CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - A trio of Vikings advanced to the second and final day of the Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Sportswear, as the Cleveland State University wrestling team opened the calendar year at the prestigious event Monday inside McKenzie Arena.

Junior Evan Cheek (141 pounds), redshirt senior Nick Corba (184) and redshirt sophomore Caleb Stockmaster (174) combined for eight wins Monday, as all three remain alive in the consolation portion of their weight class.

Cheek began his tournament with a convincing win, using a takedown and four near-fall points in the first period to open a commanding lead. He would carry a 10-0 lead into the final period and cruised to the win via major decision. In his second match of the day, he faced a seeded opponent from Penn State. Cheek built a 4-1 lead early in the match but was unable to hold on, falling to the opponent that reached the semifinals.

In his first consolation match, Cheek took the lead over his opponent from N.C. State with a takedown inside the opening 30 seconds. That would prove to be enough as he allowed only a single point in the entire match. Cheek won by three points after earning a point for riding time. He ended the day the way he began it with a dominating win. Cheek took an 8-0 lead within two minutes after earning six near-fall points. He continued to put the pressure on and ended the bout in the second period via technical fall.

Stockmaster showcased a knack for winning tight matches on a few occasions Monday. In his first bout, he trailed, 3-1, entering the final period. However, he scored in the final minute, helping send the match to sudden victory where he posted the winning takedown. After dropping his next match to the No. 4 seed, Stockmaster rebounded with some fine performances.

Stockmaster was tied, 1-1, after regulation in his first consolation match and again would secure the winning takedown in the sudden-victory session. In his final match of the day, it appeared it would be another tight bout, as Stockmaster led, 2-1, after two periods. However, he used five consecutive points to create some breathing room, as he would go on to win, 8-2.

In his first match of the day, Corba was tied, 2-2, after two periods but his opponent won the third period to win the match. However, that defeat appeared to provide motivation for his future matches. Corba led, 10-0, after the first period of his first consolation match before finishing his technical fall win in the second period. In his final match of the day, Corba faced against an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent. He led, 5-0, before pinning his opponent to reach the second day of the event.

Redshirt senior John Martin, competing in his first tournament of the season after being injured earlier, also won a match for CSU Monday.

Martin had a brutal draw, as he faced reigning NCAA champion Darian Cruz in his first match of 2018. He would score 10 points, but nonetheless came up short. Martin then won his first consolation match before losing, 5-3, to close his participation in the event.

Junior John Vaughn lost both of his matches Monday but fell by a combined three points. Competing at 157 pounds for the first time since his freshman season, Vaughn nearly pulled off an upset to start the tournament, as he fell just, 3-2, to the No. 4 seed.

Cleveland State is 18th of 24 teams with 18 points. Reigning NCAA champion Penn State tops the field entering the final day.

The Southern Scuffle will resume Tuesday at 10:00 a.m. with the next round of consolation matches.

CSU Results at the Southern Scuffle - Day One

125
First Round: Aslan Kilic (Navy) over Cameron Lathem (CSU) - Fall 6:34
First Round: John Martin (CSU) - bye
Second Round: No. 1 Darian Cruz (Lehigh) over Martin (CSU) - 22-10 MD
Consolation First Round: Martin (CSU) over Lathem (CSU) - 4-1 dec.
Consolation Second Round: Anthony DeCesare (Air Force) over Martin - 5-3 dec.

141
First Round: Evan Cheek (CSU) - bye
Second Round: Cheek (CSU) over Doug Gudenburr (Citadel) - 11-2 MD
Third Round: No. 5 Nick Lee (Penn State) over Cheek (CSU) - Fall 2:58
Consolation Third Round: Cheek (CSU) over Will Clark (N.C. State) - 4-1 dec.
Consolation Fourth Round: Cheek (CSU) over Jon Ryan (Campbell) - 18-2 TF 4:52

149
First Round: Ryan Ford (CSU) - bye
Second Round: Corey Wilding (Navy) over Ford (CSU) - 7-2 dec.
Consolation Second Round: Ben Barton (Campbell) over Ford (CSU) - 10-4 dec.

157
First Round: Ryan Montgomery (CSU) - bye
First Round: John Vaughn (CSU) - bye
Second Round: No. 2 Mitch Finesilver (Duke) over Montgomery (CSU) - 9-1 MD
Second Round: No. 4 Alexander Mossing (Air Force) over Vaughn (CSU) - 3-2 dec.
Consolation First Round: Montgomery (CSU) - bye
Consolation Second Round: Quentin Hovis (Navy) over Montgomery (CSU) - 8-3 dec.
Consolation Second Round: Angel Najar (Appalachian State) over Vaughn (CSU) - 5-3 dec.

165
First Round: Quentin Perez (Campbell) over Georgio Poullas (CSU) - 17-2 TF 2:14
Consolation First Round: Alexandre Lopouchanski (Air Force) over Poullas (CSU) - Fall 2:31

174
First Round: No. 2 Jordan Kutler (Lehigh) over Gabe Stark (CSU) - 11-2 MD
First Round: Caleb Stockmaster (CSU) over Seth Bogulski (Northern Colorado) - 6-4 SV
Second Round: No. 4 Jadaen Bernstein (Navy) over Stockmaster (CSU) - 16-5 MD
Consolation First Round: Bryan Battisto (Cal State Bakersfield) over Stark (CSU) - Fall 5:46
Consolation Second Round: Stockmaster (CSU) over Christian Maroni (Gardner-Webb) - 3-1 SV
Consolation Third Round: Stockmaster (CSU) over Justin Lampe (Chattanooga) - 8-2 dec.

184
First Round: No. 7 Nick Corba (CSU) - bye
Second Round: Gary Jantzer (Utah Valley) over No. 7 Corba (CSU) - 7-2 dec.
Consolation Second Round: No. 7 Corba (CSU) over Cory Damiana (Hofstra) - 16-0 TF 4:43
Consolation Third Round: No. 7 Corba (CSU) over Nick Mosco (North Carolina) - Fall 4:23

197
First Round: No. 5 Jacob Holschlag (Northern Iowa) over John Kelbly (CSU) - 15-0 TF 5:00
Consolation First Round: Randall Diabe (Appalachian State) over Kelbly (CSU) - 15-9 dec.

285
First Round: Collin Kelly (CSU) - bye
Second Round: Austin Faunce (Navy) over Kelly (CSU) - 7-0 dec.
Consolation First Round: Jacob Bohlken (Unattached) over Kelly (CSU) - 7-0 dec.