Two Builders were crowned champions as Colton Messick and Kolin Johnson each captured their second consecutive title at 125 and 133 lbs.

 

Hardware in the 125 lb bracket was nearly swept clean by Apprentice, with Messick finishing in 1st, his younger brother Dillon claiming 2nd, followed by Kris Smith finishing in 4th.  All three advanced to the semi-finals as Colton recorded a 18-1 tech fall over Clemson, Dillon received a bye, and Smith upset 4th seeded Guillermo Torres of JMU 13-3.Smith would drop into the consolation bracket after falling to Colton in the semi-final and would bounce back with a win over ECU to finish top-four.  Dill advanced to the finals where he would forfeit to Colton by way of a 7-0 decision over Tristan Walls of Liberty.  All three Builders earned qualifying spots for the National tournament, however only two can advance per weight by NCWA rules.  Smith will conclude his season ranked 7th in the country but unfortunately will not be allowed to compete in the NCWA Championships.  Hats off.

 

Johnson dominated the field at 133, advancing to the finals with a pair of pins and would meet #5 Rashun Lawrence of ECU.  Lawrence would go the full distance with Kolin for the first time this season, with Kolin winning the title with a 15-4 major decision.  Raekwon Jackson would finish in 3rd place to qualify for his second Nationals berth, only falling to Lawrence.  Trailing 3-2 in the closing seconds, Lawrence was able to hold off Rae's offense to counter with a late takedown to win 5-2.  Jackson recorded a pair of pins and a major decision.  Kolin now has 22 pins on the season.

 

At 141 lbs, jr Shalek Colon nearly secured his redemption against #2 Wesley Hollingsworth of ECU.  After a reversal in the final period, Shalek led Hollingsworth 2-1, only for Hollingsworth to find a late escape to put the bout into sudden-victory.  Shalek would give up a takedown 42 seconds into the overtime period to finish in second.  Shalek advanced to the finals after defeating 8th ranked Charlie Hudson of Liberty for the second time this season with a 10-4 decision.  Shalek is now a 3X National qualifier and will be looking for his second All-American honors.

 

Freshman Thomas Allison suffered a set-back at 149 lbs, falling to Ian McIlhenny of Liberty twice on the day.  Allison had previously beaten McIlhenny this season.  He was able to secure a first period pin over Alex Kho of Clemson in the consolation bracket to finish in 4th place and qualify for his first National Championship.

 

At 157 lbs Bryson Woody and William Heath both qualified, finishing in 3rd and 4th respectively.  Both advanced to the semi-finals before falling into the consolation bracket, and both recorded another pin to advance to the 3rd place bout.  Woody received the Most Pins/Least Amount of Time trophy with three pins in under six minutes total.

 

Freshman Aj Deutel qualified for his first Nationals, finishing in 4th place.  Doodle advanced to the semi-finals with a 5-3 decision over Adam Aldridge of ECU before falling to #1 Joe Scott of Liberty. He would bounce back with a first period fall over Clemson, before falling to Aldrige in the 3rd place bout by default.

 

David McElravy nearly secured a spot in the finals after a 28 second win in the first round.  After a first period takedown, All-American Luke Ely would put their semi-final bout into sudden-victory after a second period escape and a riding time point.  In sudden-victory, Gravy would look to finish a deep shot and be called for fleeing for dragging Ely off the mat and lose by a final score of 3-2, despite scoring the only offensive points in the bout.  He would finish in 3rd after a 5-3 decision over Clemson and a forfeit from VMI.

 

Wes Sorey tore through the 184 lb division with a quick 40 second fall over JMU and a dominant 16-0 tech fall over 10th ranked Austin Connelly of Tennessee to advance to the finals.  Wes would find a rematch with Sam Karel of Liberty who pinned him at the National Duals in January.  Sorey started strong, finding the first takedown in eight seconds of the first period.  Karel would go on to reel off eight straight before pinning Wes again in the final period. Wes is now a 3X National qualifier and trails Johnson with the second most wins on the team at 30.  He will look to claim his first All-American honors after an injury at conference stopped his hopes for hardware in 2019.  He is headed to Texas ranked 4th in the country at the moment.

 

Senior Jeremy Mosely qualified for his fourth straight national championships at a fourth different weight.  Jeremy advanced to the semi-final with a first period pin over Clemson before falling to defending National Champ Austin Amos of Liberty.  After falling 4-0 in the wrestle-back, it was decided to default Mosely out of the tournament as he had already secured his qualifying spot.

 

The most intriguing performance of the day was a bit of a Cinderella story for Builder senior Vandan Schmidt.  Schmidt had previously stepped away from the team in November after only competing once at 197 lbs.  After a discussion with the staff, he was convinced this wasn't the way he wanted to end his wrestling career.  Undersized and underestimated, Schmidt finished in 3rd place at 235 lbs with three dominant wins over Tennessee, Clemson and East Carolina including a pair of pins.  His only loss was to defending National Champ Jeffrey Allen.  Vandan wrapped up his builder career as a 2X National Qualifier, as he will not be able to travel to Texas due to National Guard obligations.

 

Peter Cortapasso found some redemption of his own with a come-from-behind pin over #6 Thomas Hudson of ECU.  Hudson had previously beaten Passo twice this season.  In the finals, Passo would fall for the 3rd time to #2 Rick Weaver of Liberty.

 

Hollingsworth of ECU was selected the tournaments 'Most Outstanding Wrestler',  and his coach Randy Bieber was voted MAC 'Coach of the Year'.

 

The clear #2 Team, Apprentice will travel to Allen, TX in two weeks for the NCWA National Championships.