CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. --- The Golden Eagles will have a pair of wrestlers competing for spots on the podium at the 2025 Southern Scuffle on Sunday morning, as John Worthing and Kyle Schickel highlighted the effort at McKenzie Arena on Saturday.
 
Worthing entered the bracket as the fifth seed at 174 pounds, and won both of his matches in the morning session to advance to Saturday night's quarterfinal. In his first round match he beat Davidson's Mark Koch in sudden victory, taking him down just nine seconds into the overtime period for a victory. In his 9-3 win over Presbyterian's Caleb Roe in the round of 16, Worthing scored a takedown roughly a minute into the first period to take an early lead. Worthing landed another takedown in the second period to go ahead 6-2, and he turned his start in the bottom position in the third period into a reversal en route to the win.
 
Schickel also advanced to the quarterfinals on Saturday night, winning his first two matches of the day in dramatically different fashions. In his opening round match against Davidson's Anderson Heap he put up a boatload of points, winning by a 17-4 major decision. Eleven of those points came in the first two minutes as Schickel took Heap down and turned him for two separate four-point near falls. Neither wrestler scored in the second period but Schickel tacked on six more points in the third for the win. Conversely there were no takedowns in Schickel's 2-1 decision over Campbell's Eugene Harney, with Schickel scoring on an escape and because of an illegal hold.
 
However, neither Worthing nor Schickel were able to push past the quarterfinal round. Schickel drew Oklahoma's two-time NCAA qualifier and 13^th-ranked 149-pounder Willie McDougald, and put up a solid effort against the Sooners' competitor. McDougald managed just a single takedown against Schickel through two periods, and after a third period escape Schickel trailed just 4-2. McDougald scored a flurry of points in the last minute, though, winning by 11-3 major decision. Worthing's match with Chattanooga's #29/33 Sergio Desiante was a close bout, with the latter scoring the only two takedowns on the contest in a 7-3 decision.
 
Schickel followed up by winning in his consolation match, beating Morgan State's Yannis Charles by a 5-4 decision. Worthing, meanwhile, dominated Bellarmine's Grant O'Dell, building a 15-2 lead through two periods and then taking him down for an 18-2 tech fall just 10 seconds into the third period.
 
Beyond those two, Ethan Wiant was the Golden Eagle wrestler to advance the furthest on Saturday. After dropping his opening round match to Virginia's Max Shulaw, Wiant went on to a couple of wins in the consolation bracket. He started by beating teammate Connor Jacobs by 5-2 decision, and then beat Bellarmine's Andrew Liber by a 1-0 major decision. The latter bout was a total grind, with the key being Wiant's full period ride on Liber in the second period. That clinched riding time for Wiant and was the only point for either wrestler. Wiant's weekend ended against 2024 NCAA qualifier Bradley Hill of Oklahoma in the second consolation round of 8, with Hill winning in a 15-0 technical fall.
 
Among the most impressive wins of the day came from Scott Johnson, who beat three-time NCAA qualifier and 29^th-ranked 133-pounder Dom Zaccone. He picked up a major over the Campbell wrestler, beating him by a 13-3 score thanks to a takedown and a four-point near fall in the second period. Johnson's day ended prematurely in the consolation bracket after suffering an injury against Chattanooga's Bryce Luna in the first period, prompting an injury default.