BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Fighting Camels turned in two dominant performances and a close victory to go 3-0 and win the Chippewa Challenge Sunday night at the Icardo Center.

Campbell began the event with a 26-9 win over American. Anthony Molton at 125 pounds defeated #16 Jack Maida with a tech fall in 5:59 to begin the event. Molton would finish the event with three victories.

The Camels next faced Central Michigan. After the first eight matches, the Chippewas held a 14-13 advantage with two majors and two decisions over Campbell. Levi Hopkins put Campbell back ahead with a 5-0 victory over Cameron Wood. Taye Ghadiali secured the team win by way of a 13-4 major over Bryan Caves. Domenic Zaccone added a major decision of his own, 19-9 over Vincent Perez.

Campbell closed out the night with a dominant 39-3 victory over CSU Bakersfield. Wynton Denkins and L. Hopkins (his sixth) each recorded pins. Zaccone, Chris Earnest, and Ghadiali each added tech falls. The result for Ghadiali was his ninth tech fall victory of the season.

Molton, Hagen Heistand, Riley Augustine, and Conor Maslanek added their own wins by decision to reach the final tally.

Next Up

The Fighting Camels (6-3) begin SoCon play with a matchup against Davidson (1-8) next Sunday, Jan. 21. The action is set to begin at 6:00 PM at John M. Belk Arena.

Chippewa Challenge results

Individual Rankings according to Intermat

Campbell 26, American 9

125: Anthony Molton (CAM) def. #16 Jack Maida (AU), TF 5:59 (25-7)

133: Maximilian Leete (AU) def. #20 Domenic Zaccone (CAM), Dec. 11-6

141: Wynton Denkins (CAM) def. Raymond Lopez (AU), 13-11

149: Hagen Heistand (CAM) def. Jack Nies (AU), Dec. 4-2

157: Chris Earnest (CAM) def. Kaden Milheim (AU), Dec. 5-0

165: #33 Dom Baker (CAM) def. Ryan Zimmerman (AU), MD 13-4

174: Lucas White (AU) def. Riley Augustine (CAM), Dec. 8-2

184: Caleb Hopkins (CAM) def. Connor Bourne (AU), Dec. 4-3

197: #20 Levi Hopkins (CAM) def. Liam Volk-Klos (AU), TF 7:00 (18-3)

HWT: William Jarrell (AU) def. #8 Taye Ghadiali (CAM), Dec. 7-1

Campbell 20, Central Michigan 14

125: Anthony Molton (CAM) def. Sean Spidle (CMU), TB-1, 3-1

133: #20 Domenic Zaccone (CAM) def. Vincent Perez (CMU), MD 19-9

141: Jimmy Nugent (CMU) def. Wynton Denkins (CAM), Dec. 17-16

149: #16 Corbyn Munson (CMU) def. Justin Rivera (CAM), Dec. 5-0

157: #27 Johnny Lovett (CMU) def. Chris Earnest (CAM), MD 14-6

165: #33 Dom Baker (CAM) def. Tracy Hubbard (CMU), SV-1 4-1

174: #19 Alex Cramer (CMU) def. Riley Augustine (CAM), MD 12-0

184: Caleb Hopkins (CAM) def. Cody Brenner (CMU), Dec. 6-5

197: #20 Levi Hopkins (CAM) def. Cameron Wood (CMU), Dec. 5-0

HWT: #8 Taye Ghadiali (CAM) def. Bryan Caves (CMU), MD 13-4

Campbell 39, CSU Bakersfield 3

125: Anthony Molton (CAM) def. Richard Castro-Sandoval (CSUB), Dec. 6-3

133: #20 Domenic Zaccone (CAM) def. Hayden Zinkin (CSUB), TF 5:16 (21-5)

141: Wynton Denkins (CAM) def. Wanderlei Whittington (CSUB), Fall 1:23

149: Hagen Heistand (CAM) def. Brock Rogers (CSUB), Dec. 9-3

157: Chris Earnest (CAM) def. Jacob Peralta (CSUB), TF 2:36 (15-0)

165: Guillermo Escobedo (CSUB) def. Brant Cracraft (CAM), Dec. 4-2

174: Riley Augustine (CAM) def. Augustine Garcia (CSUB), Dec. 6-2

184: Conor Maslanek (CAM) def. Braden Smelser (CSUB), SV-1 4-1

197: #20 Levi Hopkins (CAM) def. Khristian Dove (CSUB), Fall 1:22

HWT: #8 Taye Ghadiali (CAM), def. Jake Andrews (CSUB), TF 4:55 (21-5)

QUOTABLE

Head Coach Scotti Sentes

"Chippewa Challenge always means a lot to all of us coaches. We knew every one of our wrestlers was going to be at their best, and I think we saw that with a lot of upsets, tight matches, and competitive duals. I think most of the time, each of the players on each team were standing on their feet and rooting on their teammates. It created a great environment. I'm excited to finally get the win. Two tough teams pushed down to the wire. Central Michigan actually came down to heavyweight. I was excited with our performance. I thought every one of our guys wrestled hard, win or lose. That's all you can ask for. I'm excited to carry this win on to SoCon season and continue to push forward."

197 Levi Hopkins

On where he feels his wrestling is at right now:

"It felt good to go out there and wrestle hard. I got my offense going on my feet more this week, so I was able to get a couple takedowns and wrestle hard on top, which is something we've been working on quite a bit in the room. It was good to go out there and do in competition what we've been practicing in the wrestling room."

On if he's aware of the team score when it's his turn:

"I'm usually pretty aware of what the team score is. At that point (against Central Michigan), I knew Taye [Ghadiali] and I needed to win out in order for us to win. So, it's kind of in the back of my mind. But, you can't let it become the focus of how you wrestle. You just got to go out there and wrestle your match, and if you do that, the team result will follow."

149 Hagen Heistand

On the improvements he's made so far this year to get himself on the mat:

"The improvements I've made this year have been getting stronger, getting more gritty with my wrestling and believing in myself. I started believing in my hand-fighting and my shots, and I'm starting to pick it up now and I'm rolling."

On what he learned at this event to propel him the rest of the season:

"I learned that, whoever you put me up against, I'm going to be tougher than them, every time. I learned that the belief in my toughness is there, I'm going to out-hand fight everybody and I'm going to be tougher in general."

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