Santiago Shines in Vegas

One of our own UCF Wrestlers, Santiago Martinez, has recently wrestled in the US Open in Las Vegas competing against wrestlers around the country, including Olympic wrestlers.  Santiago has earned his spot on the Olympic World Team Trials and will be competing for a position on the Olympic team at the USA Nationals in June in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Santiago was accompanied by his successful teammates; Matt Vaughn, Christian Grillo, and Chris Andrade. Next up for the Knights' off-season run is the University Nationals Freestyle and Greco Roman. This tournament features Division 1, Division 2, and Division 3 wrestlers May 23rd through May 25th in Akron, Ohio.

Knights Regular Season Recap

The Knights have finished their regular season competitions and are preparing for Conference in Georgia and then Nationals in Texas! Throughout December and January the UCF wrestling team traveled all around the Southeast to compete against some tough teams. The team finally beat longtime rival Grand Valley State University 22-20. Another big win for UCF was at the Virginia Duals when they beat the 2012 NCWA National Duals champions, Liberty University 35-18. 

Tournament results: 

11/03/12 Citadel Open in Charleston South Carolina: Vaughn 2^nd at 149, Martinez 1^st at 165, Woods 4^th at 285.

11/10/12 Pembroke Classic in Pembroke, North Carolina: Vaughn 4^th at 149, Grillo 4^th at 157, Martinez 1^st at 165, Watson 2^nd at 174, Petrovcik 6^th at 174, and Woods placed 2^nd at 285.

11/16/12 Knight Brawl Dual in Orlando, Florida: UCF went 4-0 beating Florida Gulf Coast 45-6, Marion Military 32-16, Georgia Southern 43-15, and University of North Florida 29-21.

11/17/12 Central Florida Open in Orlando, Florida: Radli 1^st at 125, Fleming 3^rd at 141, Becks 2^nd at 149, Grillo 1^st at 157, Turnipseed 5^th at 157, Martinez 2^nd at 165, Mann 5^th at 165, Watson 4^th at 174, Petrovcik 6^th at 184, Woods 2^nd at 235.

12/01/12 Cavalier Duals in Albany, Georgia: UCF went 3-1 losing to Darton College 23-24 and beating Truett-McConnell 43-12, and Shorter College 29-10

12/16/12 Luther-Gator Duals in New Orleans, Louisiana: UCF went 3-1 losing to Luther College 33-10, and beating Elmhurst (#2) 17-15, Luther (#2) 30-16, and Simpson College 25-21

01/11-12/13 Virginia Duals in Hampton, Virginia: UCF placed 3^rd, losing to SUNY Brockport 39-10 and beating Apprentice 25-24, Liberty 35-18, and Nassau Community College 23-19

01/18-19/13 NCWA National Duals in Dalton, Georgia: UCF placed 3^rd, beating USC 54-4, ETSU 59-0, Tenn Temple 60-6, GVSU 22-20, UMBC 27-21 and lost to Lindenwood St. Charles 15-30.
01/26/13 Florida Dual Meet Championship in Jacksonville, Florida: UCF placed 1^st, beating USF 59-0, FGCU 48-3, TCC 60-3, UF55-3, UNF 55-6, and FAMU 63-0

02/09/13 Eagle Open in Statesboro, Georgia: UCF placed 1^st, Fox 2^nd at 125, Radli 2^nd at 133, Fleming 1^st at 141, Martinez 1^st at 157, Becks 2^nd at 157, Mann 2^nd at 174, Mitchell 2^nd at 184, Walker 2^nd at 197, Woods 1^st at 235, and Haller 1^st at 285

Upcoming tournaments:

03/02/13 NCWA Southeast Conference Championships in Statesboro, Georgia

03/14-16/13 NCWA National Tournament in Allen, Texas

Knights Give Back:

A couple of the UCF guys were a part of something bigger. Fox, Radli, Turnipseed, Martinez, Mann, and Mitchell all wrestled in the 2013 Central Florida Coaches Charity Challenge and helped raise over $1600.00 for Hospice of the Comforter. The guys wrestled each other and showed the high school community some college moves. Radli definitely had the match of the night wrestling himself! 

Knights Mid-Season Recap

By Rebecca Soderholm

In a division that is continuing to grow in numbers and talent, UCF wrestling is really heating up this season, proving to be a tough team in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association. After great performances in the first three tournaments of the year, UCF wrestling looked to keep it up this past weekend at the Cavalier Duals in Albany, Georgia. UCF’s season began at the Citadel, a tough multi-division tournament that promised competitive wrestling. Next, the team headed out to the University of North Carolina-Pembroke for their highly ranked NCAA Division II tournament, the Brave’s classic, where UCF wrestling claimed more place winners than they have in any previous trip to that tournament. Following Pembroke, the UCF Knights continued their successful season at home, wrestling hard in their own Knights Brawl Duals and Central Florida Open.

 

At the Citadel, UCF’s first tournament of the season, three UCF wrestlers claimed victory. Santiago Martinez took the gold at the 165 pound weight class. Matt Vaughn brought home the silver, wrestling tough in the first tournament of the season at 149 pounds. UCF's Josh Woods took fourth in the 285 pound weight class.

 

Following the Citadel, UCF headed to North Carolina, wrestling their toughest tournament thus far at Pembroke this year, placing at more weights than ever before in school history. Pembroke took ninth last year at the NCAA Division II National Tournament.  Six UCF wrestlers claimed success and made their way to the top of the podium. Santiago Martinez took first at 165, followed closely by Josh Woods and Scott Watson, who both brought home silver, at 285 and 174 pounds, respectively. Christian Grillo at 157 pounds and Matt Vaughn in the 149 pound weight class claimed fourth. Followed by Nick Petrovick also in the 174 pound weight class placing sixth, leading to a victorious second tournament.

