CHATTANOOGA, TENN - The Gardner-Webb University wrestling team competed in the Southern Scuffle at UT-Chattanooga over the weekend of January 4th and 5th, placing 17th in the event as a team while a trio of Runnin' Bulldogs scored top-eight individual finishes

At 125 pounds, junior Jeffrey Jacome managed a quarterfinals run. The South Plainfield, N.J. native defeated Robert Sagaris of Long Island by 8-5 decision and Joseph Hubbard of Bellarmine by 4-1 sudden victory on his way through the bracket. Jacome finishes the weekend with three wins in six bouts for Gardner-Webb, all against top 75 opponents.

In the 133 pound weight class, redshirt freshman T.K. Davis advanced all the way to the quarterfinals. Davis scored a 12-10 decision over Raymond Lopez of American University and a 20-4 tech fall over Dom Serrano of Northern Colorado for two wins in bracket play. For 2024-25, Davis now runs his individual record to 14-6 and eclipses his win total from the previous campaign thanks to four total wins in the event.

Over in 197 pounds, junior Josh McCutchen also made a deep run through bracket play. The Fitzgerald, Ga. native defeated Carsten Rawls of American University by 14-3 major decision and Andrew Donahue of North Colorado right after by a close 2-0 decision. McCutchen completed the weekend with a 3-2 overall record, with a pair of wins against top 40 opposition.

Other Runnin' Bulldogs to impress over the weekend include sophomore Charlie Sly in 141 pounds and senior Tyler Brignola at 165 pounds. Sly took down Marco Dalakishvilli by fault, while Brignola defeated Kyle Grey of Morgan State by 6-4 decision.

Open competition has concluded for the regular season, with the Runnin' Bulldogs now focused on duals. GWU will travel to Duke on January 14th before the Runnin' Bulldogs SoCon opener on January 17th against Campbell.