Sandefer, Gonzalez, Smith lead CU at Newberry

NEWBERRY, S.C. — Steven Sandefer, Tyler Smith and Michael Gonzalez each reached the finals and Zeke Hunt placed third as well, leading the Cumberland wrestling team on Saturday at the Newberry Open.

Sandefer, a junior from Mishawaka, Ind., posted three victories en route to the finals at 149, recording a 5-3 Decision over Blake Holt from The Citadel, a 6-1 Decision versus UNC-Pembroke’s Reggie Allen and a 10-2 Major Decision against North Carolina State’s Walter Fulk. In the finals Sandefer dropped a 7-5 decision versus Chattanooga’s Austin Sams.

Gonzalez, a sophomore from Hesperia, Calif., reached the finals at 157 with three wins as well, starting with a 13-4 Major Decision over Limestone College’s Dustin Martin. Gonzalez pinned Brewton-Parker’s Orlando Medina at 0:21 and won a 5-1 Decision against Anderson University’s Kevin Johnson before losing in the finals to Gardner-Webb’s Kyle Ash by Fall at 1:45.

Smith, a sophomore from Calhoun, Ga., picked up three victories on his way to the finals in the heavyweight division, including a 7-1 Decision over North Carolina’s David Woody, a 7-5 Decision against King College’s Andrew Lutterloh and a 13-8 Decision versus Appalachian State’s Denzel Dejournette. In the finals Smith was pinned at 0:46 by UNC-Pembroke’s Marquin Hill.

Hunt, a junior from Dacula, Ga., won his first two matches at 174 with a 6-2 Decision over Terrence Zaleski and a 12-0 Major Decision versus Newberry College’s Cody Brundage before dropping a 4-2 Decision in the semifinals to Newberry’s Joe Pittman. Hunt recorded a 3-0 Decision against Zaleski in the wrestleback and a 3-1 Decision over North Carolina’s Scott Marmoll in the third-place match.

Sophomore Jake Williams won three times at 141, including a pin at 1:50 against Shorter University’s Joshua Lansdell and by Fall at 4:46 versus Brewton-Parker’s Taylor Bristow. Williams dropped an 11-9 Decision to Limestone’s Devon Jackson before posting a 6-1 Decision over Chattanooga’s Michael Akins in the wrestleback. He lost an 18-6 Major Decision to North Carolina’s Joseph Moon as well.

Junior Jacob Shirley picked up three wins at 165, including pins against Richard Hicks from The Citadel (4:20) and Brewton-Parker’s Anthony Smith (2:00) as well as a 3-0 Decision over Brewton-Parker’s Jake Johnson. Shirley lost a 5-1 Decision in the semifinals to North Carolina’s Ryan Harrington and then was pinned at 2:51 in the wrestleback by Charles Johnson from The Citadel.

Freshman Aric Fernandez tallied three victories as well at 197, registering a 9-2 Decision over Clemson’s Ronald Jacobs before dropping an 11-2 Major Decision to Gardner-Webb’s Boyce Cornwell. In the wrestleback Fernandez posted a 2-1 Decision versus Appalachian State’s Tyler Radford and a 10-0 Major Decision against Belmont-Abbey’s Jason Gulotta before losing by Fall at 1:50 to King College’s Cody Davis.

Cumberland will head to No. 6 Campbellsville for a dual match this Friday at 5 p.m. CST and will take part in the NAIA East Region Qualifier in Laurinburg, N.C., on Feb. 16.