 

The Knights Brawl Duals and Central Florida Open is getting increasingly more difficult and competitive over the years. UCF posted an undefeated 4-0 record during the duals.  The following day during their third individual tournament of the year UCF had an incredible number of place winners. Brian Radli and Christian Grillo claimed victory by wrestling their way to gold. Santiago Martinez, Josh Woods and Max Becks also made it to the top by winning second in an incredibly tough tournament. Additionally, Michael Flemming at 141 pounds took third along with Scott Watson at 174 pounds who took fourth.  Also placing in the individual tournament were Nick Petrovick in the 184 weight class taking sixth and Sean Mann wrestling 165 placing fifth.

 

UCF wrestling had an impressive showing this past weekend at the Cavalier Duals in Albany Georgia. They went two and one, with a small margin of a one point loss against Darton College. With a 24-23 final score, UCF made it a close match-up, starting a winning streak at the 149 pound weight class, with a tech-fall by Max Becks. Following Becks, Santiago Martinez achieved a first period pin against his opponent in the 165 pound weight class. Next, Scott Watson won at the 174 pound weight class in a 3-2 match, followed by Woods 6-3 win at the 285 pound weight class. Then UCF faced off against Truett-McConnell, dominating with a 43 to 10 final score. We started off strong in the 125 pound weight class with a second period pin by Chris Fox. Following Fox, Matt Vaughn had an impressive first period pin in the 149 pound weight class. Then, Christian Grillo and Santiago Martinez both achieved tech-falls over their opponents in the 157 and 165 pound weight classes respectively. Justin Mitchell beat his opponent 13 to 2 in the 197 pound weight class. Josh Woods finished the match up strong, with another impressive first period pin for UCF wrestling. The final Dual of the day for UCF was against Shorter College, reflecting the Knights hard work with 29 to 9 win. Nick Anthony got the match started with a 7 to 2 point win over his opponent in the 133 pound weight class. Matt Vaughn then claimed another tech-fall for UCF, beating his opponent in the 149 pound weight with a series of impressive cradles. Santiago Martinez claimed victory once again in the 165 pound weigh class, winning his match 5-2. At 174 pounds, Sean Mann claimed victory with an remarkable second period pin, continuing the Knights winning streak. Following Mann, Scott Watson defeated his opponent in the 184 pound weight class in a 5-2 match. Justin Mitchell then finished up the wins for the Knights with a 4 to 2 victory over his opponent from Shorter in the 197 pound weight class.

The UCF knights wrestling team plans on continuing their success in the months to come, as they continue to work and improve every day. Next up on the schedule is the Luther-Gator Duals in New Orleans, Louisiana. Then the Knights plan on ringing in the New Year with the Virginia Duals, a tough two-day tournament in Hampton, Virginia.

Knights Early Season Recap

In a division that is growing in numbers and talent every year, UCF wrestling is off to a great start this season with the National Collegiate Wrestling Association. The team wrestled their way to success in the first three tournaments of the season beginning at the citadel, a tough tournament of all divisions in the Southeast.  Next, the team traveled to the University of North Carolina-Pembroke's Braves Classic, a highly ranked NCAA Division II tournament, where the team ranked more place winners than any previous trip the tournament.  Lastly, the Knights had yet another successful showing at the Knights Brawl Duals and UCF Open in Orlando, FL. 

At the Citadel, three UCF wrestlers claimed victory. Santiago Martinez took the gold at the 165 pound weight class. Matt Vaughn brought home the silver, wrestling tough in the first tournament of the season at 149 pounds. UCF's Josh Woods took fourth in the 285 pound weight class.  

UCF wrestled their toughest tournament ever at Pembroke this year, placing at more weights than ever in school history. Pembroke placed ninth last year at the NCAA Division II National Tournament.  Six wrestlers impressively made their way to the top of the podium. Santiago Martinez took first at 165, followed closely by Josh Woods and Scott Watson, who both brought home silver, at 285 and 174 pounds, respectively. Christian Grillo at 157 pounds and Matt Vaughn in the 149 pound weight class claimed fourth. Followed by Nick Petrovick also in the 174 pound weight class placing sixth, leading to a victorious second tournament. 

The Knights Brawl Duals and Central Florida Open is getting increasingly more difficult and competitive over the years. UCF posted an undefeated 4-0 record during the duals Friday night.  The following day during the individual tournament UCF had an incredible number of place winners during their third tournament. Brian Radli and Christian Grillo claimed victory by wrestling their way to gold. Santiago Martinez, Josh Woods and Max Becks also made it to the top by winning second in an incredibly tough tournament. Additionally, Michael Flemming at 141 pounds took third along with Scott Watson at 174 pounds who took fourth.  Also placing in the individual tournament were Nick Petrovick in the 184 weight class taking sixth and Sean Mann wrestling 165 placing fifth. 

UCF wrestling expects to continue to excel in the upcoming tournaments throughout the season. The Cavalier Duals in Albany, Georgia are next on the list to conquer, followed by the Luther-Gator Duals in New Orleans, LA. The 2013 year stars off with a challenging two day tournament; The Virginia Duals, held in Hampton, VA.

Knights have another strong performance at Braves Classic in Pembroke, NC