PEMBROKE, N.C. -- The Ferrum College wrestling team competed at the 2012 Pembroke Classic, the 32nd annual event hosted by NCAA Division II opponent University of North Carolina at Pembroke. The tournament was Ferrum's first in almost a quarter century. Ferrum announced it would reinstate its wrestling program in June of 2012.
Freshman Darreus McCrea led the Panthers with a fourth-place finish at 197 pounds. McCrea went 4-2 overall in the one-day tournament, opening with a pin over host UNC-Pembroke's Brandon Grasty in 1:35. The freshman from Milford, Delaware, then dropped a 4-3 decision in the quarterfinals to #3 seed Kyle Fork Friend of Newberry College.
McCrea dropped into the consolations and posted three straight wins, starting with a pin in 5:18 over University of Central Florida's William Mitchell. He then beat Central Florida's Tyler Walker 5-0 to advance to the consolation semifinals, where he met #4 seed Brach Walker of UNC-Pembroke. McCrea beat Walker 5-2 and advanced to the consolation finals, where he fell 5-4 to Appalachan State University's Tyler Radford 5-4.
Freshman Daniel Reynolds (pictured above) won a pair of matches at 149, finishing 2-2 on the day for the Panthers. Freshman Cody Cooper posted a 1-2 record at 157 pounds, as did freshman Christopher Cortopassi at 165 pounds.
Coach Nate Yetzer's team will compete next at the King Open, hosted Sunday, Nov. 18, by King College in Bristol, Tennessee. Yetzer's team will then compete at the two-day Messiah Petrofes Invitational Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 30 through Dec. 1 in Grantham, Pennsylvania.
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