CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Binghamton wrestling finished a successful weekend at the 2023 Southern Scuffle. Lou DePrez and Cory Day both placed second in their respective weight classes and Jacob Nolan finished in eighth place at 184 pounds. As a team, the Bearcats finished in seventh place out of 21 teams with 63.5 team points. Four of the six teams that finished ahead of the Bearcats are all ranked in the top 25.
Lou DePrez nearly captured his second career Southern Scuffle title. DePrez could not continue after suffering an injury against No. 28 Owen Pentz of North Dakota State in the 197-lb final. DePrez scored two first period takedowns to take a 4-2 lead, but Pentz responded with a late takedown to tie the bout at 4-4 near the end of the first period, DePrez was forced to retire early due to an injury right after the takedown from Pentz. He previously defeated Pentz, 8-1, earlier this season on November 18. DePrez entered the tournament ranked No. 16 at 197 lbs by Intermat and No. 20 by FloWrestling.
In the semifinals, DePrez defeated No. 10 Jaxon Smith of Maryland in a thrilling 10 minute match that was decided in the second tie-breaker. After a scoreless first period, DePrez escaped quickly in the second to take a 1-0 lead. Near the end of the second period, Smith gained the lead on a takedown, but DePrez escaped with five seconds left in the period to tie the score at 2-2. Smith escaped instantly in the third to take a 3-2 lead, but he was called for stalling with 50 seconds remaining in the third, allowing DePrez to tie the match at 3-3. In the two-minute sudden victory period, both wrestlers kept a fast and physical pace, but no one was able to score. In the first 30-second tie-breaker, Smith escaped in eight seconds to take a 4-3 lead. DePrez escaped in just five seconds in the next 30-second tiebreaker, giving him the riding time advantage of three seconds. With the crowd on their feet, DePrez fought off a variety of attacks from Smith in the final seconds to secure his place in the finals.
Cory Day had an impressive showing en route to a runner-up finish at heavyweight. Day entered the tournament ranked No. 33 by InterMat. He accumulated 2:34 of riding time in his upset victory over No. 21 Jonah Niesenbaum of Duke in the semifinals, 6-0, before falling to No. 8 Zach Elam of Missouri in the finals, 5-0.
"I'm proud of the way the team competed," said head coach Kyle Borshoff. "We wrestled tough against a good field. Cory and Lou both did tremendous jobs making the finals."
Binghamton Individual Results
Micah Roes
125 (R32) | Micah Roes (BU) MAJ DEC Drew West (Gardner Webb), 13-5
125 (R16) | Cooper Flynn (Virginia Tech) DEC Micah Roes (BU), 3-2
125 (Consi of 16 #2) | Micah Roes (BU) MAJ DEC Kenny Sailas (Northern Colorado), 14-0
125 (Consi of 8 #1) | Micah Roes (BU) DEC Chad Bellis (Appalachian State), 6-2
125 (Consi of 8 #2) | Troy Spratley (Minnesota) WBF Micah Roes (BU), 1:07
Anthony Sobotker
125 (R16) | No. 14 Noah Surtin (Missouri) WBF Anthony Sobotker (BU), 6:12
125 (Consi of 16 #2) | Anthony Sobotker (BU) WBF Reid Nelson (Little Rock), 2:21
125 (Consi of 8 #1) | No. 24 Braxton Brown (Maryland) MAJ DEC Anthony Sobotker (BU), 8-0
Ivan Garcia
133 (R32) | No. 23 Sean Carter (Appalachian State) DEC Ivan Garcia (BU), 4-0.
133 (R16 Consi #1) | Jace Koelzer (Northern Colorado) DEC Ivan Garcia (BU), SV 3-1
Christian Gannone
141 (R64) | Christian Gannone (BU) DEC Heath Gonyer (Appalachian State), 5-2.
