The University of Tennessee — Chattanooga’s Matthew Waddell landed on the medal stand at the 17th annual Southern Scuffle.
Waddell posted a 4-2 record and placed fourth at the event, which is touts itself as “the top in-season collegiate wrestling tournament in the nation.” It was held Jan. 1-2 at UTC’s McKenzie Arena.
The field consisted of 28 teams and included six in the top 25 of the National Wrestling Coaches Association’s rankings.
Waddell entered the event seeded fourth in the 184-pound weight class, and his day began with a pin over Drexel’s Owen Brooks. He then earned a 9-2 decision over Jake Thompson of Air Force.
Waddell wrapped up the opening day of the tournament in the quarterfinals with a 3-2 decision versus Campbell’s Chris Kober.
In the semifinals the following day, Waddell met North Carolina State’s Trent Hidlay, the No. 2 nationally ranked 184 pounder, according to InterMat. Waddell was defeated, 4-1.
In the consolation bracket, Waddell’s next opponent was Anthony Montalvo of Oklahoma State, and Waddell picked up a 4-2 victory.
Awaiting him in the consolation finals was Pittsburgh’s Nino Bonaccorsi, who is ranked No. 7. Bonaccorsi came away with a 13-1 major decision.
As a team, UTC scored 46 points and placed 13th. The top five teams included Oklahoma State (116 points), N.C. State (109), Stanford (99.5), Pittsburgh (93) and North Dakota State (92.5).
Waddell’s overall record this season is 12-6.