Van Alst and Innocent Punch Ticket to Nationals, Cobras Take Fifth at Super Region II Championships

PEMBROKE, N.C. - The Coker University wrestling team turned in a fifth-place showing at the Super Region II Championships on Saturday (Feb. 29), which included two national qualifiers, five other placers and a Super Region II Coach of the Year award.

Coker placed fifth with 73 points on the day, while posting two national qualifiers in the same season for the first time in program history. In addition, Coker head coach Derrick Nelson was named the Super Region Coach of the Year.

Zachary Van Alst and Jhavon Innocent each punched their ticket to nationals in their respective weight classes, while five other Cobras placed in their respective weight classes. John Watts took sixth at 125 pounds, while Omar Armengol placed fourth at 133 pounds. Matthew Kieta posted a fourth-place finish at 149 pounds, along with a fourth-place finish from Corey Christie at 165 pounds. Corey Perkins-Willett also placed fifth on the day at 184 pounds.

Van Alst began the day dropping his opening match to top-seeded Isaiah Royal of Newberry, before defeating Franko Cuccurello of Mount Olive by technical fall 16-1 in 4:24. Van Alst then defeated Devinaire Hayes of Queens (N.C.) by decision 5-3, before posting a 15-2 major decision over Justin Payne of Belmont Abbey to reach the third-place match. Van Alst defeated Jonathan Miller of UNC Pembroke by decision 2-1 to punch his ticket to Sioux Falls.

Innocent dropped his first match of the day to Myles Williams of Emmanuel (Ga.), before posting a 3-1 sudden victory over Garrett Hill of UNC Pembroke. Iocent then defeated Billy Christie of Newberry by decision 8-6, before avenging his loss to Williams by beating him 7-3. Inocent would punch his ticket with a 6-3 decision over Logan Branham of Belmont Abbey.

Armengol began his day with a tough loss to Logan Seliga of UNC Pembroke, before defeating Lleyon Tylor of Belmont Abbey by major decision 8-0. Armengol posted his second straight win by major decision over Austin Neal of Newberry 19-9, before falling to Craig Cook of Davis & Elkins in the third-place match.

Kieta began his day with a 9-2 decision over Chandler Smalley of Lander, before dropping his next bout to Damian Penichet of Newberry. Kieta then rebounded for a 14-11 decision C.J. Thompson of Davis & Elkins, before advancing by way of injury default over Emmanuel's Dalton Flint. Kieta earned a rematch with Penichet, where he dropped a tight 7-4 decision to finish fourth.

Christie began his day with a 5-0 decision over Matthew Schmall of Emmanuel (Ga.), before dropping a decision to Noah Tarr of Davis & Elkins. Christie then posted an 11-2 major decision over Nestor Nunez of Newberry, before defeating Garrett Beam of Limestone by decision 9-2. Christie earned a rematch with Tarr, falling by decision to place fourth.

Perkins-Willett would place fifth at 184 pounds, starting off the day dropping a close match to Jay Skalecki of Queens (N.C.). Perkins-Willett would rebound to pin Nick Richardson of Mount Olive in just 12 seconds, before falling to Kyle Wojtaszek of Davis & Elkins. Perkins-Willett would close out his day with a 13-5 major decision over Kyle Daley of Limestone to secure fifth place.

Watts posted a sixth-place finish at 125 pounds, starting the day defeating James Sass of Limestone by decision 4-3. Watts would fall in his next three matches to place sixth on the day.  

Van Alst and Innocent will be back in action at the NCAA Division II National Championships, which will be held in Sioux Falls, S.D. Mar. 13-14 at the Denny Sanford Premier Center.