BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. – The Campbell Camels wrestling squad opened its 2025 SoCon season with a resounding 31-9 victory over Gardner-Webb Friday evening at Paul Porter Arena.
The Fighting Camels (2-7, 1-0 SoCon) had strong performances throughout the lineup, including pins at 174 pounds and heavyweight to come out on top against the Runnin' Bulldogs (3-6, 0-1).
#22 Anthony Molton continued his hot streak with a tech fall over Jeffery Jacome to start the night. CU never looked back from the advantage, leading wire-to-wire.
After GWU scored a decision at 133 pounds, #27 Shannon Hanna earned a 2-1 upset victory over No. 19 Todd Carter at 141 pounds. Hanna started on bottom in the second and scored a reversal about 20 seconds into the period. After Carter was able to escape, neither wrestler secured the upper hand in the third period. The win is Hanna's third over a ranked opponent this season.
Gardner-Webb bounced back with a win at 149 during the tiebreak period, but Chris Earnest prevented them from getting any closer. In his first dual action of the season, Earnest scored an 11-2 major decision over Drew Pepin at 157 pounds.
Dom Baker followed that immediately with a major decision of his own at 165 pounds. His 13-4 performance over Tyler Brignola gave the Camels a 16-6 advantage through six bouts.
The scoring continued for Campbell at 174 pounds. Riley Augustine, also in his first dual match of the season, pinned Andrew Wilson in the first period for his second victory by fall of the season.
GWU won by way of decision at 184 pounds, but the three points all but clinched the match for the Camels, giving them a 13-point advantage with two bouts to go.
That win proved to be the final victory for Gardner-Webb, as #32 Levi Hopkins and Landon Sargent shut the door on any potential comeback effort. Hopkins dominated in a 5-0 decision over Josh McCutchen, scoring the bouts only takedown and accumulating over three minutes of riding time.
Sargent, a freshman from Fayetteville, followed that with the team's second pin of the night, also in the first period against Rocky Files. Sargent is now tied for the team lead with 4 pins this year.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Scotti Sentes
"One thing we talked about a lot this week was scoring and earning bonus points. We did that tonight by earning bonus points in half of the matches, and they didn't come easy. Gardner-Webb came to wrestle, and they were coached well. The SoCon Championships is going to come down to bonus points, and tonight was a good start."
RESULTS
Campbell 31, Gardner-Webb 9
Individual Rankings according to FloWrestling.
125: #22 Anthony Molton (CAM) def. Jeffery Jacome (GWU), TF 5:42 (21-6) | 5-0
133: Tyson Lane (GWU) def. Domenic Zaccone (CAM), DEC 13-8 | 5-3
141: #27 Shannon Hanna (CAM) def. #19 Todd Carter (GWU), DEC 2-1 | 8-3
149: Joseph Giordano (GWU) def. #31 Wynton Denkins (CAM), TB-1 5-2 | 8-6
157: Chris Earnest (CAM) def. Drew Pepin (GWU), MD 11-2 | 12-6
165: Dom Baker (CAM) def. Tyler Brignola (GWU), MD 13-4 | 16-6
174: Riley Augustine (CAM) def. Andrew Wilson (GWU), Fall 2:23 | 22-6
184: Jackson Potts (GWU) def. Logan Heckert (CAM), DEC 13-9 | 22-9
197: #32 Levi Hopkins (CAM) def. Josh McCutchen (GWU), DEC 5-0 | 25-9
HWT: Landon Sargent (CAM) def. Rocky Files (GWU), Fall 1:40 | 31-9
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