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UTC'a Nick Soto, left, stays on the offensive to defeat No. 4 seed Jamie Franco, right, of Hofstra, in a 133-pound quarterfinal match at McKenzie Arena Sunday.Photo by Tim Barber /Chattanooga Times Free Press.
Nick Soto advanced to tonight's Southern Scuffle finals with a 5-1 overtime victory over top-seeded David Thorn of Minnesota.
Thorn, a sophomore, is currently ranked fifth nationally.
The two fought to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation. Soto got a three-point near-fall in the second overtime period and then secured the win with an escape in the third period.
It is Soto's second win over a nationally-ranked opponent. He bested fourth-ranked B.J. Futrell of Illinois on Dec. 18, 8-2.
The championship finals begin at 6 p.m. at McKenzie Arena.
For more on the Southern Scuffle, see Wednesday's editions of the Times Free Press.
Ward Gossett is an assistant sports editor and writer for the Times Free Press. Ward has a long history in Chattanooga journalism. He actually wrote a bylined story for the Chattanooga News-Free Press as a third-grader. He Began working part-time there in 1968 and was hired full time in 1970. Ward now covers high school athletics, primarily football, wrestling and baseball and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga wrestling. Over a 40-year career, he has covered ...
