Wrestling: W&J Open Up for Grabs
November 12, 2010 08:07 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Following a quick 2-1 opening to the season last weekend at the Terrapin Duals, the West Virginia University wrestling team continues its 2010-11 campaign with a tournament at the Washington & Jefferson College Open on Saturday in Washington, Pa.
A bevy of Mountaineers will compete at the fifth-annual event as they will compete against individual grapplers from schools like Penn State, Pitt, Shippensburg, Edinboro, West Liberty State and several other schools throughout the region.
Action begins at 10 a.m. at the Henry Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College.
“The nature of an open tournament is for some schools to send three people while others send thirty,” says WVU coach Craig Turnbull. “The value to us is that it’s very close to home and gives our guys an opportunity to compete against opponents from other schools. We’ve been wrestling each other for months now and the guys are ready to wrestle against new faces.”
The top three individual finishers within each weight class will compete for trophy plaques with six placements overall being awarded for each division. In addition, a tournament Outstanding Wrestler will be named as well as the individual wrestler who tallies the most falls in the least amount of time.
Last season, the Mountaineers earned five individual championships at the tourney in junior Colin Johnston (133), redshirt senior Donnie Jones (165), redshirt junior Matt Ryan (184), redshirt freshman Cameron Gallaher (197) and HWT Brandon Williamson.
Sophomore Shane Young (125), Mark Tsikerdanos (149), Kyle Eason (157), Chance Litton (174) and Kyle Rooney (197) came in second place.
“We’ll find out what’s working and what isn’t and be able to come back to our practice room to make adjustments to get better,” Turnbull says. “It gives everyone an opportunity to wrestle and to evaluate themselves and take steps forward. Tournaments like this stimulate the guys to compete and then we can assess what needs to be assessed to help them improve and make corrections.”
A general seeding system will be employed to rank the wrestlers based on their history.
Last weekend, WVU defeated Liberty, 24-12, and Johns Hopkins, 38-3, while falling to the host, Maryland, by a score of 13-27. Sophomore Nathan Pennesi was a perfect 3-0 for the day as well as redshirt senior Brandon Rader (149) and Matt Ryan (184). Several others finished with 2-1 marks.
“We’ll enter everyone who’s healthy,” Turnbull says. “Those who are a bit nicked up will take the weekend off to get rested and healthy for the following weekend at the Navy Classic or Sprawl & Brawl. We’re putting in a lot of volume and instruction to get the guys as ready as we can for competition.”
Results from the meet will be posted shortly after its completion on www.MSNsportsNET.com.
A bevy of Mountaineers will compete at the fifth-annual event as they will compete against individual grapplers from schools like Penn State, Pitt, Shippensburg, Edinboro, West Liberty State and several other schools throughout the region.
Action begins at 10 a.m. at the Henry Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of Washington & Jefferson College.
“The nature of an open tournament is for some schools to send three people while others send thirty,” says WVU coach Craig Turnbull. “The value to us is that it’s very close to home and gives our guys an opportunity to compete against opponents from other schools. We’ve been wrestling each other for months now and the guys are ready to wrestle against new faces.”
The top three individual finishers within each weight class will compete for trophy plaques with six placements overall being awarded for each division. In addition, a tournament Outstanding Wrestler will be named as well as the individual wrestler who tallies the most falls in the least amount of time.
Last season, the Mountaineers earned five individual championships at the tourney in junior Colin Johnston (133), redshirt senior Donnie Jones (165), redshirt junior Matt Ryan (184), redshirt freshman Cameron Gallaher (197) and HWT Brandon Williamson.
Sophomore Shane Young (125), Mark Tsikerdanos (149), Kyle Eason (157), Chance Litton (174) and Kyle Rooney (197) came in second place.
“We’ll find out what’s working and what isn’t and be able to come back to our practice room to make adjustments to get better,” Turnbull says. “It gives everyone an opportunity to wrestle and to evaluate themselves and take steps forward. Tournaments like this stimulate the guys to compete and then we can assess what needs to be assessed to help them improve and make corrections.”
A general seeding system will be employed to rank the wrestlers based on their history.
Last weekend, WVU defeated Liberty, 24-12, and Johns Hopkins, 38-3, while falling to the host, Maryland, by a score of 13-27. Sophomore Nathan Pennesi was a perfect 3-0 for the day as well as redshirt senior Brandon Rader (149) and Matt Ryan (184). Several others finished with 2-1 marks.
“We’ll enter everyone who’s healthy,” Turnbull says. “Those who are a bit nicked up will take the weekend off to get rested and healthy for the following weekend at the Navy Classic or Sprawl & Brawl. We’re putting in a lot of volume and instruction to get the guys as ready as we can for competition.”
Results from the meet will be posted shortly after its completion on www.MSNsportsNET.com.
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