UNCP Athletics

Wrestling Logs Top-10 Finish At 40th Annual Midwest Classic

December 16, 2018

INDIANAPOLIS – All-American Nick Daggett posted a runner-up showing in the 125-pound tournament to headline four place-winners for the UNC Pembroke wrestling team as the Braves closed out a 10th-place showing at one of the nation's premier regular season tournaments on Sunday.

It was the fifth career trip to the podium for Daggett who also placed third at the NC State-hosted Wolfpack Open in November. All-American Rodney Shepard finished third in the 165-pound tournament, while Brandon Sloop tallied fourth place honors in the 184-pound bracket. Tyler Makosy came away with an eighth-place showing at 157 pounds.

Sixteen nationally-ranked teams headlined the event which takes place inside Nicoson Hall on the campus of the University of Indianapolis. Fourth-ranked McKendree was 47-1/2 points better than the rest of the 39-team field, while UNCP's 58-1/2 points was better than 10 other top 25 teams competing at the event. The Black & Gold was tops among seven southeast region teams in Indianapolis, including 12^th-ranked Newberry who finished in 24^th place with 33 points.

It was the 14^th appearance for the Braves at the Midwest Classic, and their best showing at the event since finishing seventh in 2014.

Daggett registered a 12-7 decision over Maryville's Tyler Kreith to advance to the championship bout of against unbeaten and fourth-ranked Carlos Jacquez of 10^th-ranked Lindenwood. Jacquez grabbed the early lead on a first-period takedown in that match and never looked back on the way to a 12-1 major decision.

Makosy posted a 5-3 overtime victory in his opening match of the day with Augustana's Colin Ayers, but was relegated to the seventh place match after falling on the wrong end of a 19-8 major decision against Tiffin's Beau Minnick in the consolation quarterfinals. Down 5-1 in the second period against Findlay's James Wimer in the seventh place bout, Makosy knotted the score up at eight apiece late in the third period before falling, 10-8.

Shepard fell in the semifinals via a tough 2-1 setback to McKendree's Nick Foster in the tiebreaker round, but rebounded with a 5-2 decision over top-ranked and defending national champion Bret Romanzak of Ashland in the consolation semifinals. Shepard recorded a first-period takedown in his third-place matchup with 12^th-ranked Logan Grass, rode the Mercyhurst junior for the entirety of the second period and tacked up two takedowns in the final frame on the way to a 7-3 decision.

McKendree's Michael Pixley used a second-period pin in the semifinals of to send Sloop to the consolation bracket where the UNCP junior rebounded nicely with a convincing 3-1 decision over fifth-ranked Dalton Hahn of Upper Iowa. Hayden Bronne, the nation's 11^th-ranked wrestler at 184 pounds, notched a takedown in each of the first two periods of the third place bout before pinning Sloop at 4:46.

The Braves (2-2) will be back in action again on Wednesday when they return home to battle Belmont Abbey (2-0) in a dual meet on Lumbee Guaranty Bank Court. Wrestling action is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and admission is free.

125 Pounds
No. 6 Nick Daggett (UNCP) tech. fall Derrick Chandler-Christie (Seton Hill) TF 19-1; 4:22 No. 6 Nick Daggett (UNCP) pinned Noah McQuigg (Central Oklahoma) F 4:31 No. 6 Nick Daggett (UNCP) dec. Dayne Morton (Northern State) D 2-1 No. 6 Nick Daggett (UNCP) dec. Tyler Kreith (Maryville) D 12-7 No. 4 Carlos Jacquez (Lindenwood) maj. dec. No. 6 Nick Daggett (UNCP) M 12-1

133 Pounds
Rio Zamora (Central Oklahoma) dec. Ronnie Pietro (UNCP) D 3-1 Ronnie Pietro (UNCP) maj. dec. Asher Meekhof (Davenport) M 13-5 Alexis Soriano (Mercyhurst) dec. Ronnie Pietro (UNCP) D 4-3

141 Pounds
Mason Schulz (Minnesota State Moorhead) dec. Jonathan Miller (UNCP) D 13-7 Jonathan Miller (UNCP) tech. fall Ryan Schmalen (Upper Iowa) 20-3; 7:00 Peter Kuster (Drury) dec. Jonathan Miller (UNCP) SV 6-4

149 Pounds
No Entry

157 Pounds
Tyler Makosy (UNCP) dec. Braydon Ortloff (Minnesota State Moorhead) D 5-2 Tyler Makosy (UNCP) dec. Chance Esmont (Ashland) D 2-1 No. 5 George McGuire (Gannon) dec. Tyler Makosy (UNCP) D 8-2 Tyler Makosy (UNCP) dec. Colin Ayers (Augustana SD) SV 5-3 Beau Minnick (Tiffin) maj. dec. Tyler Makosy (UNCP) M 19-8 James Wimer (Findlay) dec. Tyler Makosy (UNCP) D 10-8

165 Pounds
Rodney Shepard (UNCP) inj. default Trezdon O'Neal (Marian) INJ 0:15 Rodney Shepard (UNCP) maj. dec. Jackson Sweeney (Augustana SD) M 18-7 Rodney Shepard (UNCP) dec. Wyatt Jordan (Central Oklahoma) D 3-2 Nick Foster (McKendree) dec. Rodney Shepard (UNCP) TB-1 2-1 Rodney Shepard (UNCP) dec. No. 1 Bret Romanzak (Ashland) D 5-2 Rodney Shepard (UNCP) dec. No. 12 Logan Grass (Mercyhurst) D 7-3

174 Pounds
Jordan Gundrum (Upper Iowa) dec. Rahsaan Vereen (UNCP) D 7-2 Andrew Sams (Bellarmine) dec. Rahsaan Vereen (UNCP) D 11-5

184 Pounds
Brandon Sloop (UNCP) maj. dec. William Tyler (Adams State) M 18-9 Brandon Sloop (UNCP) dec. Evan Foster (Minnesota State Moorhead) D 16-9 Brandon Sloop (UNCP) dec. No. 7 Billy Bowlen (Seton Hill) SV 4-2 Brandon Sloop (UNCP) dec. Armani Robinson (Findlay) D 7-1 Michael Pixley (McKendree) pinned Brandon Sloop (UNCP) F 4:45 Brandon Sloop (UNCP) dec. No. 5 Dalton Hahn (Upper Iowa) D 3-1 No. 11 Hayden Bronne (Tiffin) pinned Brandon Sloop (UNCP) F 4:46

184 Pounds

Brandon Sloop (UNCP) maj. dec. William Tyler (Adams State) M 18-9
Brandon Sloop (UNCP) dec. Evan Foster (Minnesota State Moorhead) D 16-9
Brandon Sloop (UNCP) dec. No. 7 Billy Bowlen (Seton Hill) SV 4-2
Brandon Sloop (UNCP) dec. Armani Robinson (Findlay) D 7-1
Michael Pixley (McKendree) pinned Brandon Sloop (UNCP) F 4:45
Brandon Sloop (UNCP) dec. No. 5 Dalton Hahn (Upper Iowa) D 3-1
No. 11 Hayden Bronne (Tiffin) pinned Brandon Sloop (UNCP) F 4:46