141 (R32) | Christian Gannone (BU) DEC Christian Coleman (Duke), 7-4
141 (R16) | No. 3 Andrew Alirez (Northern Colorado) WBF Christian Gannone, 5:29
141 (Consi of 16 #2) | Kai Miller (Maryland) DEC Christian Gannone (BU), 7-2
Nate Lucier
141 (R32) | Collin Gerardi (Virginia Tech) DEC Nate Lucier (BU), 2-0
141 (Consi of 32) | Luciano Arroyo (Stanford) DEC Nate Lucier (BU), 6-1
Michael Zarif
149 (R64) | Michael Zarif (BU) DEC Kevin Schork (Maryland), 10-2
149 (R32) | Michael Zarif (BU) DEC Corbin Dion (Gardner Webb), 12-6
149 (R16) | Michael Zarif (BU) DEC Chris Sandoval (Northern Colorado), 3-2
149 (QF) | Michael Gioffre (Virginia) DEC Michael Zarif (BU), 2-1
149 (Consi of 8 #2) | Blaine Brenner (Minnesota) DEC Michael Zarif (BU), 4-1
Conner Decker
157 (R64) | No. 18 Michael North (Maryland) DEC Conner Decker (BU), 7-1
157 (Consi of 32) | Fin Nadeau (BU) DEC Conner Decker (BU), 3-2
Fin Nadeau
157 (R64) | Fin Nadeau (BU) DEC Gavin Cagle (Virginia), 6-2
157 (R32) | No. 17 Daniel Cardenas (Stanford) TF Fin Nadeau (BU), 3:53 (16-1)
157 (Consi of 32) | Fin Nadeau (BU) DEC Conner Decker (BU), 3-2
157 (Consi of 16 #1) | Andrew Huddleston (Iowa State) DEC Fin Nadeau (BU), 6-5
Will Ebert
165 (R32) | Drew Nicholson (Virginia Tech), DEC Will Ebert (BU), 6-5
165 (Consi Of 16 #1) | Will Ebert (BU) DEC Thomas Sell (Chattanooga), 13-10
165 (Consi Of 16 #2) | Ty Finn (Virginia Tech) DEC Will Ebert (BU), 4-2
Dimitri Gamkrelidze
165 (R32) | Cooper Noehre (Purdue) DEC Dimitri Gamkrelidze (BU), 6-4
165 (Consi of 16 #1) | Dimitri Gamkrelidze (BU) DEC OJ Bost (Appalachian State), 9-5
165 (Consi of 16 #2) | Dimitri Gamkrelidze (BU) WBF Carter Schmidt (Iowa State) 8:03 SV
165 (Consi of 8 #1) | Dimitri Gamkrelidze (BU) DEC Kamdyn Munro (Chattanooga), 9-3
165 (Consi of 8 #2) | Grant Stotts (Iowa State) DEC Dimitri Gamkrelidze (BU), 2-1
No. 33 Sam DePrez
174 (R32) | No. 33 Sam DePrez (BU) WBF Brody Baumann (Purdue), 0:57
174 (R16) | Andrew Berreyesa (Northern Colorado) DEC No. 33 Sam DePrez (BU), 5-2
174 (Consi Of 16 #2) | No. 33 Sam DePrez (BU) DEC Albert Urias (CSU-Bakersfield), 6-4
174 (Consi Of 8 #1) | Riley Habisch (NDSU) DEC No. 33 Sam DePrez (BU), SV 3-1
No. 23 Jacob Nolan
184 (R32) | No. 23 Jacob Nolan (BU) DEC Michael Nelson (NDSU), 6-0
184 (R16) | No. 23 Jacob Nolan (BU) DEC Lucas Uliano (Appalachian State), 3-0
184 (QF) | Gavin Stika (Oklahoma State) DEC No. 23 Jacob Nolan (BU), 2-2 TB-2
184 (Consi of 8 #2) | No. 23 Jacob Nolan (BU) DEC Jack Darrah (Stanford), 3-1
184 (Consi of 4) | Sam Fisher (Virginia Tech) DEC No. 23 Jacob Nolan (BU), 2-1
184 (7th place) | Kyle Haas (Oklahoma State) MED FOR No. 23 Jacob Nolan (BU)
Cayden Bevis
197 (R32) | Colden Dorfman (Virginia) DEC Cayden Bevis (BU), 7-5
197 (Consi of 16 #1) | Mateo Morales (CSU-Bakersfield) DEC Cayden Bevis (BU), 10-6
No. 16 Lou DePrez
197 (R32) | No. 16 Lou DePrez (BU) WBF Gabe Nagel (Minnesota), 1:18
197 (R16) | No. 16 Lou DePrez (BU) TF Josh McCutchen (Gardner Webb), 7:00 (16-1)
197 (QF) | No. 16 Lou DePrez (BU) DEC No. 20 Nick Stemmet (Stanford), 8-2
197 (SF) | No. 16 Lou DePrez (BU) DEC No. 10 Jaxon Smith (Maryland), TB2 4-4
197 (F) | No. 28 Owen Peltz (NDSU) MFF No. 16 Lou DePrez (BU), 3:03 (DePrez injured, could not continue)
No. 33 Cory Day
285 (R16) | Cory Day (BU) WBF Seth Nitzel (Missouri), 6:19
285 (QF) | Cory Day (BU) WBF Peter Ming (Stanford), 2:19
285 (SF) | No. 33 Cory Day (BU) DEC No. 21 Jonah Niesenbaum (Duke), 6-0
285 (F) | No. 8 Zach Elam (Missouri) DEC No. 33 Cory Day (BU), 5-0
Charlie Tibbitts
285 (R32) | Josiah Hill (Little Rock) DEC Charlie Tibbitts (BU), 11-4
285 (Consi of 16 #1) | Charlie Tibbitts (BU) DEC Jordan Gabriel (Maryland), 11-5
285 (Consi of 16 #2) | Seth Nitzel (Missouri) MAJ DEC Charlie Tibbitts (BU), 12-0
