Wrestling: Three Remain After First Day
December 29, 2005 05:39 PM | General
December 29, 2005
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| Lebe |
EVANSTON, Ill. - Three of four West Virginia University wrestlers competing at the Midlands Classic in Evanston, Ill., survived the first day of wrestling on Thursday, Dec. 29, to wrestle in Friday’s competition held at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena.
The Mountaineers 13.5 team points currently put them in 17th place.
Matt Lebe remains alive in the 157-pound championship bracket, while Zac Fryling (157) and Jared Villers (197) are both still alive in their respective consolation brackets. Senior Eric Mullen dropped his first two matches at the 165-pound weight class to bow out of the tournament and 149-pounder Larry Hall did not make weight.
Fourth seeded Lebe improved his season record to 18-1 after winning all three of his matches on the day. The senior started out the day by defeating Northern Iowa’s Moza Fay 6-4. The Jeannette, Pa., native then defeated Ken Andrews of Olivet 2-0 to move on to the quarterfinals Thursday evening.
In that match Lebe needed overtime to defeat Jeremiah Jarvis (unattached). He will face Illinois Alex Tirapelle who is the top seed of the 157-pound weight class. Tirapelle handed Lebe his only loss of the season earlier in the year when the pair met at the Las Vegas Invitational on December 3.
Sixth seeded Fryling who is wrestling unattached defeated North Central College’s Bobby Gingerich 4-2 in his opening match. He joined Lebe in the quarterfinals after defeating Michigan State’s Tony Greathouse.
The Lansdale, Pa., native fell from the championship bracket when he dropped a 2-0 decision to Indiana’s Brandon Becker. Fryling will face Greg Hagel in his first consolation match.
Villers started off his day solid by earning a 6-5 decision over Wild WC’s Octavius Bellamy, but had the tough draw of facing top-seeded Wynn Michalak of Central Michigan. Villers fell 11-2 to Michalak but quickly rebounded.
In his first consolation bout Villers was able to take care of business against Lassen College’s Adam Fellers by earning a forfeit. Chicago’s Drew Marriott was Villers’ next victim as he scored a tech fall 4:11 into the match with a 16-0 lead.
Villers will face No. 6 seeded Nathan Moore of Purdue in his next consolation match on Saturday.
Wrestling on Friday begins at 1 p.m. Check back tomorrow for updates on the third and final session of the Midlands Classic as they become available.
