Live Video ($) | Live Results | Pre-Seeds | Teams Competing | Full Schedule

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State University wrestling team will hit the road to open the New Year, as the Vikings participate in their most prestigious in-season event of the campaign.

CSU will compete at the Southern Scuffle, presented by Compound Sportswear and hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The two-day event begins Wednesday, Jan. 1, at 10:00 a.m.

FloWrestling ($) will provide live video of the event while live results will be available on FloArena. Links to both of those along with the pre-seeds, a list of competing teams and a schedule of events, are available at the top of this article. CSU redshirt senior Evan Cheek earned the sixth seed in the tournament at 141 pounds.

Twenty eight Division I schools are expected to send their teams, with every DI conference represented. Representatives from eight teams who finished in the top 25 at last year's NCAA Tournament are making their way to Chattanooga for the New Year's event.

Cleveland State last competed 10 days ago when the Vikings defeated George Mason at home, 22-14. CSU won the final three bouts to come from behind and claim a win in its first home MAC dual as the Vikings started a season 4-0 for the first time in 16 years.

The Vikings' most recent tournament action came on the second full weekend of December at the Cleveland State Open. A school record seven Vikings placed at the event while Cheek won the 141-pound title. Cheek tops the team in wins with his 19-1 record and has posted 11 bonus-point wins. Sophomore Ben Smith is second on the team in wins, owning a 16-5 mark at 197 pounds and 10 bonus-point victories on the campaign.

This is the 17th consecutive season that the Southern Scuffle has been contested although the event was originally held in Greensboro, N.C. This is the eighth time in nine years that Cleveland State has traveled to the event, as it has competed every year since the event moved to the Volunteer State, except for last season.

The Vikings have placed at least one wrestler in each of their last four trips to the event. In the two most recent years that CSU competed, a Viking was the only unseeded wrestler to place at his weight class, a feat that current Viking Evan Cheek achieved in 2018.

This event is the final of the tournament format on the schedule for CSU. The Vikings will continue action in the New Year with a quad dual at VMI Friday, Jan. 10.