HARTSVILLE, S.C. – Nick Daggett,
Ronnie Pietro and
Tyler Makosy all picked up region titles to pace a nonet of Braves to the podium and help the 13
th-ranked UNC Pembroke wrestling team to a runner-up finish at the 2019 NCAA Super Region 2 Tournament on Friday evening inside Coker's DeLoach Center.
Eight Braves will now advance to the NCAA Division II Championships, March 8-9, inside The Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Daggett (125 pounds) and
Rodney Shepard (165) will make the trip to nationals for the second-straight year, but will be joined this time around by first-timers
Ronnie Pietro (133),
Jonathan Miller (141),
Kaleb Warner (149),
Tyler Makosy (157),
Faris Teia (174) and
Brandon Sloop (184).
The performances matches the 2003-04 club for the most national qualifiers in the 55-year history of the program. The Braves registered a 12
th-place finish at the 2003-04 Division II National Championships in Mankato, Minn. The three region champions also matches a program record.
Six Braves made appearances in the title bout of their respective tournaments on Friday, with Daggett and Pietro both tallying wins of the bonus-point variety, while Makosy won an overtime decision. Warner, Shepard and Sloop all fell on the wrong end of decisions decided by three or less points in their championship matches.
Miller suffered a tight 3-2 loss in his semifinal matchup at 141 pounds, but rebounded with a pair of convincing victories in the consolation bracket. Teia dropped his opening match of the day, but won three-straight matchups in the consolation bracket of the 174-pound tournament to capture third place honors.
Marcus Montgomery dropped his opening match of the day as well, but won two of his three matchups in the 197-pound wrestleback tournament on the way to finishing fifth.
Unranked Newberry (137.5 points) used a forfeit in the championship match of the 285-pound tournament to finish 3-1/2 points better than the Braves in the final team standings. Limestone finished third with 132.5 points, while King (71.0) and Belmont Abbey (66.5) rounded out the top 5.
| 125 Pounds |
No. 6 Nick Daggett (UNCP) tech. fall Deven Perez (Emmanuel) TF 16-0; 3:00
No. 6 Nick Daggett (UNCP) dec. Melvin Rubio (Queens) D 5-3
No. 6 Nick Daggett (UNCP) tech. fall Anthony Tripke (Ohio Valley) TF 26-11; 7:00 |
| 133 Pounds |
Ronnie Pietro (UNCP) tech. fall Emery Cline (Emmanuel) TF 16-0; 5:46
Ronnie Pietro (UNCP) dec. Christopher Poland (Coker) D 2-1
Ronnie Pietro (UNCP) maj. dec. Timmy Martinez (Newberry) M 12-2 |
| 157 Pounds |
Tyler Makosy (UNCP) maj. dec. Bret Shurina (Coker) M 15-6
Tyler Makosy (UNCP) dec. No. 11 Austin Palmer (Newberry) D 3-2
Tyler Makosy (UNCP) dec. Kevin Almond (Emmanuel) SV-1 4-3 |
| 165 Pounds |
No. 2 Rodney Shepard (UNCP) maj. dec. Stephon Haliburton (Queens) M 16-7
No. 2 Rodney Shepard (UNCP) dec. Greg Hilliard (Belmont Abbey) D 5-4
Matthew Rodriguez-Kirkland (Limestone) dec. No. 2 Rodney Shepard (UNCP) D 8-5 |
| 174 Pounds |
Kody Eichlin (King) dec. Faris Teia (UNCP) D 7-4
Faris Teia (UNCP) inj. def. T.J. Lambiotte (Ohio Valley) INJ 0:00
Faris Teia (UNCP) dec. Joey Rocca (Newberry) D 4-2
Faris Teia (UNCP) dec. Kody Eichlin (King) D 3-1 |
| 184 Pounds |
No. 9 Brandon Sloop (UNCP) pinned Kyle Graham (Emmanuel) F 3:32
No. 9 Brandon Sloop (UNCP) tech. fall Marco Mason (Coker) TF 19-2; 6:35
Zebrandon Grant (Newberry) dec. No. 9 Brandon Sloop (UNCP) D 8-5 |
