BRISTOL, TENN. – The Coker wrestling team split battles at the King Duals on Sunday (Feb. 9), winning their first match against Ohio Valley 27-13 before falling to King 24-21.
The Navy and Yellow started the day with a convincing win over Ohio Valley. Gavin Perkins (125), Charlie Huff (133), Rashad Cunningham (141), and Kevin Thompson (149) earned wins in the first four rounds, with Perkins and Huff winning by pin. OVU would take 157, and 165 to earn their first points of the day, but Zach Dicus (174) would win by decision to keep a comfortable 21-8 lead. The Fighting Scots would pull within seven after winning at 184 and 197, but Austin Akins would secure the win at 285 to take the match.
In their second match, Coker grabbed an early 6-0 lead at 125, after Mikel Nelson earned a pin in the opening stanza. King however battled back to a 6-6 tie after two decision wins at 133 and 141. Thompson would add six more points to the Coker scoreboard after a pin at 149, but the Tornado would respond with a pin at 157 to keep the score tied at 12-12. King would then earn four points by major decision at 165, but Dicus put Coker back up (18-16) after a pin at 174. The trend continued with Coker losing at 184, but then Robert Parland would tie the score at 21-21 after an overtime win at 197. Unfortunately, King would capture the win at 285 to take the match by a score of 24-21.
Coker will next travel to compete in the George Mason Dual on Sunday, February 16th.