Way-Back Wednesday: Eagles Claim First AAC Wrestling Championship
By Mike DeVader, Reinhardt Director of Athletic Communications & Media
WALESKA, Ga. – It was the victory that started it all for Reinhardt wrestling.
In this Way-Back Wednesday, the squad accumulated 131.5 team points and claimed numerous individual titles on its home mat on Feb. 17, 2018 to earn the Eagles' first conference championship in history in the inaugural Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) Wrestling Championships, hosted by Reinhardt University.
West Virginia Tech was second in the event out of six teams with a total of 65.5 points scored.
"Really proud of our guys and they wrestled tough today," head coach Jeff Bedard said. "Our staff did a good job preparing them this week. An AAC championship in the second year [as a program] is a huge accomplishment for our program.
"We are headed in the right direction, which is a national title period."
In the 125-pound bracket, Koby Milner got the momentum rolling for Reinhardt by claiming the individual title over Devonte Upshaw (Truett-McConnell (Ga.) with an 8-4 decision. In the next weight class up – 133 – Randy McCray of Allen (S.C.) won in dramatic fashion with a nail-biting 8-7 decision over the Eagles' Jordan Pitt.
For his efforts, McCray was named AAC Wrestler of the Year.
The first-place matches continued for the hosts in the 141 round, as Kalvin Harris took the win over Devin Wilhelm of West Virginia Tech (6-2 decision), and watched as his bunch got another championship decision after Dawson Hunt overpowered Noah Walker of St. Andrews (N.C.), 15-8, in the 149-pound bracket.
A pair of Eagles then went to it all at 157, as Antonio Robinson took the crown over teammate Caleb Mariakis, and Michael Carew (174) then brought Reinhardt another individual title with a victory over Kavoris Perry of St. Andrews (TF-1.5 6:11 (17-1). The winning trend continued for the Eagles at the next weight class with a positive decision in the finals of the 184-pound match between Jacob Matheson (Truett-McConnell (Ga.) and Antonio Stewart of Reinhardt.
Stewart claimed the bracket with a 6-3 decision.
At 197, the hometown team earned one more championship at the individual level with a three-point triumph compliments of Brandon Reibly and his 5-2 decision over West Virginia Tech's Will Van Hoose.
In the heavyweight division, John Hill finished third.
The topfinisher in each weight class at this tournament receives an automatic berth to the 61st Annual NAIA Wrestling National Championships at the Jacobson Exhibition Center in Des Moines, Iowa on March 2-3.
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