MOUNT VERNON, Ga. – After nearly a two-week hiatus from the mat, (RV) Brewton-Parker Men's Wrestling challenged fellow Appalachian Athletic Conference member Montreat (N.C.) in Gillis Gymnasium on Friday night.
The Barons (1-0, 1-0 AAC) opened conference action with a dual against the Cavaliers (0-3, 0-2 AAC), securing a 31-17 victory in front of a home crowd in Mount Vernon.
"Great way to start off the season with a win in front of an exciting home crowd," Director of Wrestling and Head Coach
Tyler Smith mentioned. "Very proud of our guys' effort tonight. Excited to get back to work and finish the semester strong."
Brewton-Parker opened the match strong by earning six team points in three of the first four bouts.
Charlie Henkel led the early charge as the 184-lb bout was the first of the evening. Henkel took down Dre Bonner with a pin for a swift 6-0 lead.
At 197,
Thomas Crawford fell in a 17-0 tech fall to Seth Williamson to give away five points to the Cavaliers. The Barons then responded with a 12-point swing as
Wilkinson Saul secured the 285-lb bout over Lucian Thomas, utilizing a pin that was followed up by a forfeit win for
Patrick Jones at 125.
For the 133 bout,
Keyshaun Taylor fell shy in a tight 14-12 decision to Coy Reid as the Cavaliers cut their deficit down to 10 points. Montreat secured another six points in the 141 bout as Jack Hawbaker managed to pin
Conner Wright to pull the visitors four points closer.
Gavin Daniels helped the Barons with three points in the 149 match, downing Braden Wharton with an 8-6 decision. However, Montreat was able to move to a one-point deficit in the 157 bout as Daniel Bennett handed a 15-8 decision loss to
Bradley Owens to make the match 18-17 in favor of BPC.
The Barons would go on to seal the match with back-to-back wins to close out the dual.
Sean Houston finished the 165 bout with a pin over Ashton Medeiros and
Justin Grant gathered a 17-0 tech fall over Dalton Towe at 174 to capture a 32-17 victory and the first conference dual of the season.
Brewton-Parker returns to the mat on Dec. 6 with a challenging conference dual at No. 2-ranked Life (Ga.) in Marietta, Ga. at 7 p.m. ET.
