CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Chattanooga senior Jared Johnson finished in sixth place out of 39 wrestlers in the heavyweight division of the Southern Scuffle held Sunday and Monday.
Johnson (Jefferson City High School), seeded sixth in the division, started Sunday with a 15-0 win by technical fall against Navy's Thomas Ott, then won a 4-0 decision against Minnesota's Ryan Streifel. After winning by injury default in the next round, Johnson suffered a 3-2 loss to eighth-ranked Nathan Butler of Stanford in the quarterfinals.
On Monday, Johnson won with a first-period pin against Jordan Karst of Utah Valley, followed by a win in a 3-2 decision against Billy Miller of Edinboro. Johnson lost his next two matches, losing by fall against Oklahoma State's Austin Schafer and then a 4-3 decision to Mike Hughes of Hofstra.
Johnson, ranked No. 12 at 285 pounds in the NCAA according to InterMat, has a 15-4 record this season.
Duke redshirt junior Cole Baumgartner posted a 3-2 record at the Southern Scuffle in the 133-pound division.
Baumgartner (Jefferson City High School) started the tournament with a 13-2 major decision win against Stanford's Peter Russo, before losing in the next round 12-3 against Mark Grey of Cornell.
In the consolation bracket, Baumgartner recorded back-to-back wins against Philip Anderson of Gardner Webb (9-2 decision) and Durbin Lloren of Utah Valley (6-2 decision) before suffering an 8-2 loss against Colby Smith of Appalachian State.
Baumgartner now has a record of 11-6 this season for the Blue Devils.