarterfinals, He then won his semifinal match 8-6 over Lander's Noah Roulo before suffering his lone loss of the day, 11-7 in the finals to place second.
- Watkins earned a first-round bye, before pinning Nick Dempsey of Montevallo in the quarterfinals. After falling 15-6 in the semifinals, he won his consolation semifinal by pin over Drevon Wallace of Allen before beating Reid Noble of Lander 5-4 in the third-place match.
- D. Bertrand finished third at 197 pounds, winning his first match in sudden victory, 4-1 before dropping an 8-0 major decision in the semifinals. In the third-place match, he won an 8-2 decision over Belmont Abbey's Caleb Moore.
- After beating Christopher Dickey of UNC Pembroke 5-4 in the consolation semifinals, Bertrand
- At 141 pounds, Ashtan Hendricks placed fourth, dropping his first match before winning three straight, including a pin over Elijah Millsaps of Lincoln Memorial, as well as two wins via decision before losing the third-place match via fall.
- Alex Fernandez III finished fifth at 133 pounds, dropping his quarterfinal match before two straight wins by pin, including a 1:11 pin of Derrius Coleman of Allen and a 2:22 win over Ethan McCullough of Newberry.
- After falling in the consolation semifinal, he won his fifth-place match by forfeit.
- Joe Bertrand won three matches en route to a fifth-place finish at 165 pounds, recovering from a quarterfinal loss to win two straight, including a win by pin over Shorter's Cumberland Kines before dropping a 9-4 decision in the consolation semifinals.
- In the fifth-place match, he beat Christian Arrington of Belmont Abbey, pinning him in 4:26.
- At 285 pounds, Nathan Coley finished sixth. After dropping a 5-2 decision in the first round, he won three straight, including a double overtime win over Slade Watkins of Mount Olive before winning a 17-0 tech fall over Chandler Allen of Allen. He dropped his final two matches of the day to take sixth.
RESULTS BY WEIGHT CLASS
125 –
Tyson Upchurch (1-2)
133 –
Alex Fernandez III 5th (3-2)
141 –
Ashtan Hendricks 4th (3-2)
149 –
Brennan Watkins 3rd (3-1)
157 –
Trent Mahoney 2nd (2-1)
165 –
Joe Bertrand 5th (3-2)
174 –
Clint Morrisette 1st (3-0)
184 –
Ethan Lopez (1-2)
197 –
David Bertrand 3rd (3-1)
285 –
Nathan Coley 6th (3-3)
BEYOND THE RESULTS
- The four national qualifiers are the most for the Tornado since 2011-12, when they also had four national qualifiers.
- For Mahoney and Morrisette, it is their second trip to the national championships in their career, while Watkins and Bertrand will both be making their first career trip to nationals.
- Head Coach Blaze Shade was named National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) Super Region II Coach of the Year. Shade previously was named Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year as well.
UP NEXT
- Morrisette, Bertrand, Watkins and Mahoney will all compete at the NCAA Division II Championships, scheduled for March 14-15 in Indianapolis, Ind.
