STEPHEN SPITIKO GIVEN 2ND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES

HARTSVILLE, SC: Stephen Spitko has been named to the Conference Carolinas' second-team all-conference team in the 133-lb weight class. Spitko had a fantastic year for the Cobras, going 17-2 overall and 6-2 in the conference. To go along with his record this season, Spitko was also ranked as high as 7th in the open mat rankings, finishing 15th and 13th in the National Wrestling Coaches Association. 

OVER THE SEASON

Spitko started his year off at the PJ Smith\Pembroke Open where he finished in 1st place with a 4-0 record. At the Open Spitko went against some heavy competition where he faced competition from the University of Florida, The University of Central Florida, and UNC Pembroke.

Spitko and his team then went on to start Conference play where Spitko started strong as he beat Noah Smith from Montevallo by fall in 48 seconds. Spitko followed up that win with a match against Lander's #9 wrestler in the 133lb weight class. Spitko took this match up to the end where he lost by sudden victory. Stephen then went to the Carolina Clash hosted by Lander where he added more wins to his account as he won by a major decision and technical fall.

Next up on Coker's schedule saw Spitko compete in the St. Andrews Quad Meet where Stephen and his team walked away with 3 wins. Most impressively Spitko walked away with 3 Falls over his competitors with none of these matches lasting longer than 2 minutes. 1 week later Spitko went 2-0 at the Averett Duals where he picked up yet another 2 more falls for the season against Averett University and Huntingdon College.

Coker and Spitko then returned to conference play as they faced off against Newberry College. Spitko had one of his closest victories on this day as he won by decision 5-3 to improve his record to 14-1. After the Newberry dual Spitko then competed against Johns Hopkins University at the Virginia Duals where he won by fall once again with his second fastest time of 41 seconds to end the match.

To finish out the regular season Spitko took on three more Conference Carolinas teams where he went 2-1. Spitko started off this stretch with a win against Mount Olive that saw Spitko win by fall in the first round. To back up that performance Spitko upped himself as he won by fall against Limestone in his fastest time this year with a total of 36 seconds to get the pin. To finish off the regular season Spitko went up against the #14 wrestler in the Open Mat Rankings where once again Stephen was barely defeated by decision with a final score of 6-5.

STATS OVER THE REGULAR SEASON

• 17 TOTAL WINS
• 11 WINS BY FALL
• 2 WINS BY TECHNICAL FALL
• 2 MAJOR DECISION
• 1 WIN BY DECISION
• Ranked as high as 7th in the Open Mat Rankings
• Finished ranked 15th in the Open Mat Rankings