GREENWOOD – The Lander wrestling team left its home fans ecstatic with a 53-0 thrashing of Coker at Horne Arena Thursday night.
Lander advances to 7-3 overall and 6-1 in the SACC while Coker falls to 1-1 overall and in the SACC.
The Bearcats were all over the Cobras, with five pins and one tech fall throughout the contest.
There were two forfeits by Coker, which gave freshman Kaiden Fisher and sophomore Ryan Humel wins.
Freshman Joey Felix earned a close 6-5 decision in the first match to put Lander up 3-0. Sophomore Ezekiel Marquez earned the first pin of the night for the Bearcats. Before winning by the pin, he had also secured two four-point near falls as well. Sophomore Bryson Ethington won in another close 6-5 decision for three more Bearcat points.
Senior Jauquin Olivas took the second pin 1:21 into the first period. Olivas is now 7-2 on the season. Freshman Gavin Brady earned a tech fall, dominating his opponent with back-to-back four-point near falls before finishing things off with a pair of two-point near falls for a 20-4 victory. Redshirt sophomore Jack Bond picked up the third pin for Lander, winning with 15 seconds to go in the first period. Bond stands at 9-1 and has won by pinning his opponent twice.
Sophomore Darius Parker was the fourth Bearcat to win by pinning his opponent. After going down 7-2, Parker put the moves on his opponent utilizing a series of takedowns to eventually break down the Coker wrestler and pick up his 10th straight win of the season.
Freshman Cody Fleming took the final pin of the night, winning just 46 seconds into the contest. Flemming has won by pinfall twice this season.
The Bearcats in their first season in the SACC and second season as a program will have a chance to secure a conference title when they take on No. 19 Newberry on the road on February 20.
#cLawsUp | @LanderWrestling
