After opening with a 9-4 win against Newberry College unattached wrestler Zach Howerton, Manwarren suffered his lone loss (6-2) before stringing together his impressive run in the wrestle-back bracket to take third overall. Manwarren started out with a pair of first period pins (0:52 and 1:55) before earning a spot in the third place bout with a 12-3 major decision. Manwarren then capped his day with a second win over Howerton, 4-2, to earn a spot on the podium.
Manwarren’s five wins increased his team-high win total to nine through two open tourneys. Manwarren also leads the Royal Blue and White with three pins on the early season.
A total of 18 Knights grapplers took the mat in the King Open on Sunday.
“The King College Open was a great tournament to help us prepare for the dual meet portion of our season,” said SAPC fifth year head coach Joe Baranik. “UTC [Tennessee Chattanooga] was the only Division I school, but the other NAIA, Division II and III and club teams were very competitive. Our key wrestler for the tournament was Richard Manwarren. He went 5-1 on the day and just seemed to get better each match as he won the bronze. Also Eric Brown, Brian Beatson and Sterling Perry started out strong, but were slowed by minor injuries and we pulled them from the tournament. Justin Hoover is starting to adapt to the 285 pound weight class and Ranson Lee is improving to give us depth at 141.”
Redshirt freshman Steffan Baker (Poquoson, Pa.) also made some noise at 157 pounds. Baker opened up his collegiate career with a 16-1 technical fall before losing a close 7-5 decision. Baker then rattled off three consecutive wins including a pair of early falls (1:12 and 2:47). Baker then survived a 6-4 overtime win to set up a showdown with Manwarren, who decked him in 1:55.
Sophomore Brian Beatson (Virginia Beach, Va.) placed at 141 pounds for the second straight week. After a runner-up showing at the Citadel, Beatson won his first two matches before taking fifth overall. Beatson started his day with 16-6 major decision before dropping his second foe in 6:43. Beatson was unable to continue his tournament run due to a cut.
Classmate Ranson Lee (Marshville, N.C.) added a pair of pins at 141, his first two collegiate wins. The referee slapped the mat in 2:41 and 4:31 in Lee’s two victories.
At 133 pounds, sophomore Sterling Perry (Hampton, Va.) notched a 9-1 major decision before defaulting out of the tournament.
A quartet of SAPC juniors won one match on Sunday. Josh Tegard (Matthews, N.C.) highlighted the group with a 12-3 major decision before losing to the eventual champion. Lightweight Eric Brown (Norfolk, Va.) and heavyweight Justin Hoover (Virginia Beach, Va.) added 6-3 and 4-3 decisions, respectively. Matt Fletcher (Stephens City, Va.) squeaked out a 6-5 win at 133 pounds. Brown and Fletcher both lost to the runner-up at their particular weight classes.
Nine Knights went winless in the King Open including the season debuts of senior Troy Baranik (Laurinburg, N.C.) and freshmen Caleb Mitcler (Green Mountain, N.C.) and Dyonte Hampton (College Park, Ga.).
St. Andrews will begin dual match competition with a pair of home contests this weekend. The Knights will host Belmont Abbey College Friday at 7 p.m., before entertaining Tiffin University on Saturday at Noon. Friday’s home opener will serve as Military Appreciation Night as two Knights grapplers currently serve in the armed services in juniors Greg Pattis (Pinehurst, N.C.) and Joshua Price (Fayetteville, N.C.).
Admission prices for all home matches will be $3 for adults and $1 for college students (with ID) and kids (age 17 and under). All current SAPC faculty, staff, and students are admitted free with valid ID cards.
Baranik wrapped up by saying, “We are looking forward to rolling out the mats for our first dual meets of the season… We will fine tune our line-up this week and put out best 10 starters out on the mat against both region foes in the Crusaders and the Dragons. We are proud to honor two wrestlers on our team; Josh Price and Greg Pattis who are active military for Military Appreciation Night on Friday.”
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