Slaughter Finishes 6th at Wrestling Nationals
SPARTANBURG, SC – The Spartanburg Methodist College wrestling team competed at the 2009 NJCAA Division I Wrestling tournament this past weekend in Rochester, Minn. Sophomore Michael Slaughter (Dublin, GA/West Laurens HS) finished sixth in the 133-lb weight class and earned All-America honors for the PMikeSlaughter-web-08.jpgioneers.
Omi Acosta of Waubonsee CC defeated Slaughter in the fifth-place match 17-1.
Sophomore Dondricus Anderson (Montrose, GA/West Laurens HS) was defeated by eventual national champion Tyrell Fortune in the second round of the 285 lb. weight class. Anderson defeated Dustin Bles pf Triton 8-6 in the first round.
Freshman Ricky Moore (St. Petersburg, FL/Northeast HS) defeated Darren Whittall of Alfred State CC 9-3 before falling to Jemato Harris of Colby CC 2-0. Moore then defeated Robert Nickson of Kennedy King by forfeit and then defeated Demond Carter of Lincoln 5-4 before being eliminated by Tom Rispoli of Nassau CC.
Sophomore Kyle Long (Hillsborough, NC/Orange HS) had a bye the first round and was then defeated 11-6 by Thomas Gowing of SW Oregon. Long was then eliminated in the tournament Justin Gardener of Colby CC by a fall at 2:59.
Freshman Kyle Burke (Durham, NC/Northern HS) lost in the first round to Martin Giboo of Jamestown and was eventually eliminated by Eric Roerhig of Nassau CC in the 197 lb. weight class. Sophomore Drew McElrath (Greer, SC/Blue Ridge HS) was eliminated by Kris Spencer of Clackamas in the 165 lb. weight class.
The Pioneers finished 29th overall at the tournament behind champion Iowa Central with 161.5 points.
Spartanburg Methodist College has 14 intercollegiate teams that compete in Region X of the National Junior College Athletic Association, which includes colleges in the Carolinas, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Spartanburg Methodist College is in its 98th year of providing quality education to students in a Christian environment. More than 90 percent of SMC graduates continue their education at other institutions of higher learning.
For more information contact sports information director Brittany Harry at (864) 587-4008.
