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Collum wins at 149, Hawks place 4th at Mid-South Tournament
LEBANON, Tenn. -- Freshman Robbie Collum became Shorter University's first-ever individual conference champion by winning the 149-pound weight class and leading the Hawks to a fourth-place finish at the 2011 Mid-South Conference Wrestling Tournament in Lebanon, Tenn., on Saturday afternoon.
The 16th-ranked Hawks finished with 64 points, just 4.5 points behind third-place finisher Cumberland University, and saw six athletes record top-four finishes in their respective weight classes.
"Today was a great day for Shorter Wrestling," said head coach Josh Henson, who in one year has propelled the Hawks into the NAIA Top 20 Poll. "We continue to get better each day and I was proud of the effort that our guys put forth today."
Collum, a native of Effingham County who entered the Mid-South Championships unseeded in the conference at 149, upset top-seeded Matt Milton of Campbellsville University 9-4 then scored a 3-2 decision over fifth-seeded Derek Murdock of the University of the Cumberlands to reach the final.
In the title match, Collum earned a 5-2 decision over unseeded Jacob Stephens of Campbellsville to make history as the school's first conference champion.
Collum's efforts also earned him Mid-South Freshman of the Year honors.
"For Robbie to enter today unseeded and accomplish what he did is phenomenal," said Henson.
Raleigh Abbott, the nation's No. 3-ranked 165-pounder who was seeded third in the Mid-South Championships, finished third with a 19-6 major decision over Cumberland University's Zeke Hunt. Abbott fell into the consolation bracket with a 6-0 loss to second-seeded David Clements of Campbellsville in the semifinals.
Abbott, who departed the Mid-South Tournament with a 22-2 record, pinned sixth-seeded Taylor Dean of Lindsey Wilson in the quarterfinals, then defeated No. 5 seed Quinten Brooks of Campbellsville 10-1 in his first consolation bracket match to reach the third-place match against Hunt.
Abbott, one of nine Hawks who will represent Shorter at the NAIA Wrestling National Championship in March, earned Mid-South Conference Scholar-Athlete honors.
Shorter's Jesse Miller, who was unseeded, placed third at 141 with a 5-4 victory over fourth-seed Scott Flesher of Lindsey Wilson in the third-place match. George Monroe bounced back from a defeat in the quarterfinal round of the 197-pound tournament to also place third.
Jake McClure and Gunny Hoyt placed fourth at 174 and 187, respectively, to round out the Hawks' point scorers.
Campbellsville won the team championship with 135.5 points. The Tigers saw six wrestlers win individual titles and two more take runner-up finishes in their respective weight classes.
Shorter will participate in the East Region Qualifier in St. Charles, Mo., next Saturday with the hope of qualifying several more grapplers for the NAIA National Championship.
