GREENWOOD – The Lander wrestling team defeated Limestone and Newberry at Horne Arena Thursday night to stay perfect in South Atlantic Conference Carolinas action on the season.
Lander moves to 9-2 overall and 7-0 in the SACC. Newberry moves to 8-5 overall and 5-3 in the SACC with a win over Limestone and the loss to Lander. Limestone drops to 10-4 overall and 4-3 in the SACC after losing to Lander and Newberry.
The Bearcats began the match against Limestone picking up points in the first seven matches against the Saints.
Isham Peace started the match with an 8-5 win by decision to give Lander an early 3-0 lead. Elijah Lusk then added four more points with an 11-2 major decision, with the only two points allowed coming on escapes.
Zeth Brower earned a win by pin 1:58 into his match after getting a takedown and a four-point near fall earlier in the first period to put Lander up 13-0.
Randy Myers picked up a gritty 1-0 win by decision to keep the point coming in for the Bearcats while Bryson Ethington won 4-0 to make it 19-0 Lander.
Gage Bernall kept the point streak going for Lander with a 4-3 win by decision while Jack Bond earned the second pin of the match at the 5:20 mark in the third. Bond had two four-point near falls in the first period along with four takedowns in total.
Limestone would get on the board with a major decision at 184 before Darius Parker won 11-4 to put Lander up 31-4. The Saints would close the match out with a pin to finish the match down 31-10.
The Bearcats earned their first win against Newberry in program history along with avenging last season's close loss to determine the SACC regular-season title.
In the final match of the night against Newberry, the Wolves would strike first with a win by decision at 125 before Lander would rattle off back-to-back wins. Lusk and Brower would both earn wins by decision to put Lander up 6-3.
The Wolves would pick up four points at 141 to go up 7-6 before another wave of Bearcat wins would fall. Ethington earned a 3-1 win in overtime to inch Lander closer while Bernall battled to the end to earn an 18-16 win by decision and put Lander ahead 12-7.
Newberry would jump back in front with a win by major decision at 174 before it would be yet another pair of Bearcat victories to put the Blue and Gold back in front, this time for good.
Battling at 184 against Newberry, Bond put Lander back in the driver's seat with a 3-1 victory to give the Bearcats a 15-11 edge. Parker would dance around his opponent to secure the victory for Lander with a 16-3 win by major decision to make it 19-11. Newberry would finish the match with a win by decision at 285 to make it 19-14.
The Bearcats continue conference action with a trip to Belmont Abbey on February 12 for their next match.
#cLawsUp | @LanderWrestling
