All four Spartan Agoge wrestlers who traveled to Chattanooga for the Southern Scuffle racked up wins against tough competition from around the country. Vince Cornella notched sixth at 141, while Ethan Fernandez grabbed seventh at 133. Brett Ungar advanced to the blood round and Nate Wade got his hand raised twice.
Vince Cornella delivered four wins in a row after a loss in his opener on his way to sixth place. He beat Minnesota’s Marcus Polanco, Air Force’s Cody Phippen (the #8 seed), Michigan State’s Jordan Hamdan, and Cornell’s Josh Saunders. He then scored a pair of takedowns to take an early 4-1 lead over South Dakota State All-American Clay Carlson, the top seed and #6 in the nation, before losing a close decision.
Seventh placer Ethan Fernandez dropped his initial match to fellow medalist Cullen Schriever of Iowa, but then went on a run, capturing five consecutive victories to ensure a spot on the podium. During that streak, Fernandez registered a pin and bested starters from Stanford, West Virginia, and North Dakota State (Kellyn March). March came in as the #3 seed and was ranked #26 in the country by Intermat. Fernandez put an exclamation point on the weekend with a 16-4 major in the seventh place bout.
Brett Ungar made it to the blood round in a competitive 125 pound weight class. He began by dominating Northern Colorado starter Jace Koelzer, 11-0, before falling in overtime to Appalachian State’s ranked Caleb Smith (the #5 seed).
Ungar’s stellar top game was on full display as he edged South Dakota State starter Tanner Jordan, 1-0, with a third period rideout before blanking Jace Schafer of West Virginia in a 9-0 major. Number three seed Noah Surtin of Missouri defeated Ungar one round short of placing.
Nate Wade wrestled four tough bouts at 149 pounds, picking up a pair of victories.
After dropping his opener 5-3, he bounced back with 7-5 wins against Seth Fillers of VMI and Zac Cowen of Bellarmine.
Photos courtesy of Scottie Boykin
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