LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Men's Wrestling Team entered postseason competition Sunday afternoon as the Wasps competed at the NCWA MAC Championships hosted by Liberty University. E&H finished seventh as a team and saw four wrestlers qualify for the NCWA National Championships.
Freshman A.J. Marshall (Culpeper, Va.) took home medalist honors at 174 pounds, fellow freshman Sebastian Gaberrete (Jeffersonton, Va.) finished in second place at 165 pounds, sophomore Hunter Brown (Vinton, Va.) took sixth place at 285 pounds and freshman Tristan Lorenz (Fries, Va.) was eighth at 184 pounds as they all qualified for the NCWA National Championships. Marshall was also named Most Oustanding Wrestler for the tournament.
The Basics
EVENT – NCWA MAC Championships
RESULT – 7th/10
HOST – Liberty University
LOCATION – Lynchburg, Virginia
VENUE – Liberty Indoor Track Complex
141 Pounds
- Sophomore Logan Arnold (Rocky Mount, Va.) started the day with a win by forfeit in the first round before losing by technical fall to Blake Schmitt of Liberty University. Arnold bounced back with a win by a 17-9 major decision over Apprentice School's Conor Shadie, but then was pinned by Virginia Tech's Marcus Bluesteen in the following round.
149 Pounds
- Junior Avery Almany (Bristol, Va.) earned a win by fall in 4:19 over Liberty's Miguel Betancourt in the opening round, then fell to Zachary Ortega of Apprentice School in the following round. Almany bowed out with a loss by a 13-5 major decision to Brayden Chase of Apprentice School.
165 Pounds
- Gaberrete pinned Jonte Bailey of East Carolina in 2:56 in the opener, then dispatched Virginia Tech's James Hardy by a 9-2 decision in the second round. He followed up with a win over Landon Kissell of Apprentice School by a 17-9 major decision in the semifinals. Gaberrete came up short by a 22-5 technical fall to David Over of Liberty in the championship bout to take home second.
174 Pounds
- Marshall received an opening-round bye before pinning Clemson's Luca Flammia in 2:34 in the second round. He then came up with a big 7-4 sudden-victory win over Zachary St. Thomas of South Carolina in the semifinal, before pinning Alex Dorce of Allen University in 2:28 in the championship bout for his third tournament victory of the season.
184 Pounds
- Lorenz fell by a narrow 6-3 decision to the University of Tennessee's Robert Huber in the opening round, but responded with a 12-3 major decision victory over Daniel Morales of South Carolina. Lorenz lost by fall to Ryan Ankrum of James Madison before coming up short to Huber once more in the seventh-place bout.
285 Pounds
- Brown received a first-round bye before falling to Virginia Tech's Aden Halsy by a 9-1 major decision. Brown answered back in his next bout with an 11-3 major decision win against Austin Pugh of Tennessee, then fell by a narrow 6-3 decision to Josh Herrmann of Liberty. He wrapped up his day with a 14-2 major decision loss to Emmanuel Vasquez of Allen in the fifth-place bout.
Up Next
- Emory & Henry returns to action on Thursday, March 14 when its qualified wrestlers make the trip to Bossier City, Louisiana to compete at the NCWA National Championships.
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