Wrestling: WVU Heads to California
December 31, 2007 03:02 PM | General
By Steve Stone for MSNsportsNET.com
December 31, 2007
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University wrestling team travels to California for back-to-back dual meets against the Cal State Fullerton Titans and the Cal Poly Mustangs on Wednesday, Jan. 2, and Thursday, Jan. 3.
The Mountaineers will begin their road trip against the Titans on Wednesday at 5 p.m. PT. Cal State Fullerton features four nationally-ranked grapplers and has garnered additional votes in the latest Top 25 rankings by InterMat.
WVU, coming off a 12th place finish at the Cliff Keen Invitational in Las Vegas, Nev., is wrestling in its first dual meet since a 1-1 finish at the “Sprawl + Brawl” event against Sacred Heart and Iowa State on Nov. 18.
The Mountaineers are led by 197-pounder Jared Villers, who is 6-2 with two major decisions. Villers finished fourth in his respective weight class against a competitive field in the Cliff Keen Invitational.
Heavyweight Dustin Rogers and senior Zac Fryling (157) have also led WVU. In his first action of the season, Rogers wrestled his way to a second place finish in Las Vegas, while Fryling finished eighth due to a shoulder injury.
On Thursday, WVU will travel to San Luis Obispo to battle the Mustangs at 1 p.m. PT. Cal Poly is 2-2 in duals thus far, including an 18-17 win over Cal State Fullerton. The Mustangs have three nationally ranked wrestlers in the 125, 133, and 141 pound weight divisions.
Head coach Craig Turnbull believes the heavy travel will be good for his squad.
"I think we will be put under stressful conditions, but it will be good for us," says Turnbull. "It will be good to go across the time zones and wrestle under these conditions. Both teams are very strong teams and it should be good for us going into the National Duals."
The two-day event will be the first time WVU has faced Cal Poly or Cal State Fullerton in a dual meet.
