Wrestling: WVU Splits Pair at Virginia Duals
January 13, 2006 06:34 PM | General
January 13, 2005
HAMPTON, Va. – The West Virginia University wrestling team split a pair of dual meets on the first day of the Virginia Duals tournament, defeating Rider and falling to Ohio State in Hampton, Va., on Friday, Jan. 13 at the Hampton Coliseum.
“I thought that we as a team had a very good experience here the first day of competition,” said head coach Craig Turnbull. “All of our guys are getting a lot of valuable experience that will pay off as the season progresses. It was good to get the win against Rider and the Ohio State match was very hard fought and could have went either way.”
The Mountaineers (1-3) started off the day on a high note by taking care of Rider in the tournament’s first round. After dropping bouts at the 125 and 133-pound weight classes WVU wrestlers rattled off five consecutive victories to come away with a 21-18 victory.
Freshman Brandon Rader got the team’s momentum rolling as he cruised to a 9-6 victory over the Bronco’s Michael Palma. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native held a 6-3 advantage heading into the final period and used an escape and a takedown to keep Palma at bay in the final two minutes.
Fellow freshman David Jauregui battled his way to a 10-9 win over Michael Kessler. The two grapplers were locked at 9-9 heading into third and the Santa Ana, Calif., native tallied an escape against Kessler in that period for the decision.
Senior Matt Lebe earned a 3-0 decision over Rider’s Dave Miller in the 157-pound match as he controlled from whistle to whistle. Lebe took a 2-0 lead on a takedown in the first period and would pad his lead on a third period escape.
Sophomore Larry Hall got his first collegiate dual meet experience Saturday at the 165-pound class and responded in a big way. The Jeannette, Pa., native jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before pinning his opponent Chris Marold just 1:08 into the match.
The fall by Hall put the Mountaineers in good position with a 15-9 advantage; however, the Broncos increased that lead even more for West Virginia when they chose to forfeit the 174-pound bout to Kurt Brenner. The forfeit made the score 21-12 and for all intensive purposes put the match out of reach.
Rider would end the meet with three wins at the 184, 197 and heavyweight classes, but the nine team points earned in those bouts would do little more than decrease WVU’s margin of victory to three.
In the tournament quarterfinals against Big 10 foe Ohio State the Mountaineers would lose a heartbreaker by a score of 17-15 as the dual meet came down to the final heavyweight bout.
The team once again started with tough losses at the 125 and 133-pound weight classes before catching fire, this time winning five of the next seven bouts.
Rader earned a 9-4 decision over T.J. Enright to start the run. After dragging Enright back onto the mat with his legs wrapped around the OSU wrestler’s waist, Rader came within inches of the pin but was cut short by the end of the second period.
The most thrilling WVU bout of the day occurred next as Jauregui erased a 5-2 deficit in the third period en route to an 8-6 decision over No. 7-ranked Jeffery Jaggers. Jauregui allowed just one point in the final period, while scoring on two takedowns, one escape and two points for a near fall. The win over Jaggers marks the first nationally ranked wrestler Jauregui has defeated in his collegiate career.
No. 2-ranked Lebe earned win No. 23 on the season by scoring a 4-3 decision over Steve Sommer. The Jeannette, Pa., native once again built an early lead and held on to it for the win.
Mountaineer Kurt Brenner held off a late rally by Charlie Clark to win his first match of the day 6-5. The freshman led 6-1 in the second period but a takedown and escape by Clark would draw him within two points. Clark then performed an escape early in the third period, however, Brenner would not let him knot the score up.
Junior 197-pounder Jared Villers put West Virginia up 15-14 with a 6-3 decision over Buckeye Adam Morrison. But the lead would not last long as Ohio State heavyweight Kirk Nail claimed a 13-7 decision over Matt Holsopple to secure a 17-15 win for OSU.
The Mountaineers return to action tomorrow morning at 10 a.m. when they face Columbia in their first consolation meet.
Complete results from the first day of competition at the Virginia Duals can be found at www.virginiaduals.org.
Rider Match Results (W, 21-18)
125: Ryan Smith (RU) FALL Scott Stuart (WVU), 2:57
133: Zac Cunliffe (RU) DEC Seth Lisa (WVU), 6-4
141: Brandon Rader (WVU) DEC Michael Palma (RU), 9-6
149: David Jauregui (WVU) DEC Michael Kessler (RU), 10-9
157: Matt Lebe (WVU) DEC Dave Miller (RU), 3-0
165: Larry Hall (WVU) FALL Chris Marold (RU), 1:08
174: Kurt Brenner (WVU) FORFEIT
184: Joe Maroney (RU) DEC Chance Litton (WVU), 4-3
197: T.J. Morrison (RU) DEC Jared Villers (WVU), 9-3
HWT: Tyler Rees (RU) DEC Matt Holsopple (WVU), 3-2
Ohio State Match Results (L, 17-15)
125: Nathan Costello (OSU) FALL Scott Stuart (WVU), 0:54
133: Reece Humphrey (OSU) DEC Seth Lisa (WVU), 5-1
141: Brandon Rader (WVU) DEC T.J. Enright (OSU), 9-4
149: David Jauregui (WVU) DEC Jeffery Jaggers (OSU), 8-6
157: Matt Lebe (WVU) DEC Steve Sommers (OSU), 4-3
165: Nathaniel Augustina (OSU) DEC Eric Mullen (WVU), 3-1
174: Kurt Brenner (WVU) DEC Charlie Clark (OSU), 6-5
184: Alex Picazzo (OSU) DEC Chance Litton (WVU), 8-5
197: Jared Villers (WVU) DEC Adam Morrison (OSU), 6-3
HWT: Kirk Nail (OSU) DEC Matt Holsopple (WVU), 13-7
