Richards Repeats as SoCon Tourney's Most Outstanding Wrestler

BOONE, N.C. – VMI red-shirt senior Neal Richards was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Wrestler Sunday for the second-straight year after winning the 174-pound individual championship at the 2020 Southern Conference Wrestling Championships, hosted by Appalachian State University. He automatically qualifies for the NCAA Division I Tournament, with the chance to earn All-American honors.

Complete Brackets

Richards, from South Chesterfield, Va., had a much harder path Sunday to the trophy than he had a year ago. In 2019 he had a first-round bye, and won by technical fall in the semifinals and major decision in the finals. This season as the #2 seed, he opened with a 21-6 technical fall win over The Citadel's Kyle Kretzler. In the semifinals he defeated third-seeded Austin Kraisser from Campbell 3-1 in a sudden victory session. Richards got revenge in the finals for his only Southern Conference loss in the last two years with a 12-5 victory over top-seeded Thomas Flitz from Appalachian State.

It is Richards' third trip to the NCAA Tournament in his career and second SoCon title. He will enter the NCAA Tourney with a 38-7 record with six major decisions, seven technical falls and five pins on the year, with victories in 18 of his last 19 matches.

VMI finished sixth with 28 team points, but was just two points out of fourth place.

Chris Beck finished fourth at 285 pounds, winning 5-0 in the first round and 6-2 in the consolation bracket. He narrowly lost the match for third place 3-2. Job Chishko at 149 pounds also took fourth, with a major decision win and a technical fall victory. He also fell just short of third-place accolades, falling 4-3 in the consolation finals. Will Lawrence bounced back after a tough 9-8 loss in the opening round at 157 with a 9-8 victory of his own in the consolation bracket. Jon Hoover won a match via major decision at 165 and
Zach Brown pinned his first-round opponent at 197 pounds in just 1:29.

The NCAA Wrestling Selection Show will air on NCAA.com at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11. The 2020 NCAA Championships will take place March 19-21 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 Team standings

1. Campbell - 117.0
2. Appalachian State - 102.0
3. Chattanooga - 75.0
4. The Citadel - 30.0
5. Davidson - 29.0
6. VMI - 28.0
7. Gardner-Webb - 16.5
8. Presbyterian - 1.0

Individual champions/NCAA qualifiers
125 – Korbin Meink, Campbell
133 – Noah Gonser, Campbell
141 – Joshua Heil, Campbell
149 – Jonathan Millner, Appalachian State
157 – Matt Zovistoski, Appalachian State
165 – Quentin Perez, Campbell
174 – Neal Richards, VMI
184 – Andrew Morgan, Campbell
197 – Demazio Samuel
HWT – Cary Miller, Appalachian State

Additional NCAA allocations
149 – Selwyn Porter, The Citadel
174 – Thomas Flitz, Appalachian State
HWT – Jere Heino, Campbell

Southern Conference Coach of the Year
Cary Kolat, Campbell

Tournament Most Outstanding Wrestler
Neal Richards, 174, VMI
Cary Miller, HWT, Appalachian State

Pinnacle Award (student-athlete with the highest GPA on the championship-winning team)
Austin Kraisser, Campbell