The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling team had five student-athletes named to the All-Southern Conference squad today. Senior Josh Statum (133), sophomores Demetrius Johnson (125) and Brandon Wright (165) and freshmen Niko Brown (197) and Josh Condon (157) were all honored for their success in the 2009-10 season.
Freshman Jake Young was also named the 2010 SoCon Freshman of the Year. He was one of four Mocs on the all-freshman team, joined by Brown, Condon and Dean Pavlou (149). Young finished with a 4-1 mark in league matches.
Appalachian State's Austin Trotman, wrestling at 184 pounds, was chosen as the league's Wrestler of the Year. The sophomore from Winston-Salem, N.C., was 13-1 on the season at 184 pounds and 5-0 in the SoCon after moving up from the 174-pound class.
Johnson, who was undefeated at 125 pounds in league matches, was named to the all-conference team for the second year in a row. The 2009 SoCon champion is 8-1 in his career in league matches.
Statum had an impressive senior campaign, going 5-0 in league matches. Condon, Wright and Brown were also undefeated in their league matches. The talented group helped UTC to run its conference match win streak to 30, covering six straight undefeated seasons.
The Mocs' five honorees on the All-SoCon team were more than double the representatives from any other squad. Appalachian State and UNC Greensboro had two each while VMI had one on the all-conference team.
Joining Trotman from Appalachian State was Savva Kostis, who had nine pins on the season, at 149 pounds. UNC Greensboro, which finished second in the regular season standings, placed redshirt-freshman Ivan Lopouchanski on the all-conference team at 141 pounds and Byron Sigmon at 174 pounds.
VMI's Josh Wine, who boasts a sterling 20-1 overall mark this season, earned all-conference honors for the second consecutive season at the heavyweight position.
Chattanooga finished the 2009-10 regular season with an 11-7 mark under first-year head coach Heath Eslinger. The Mocs won their sixth-straight SoCon regular season trophy with a 5-0 record in league play.
The 2010 Southern Conference Wrestling Championships, the 73rd annual gathering of the league's wrestling teams, will take place on Saturday, March 6 at Davidson's Baker Sports Complex. First round matches will begin at 11 a.m., with the finals to start at 7 p.m.
2010 SoCon Wrestling All-Conference Team
125 Demetrius Johnson, So., Chattanooga
133 Josh Statum, Sr., Chattanooga
141 Ivan Lopouchanski, R-Fr., UNC Greensboro
149 Savva Kostis, So., Appalachian State
157 Josh Condon, Fr., Chattanooga
165 Brandon Wright, So., Chattanooga
174 Byron Sigmon, Jr., UNC Greensboro
184 Austin Trotman, So., Appalachian State
197 Niko Brown, Fr., Chattanooga
HWT Josh Wine, Jr., VMI
Wrestler of the Year
Austin Trotman, So., 184, Appalachian State
2010 SoCon Wrestling All-Freshman Team
Jacob Earp, Appalachian State
Niko Brown, Chattanooga
Josh Condon, Chattanooga
Dean Pavlou, Chattanooga
Jake Young, Chattanooga
Nick LaFevre, The Citadel
Turtogtokh Luvsandorj, The Citadel
Eric Chandler, UNC Greensboro
Ivan Lopouchanski, UNC Greensboro
Travis Sheehy, UNC Greensboro
Freshman of the Year
Jake Young, 174, Chattanooga
