Fire Wrestling Splits Duals against Top 20 Opposition

LAKELAND, Fla.—The Fire were a point away from a massive upset.
Southeastern had rallied from a 16-3 deficit after four matches to take a 19-16 lead heading into the 285-pound bout.
Needing a major decision to win the match for his team, No. 16 Quandre Chisolm got exactly that, picking up a 14-2 win to help No. 6 Cumberlands avoid the upset with a 20-19 win.
Decisions by Evyn Insalaco (5-0), and a 7-3 decision by Angel del Cueto over No. 4 Tristan Macri got momentum heading the way of SEU (1-1). Nathan Ferkovich then followed with a 10-7 decision, then a major decision by No. 12 Chris Williams tied the match at 16.
“We battled, and our guys showed a lot of effort,” said coach Javier Maldonado. “I’m proud of our guys, we wrested well against a well-coached team.”
Josiah Gittman’s decision over No. 9 Eric DeLuse gave the Fire their sixth win of the match and the advantage heading into 285.
Against No. 18 Reinhardt, the Fire won five of the first six matches to cruise to a 28-13 win. With bonus points playing a key role in the loss in the first match, the Fire made it a goal to score them in the second. Southeastern secured falls from Dylan Chatterton and Jake Watters, and got a major decision from No. 20 Matthew Cates.
“They saw what the bonus points meant in the first match, so they understood the importance of it in the second,” said Maldonado.
Watters, Insalaco and Chris Williams all went 2-0 on the day.
The Fire return to the mats on Friday in Gaffney, S.C. against NCAA Division II Limestone.
NO. 6 CUMBERLANDS 20, NO. 16 SOUTHEASTERN 19
125: Hayden Lee (CUKY) over Zac Branning (SOEA) (Fall 4:57)
133: Jake Sinkovics (CUKY) over Ethan Owen (SOEA) (Fall 3:00)
141: Jake Watters (SOEA) over Trent Leon (CUKY) (Dec 9-2)
149: Tres Leon (CUKY) over Dylan Chatterton (SOEA) (MD 12-2)
157: Evyn Insalaco (SOEA) over Brady Emerson (CUKY) (Dec 5-0)
165: Angel del Cueto (SOEA) over Tristan Macri (CUKY) (Dec 7-3)
174: Nathan Ferkovich (SOEA) over Max Emerson (CUKY) (Dec 10-7)
184: Chris Williams (SOEA) over Scott Deluse (CUKY) (MD 10-2)
197: Josiah Gittman (SOEA) over Eric Deluse (CUKY) (Dec 3-0)
285: Quandre Chisolm (CUKY) over Ben Cruz (SOEA) (MD 14-2)
NO. 16 SOUTHEASTERN 28, NO. 18 REINHARDT 13
125: Johan Olarte (Rein) over Edward Barratt (SOEA) (SV-1 4-2)
133: Ethan Owen (SOEA) over William Wilson (Rein) (Dec 13-9)
141: Jake Watters (SOEA) over Curtis Doctor (Rein) (Fall 2:45)
149: Dylan Chatterton (SOEA) over Dawson Hunt (Rein) (Fall 1:44)
157: Evyn Insalaco (SOEA) over Caleb Mariakis (Rein) (Dec 10-4)
165: Matthew Cates (SOEA) over Tate Holmes (Rein) (MD 13-5)
174: Michael Carew (Rein) over Nathan Ferkovich (SOEA) (MD 14-1)
184: Jason Davis (SOEA) over antonio stewart (Rein) (Dec 4-2)
197: Chris Williams (SOEA) over Austin Brown (Rein) (Dec 8-5)
285: Hinton Bolinger (Rein) over (SOEA) (For.)