Jones, Rader Lead Storied Senior Class
February 17, 2011 10:37 AM | General
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – Each year when Senior Night approaches, WVU coach Craig Turnbull says the word ‘special’ can be attached to it.
“When we get to Senior Night every year, it’s a time for the individual team members to reflect and for us as coaches to recognize that these student-athletes are people who committed to our program and have contributed significantly in so many ways,” he said.
Leading this year’s class are sixth-year seniors Donnie Jones and Brandon Rader in a group that includes senior Kyle Rooney and redshirt juniors Matt Weston, Christian Mory, Robert DeSano and Kyle Eason.
The Mountaineers complete the dual meet regular season this weekend at home as they prepare to take on No. 20 Edinboro Friday night at 7:30 p.m and Cleveland State on Saturday at 7 p.m. Coaches have designated Friday night’s matchup with Edinboro as the team’s Senior Night when the seven grapplers will be honored before the meet begins.
A two-time All-American, Rader wants to end his Mountaineer career in style with victories this weekend.
“The best way I can contribute in my final matches at home is to go out and win,” he said. “I hope to finish the season strong by doing my best to help the team win.”
Among his many accomplishments, the Parkersburg, W. Va., native leaves his mark as the only true freshman in WVU history to become an All-American and one of only four native West Virginians to earn All-America status. During that 2005-06 season, he won the EWL Championships at 141 pounds and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, falling only to eventual champion Nate Gallick of Iowa State.
As a sophomore, he continued to improve as 15 of his 19 wins before the NCAA Tournament included bonus points for the team. He once again placed sixth at the national tourney, earning All-America status for a second consecutive year and becoming just the sixth Mountaineer in history to earn multiple All-America accolades.
“Rader was the first true freshman from WVU to place at the NCAA Tournament,” Turnbull said. “In his first two years, he saw a lot of success and was showing signs of making it to the NCAA Finals someday. He made it a very clear goal to win an NCAA Championship and we realized he had that potential early in his career.”
As all signs pointed upward, tragedy struck his junior year when he was lost for the year following a dual meet against Cal Poly in which he reinjured a troubled knee against eventual NCAA runner-up Chad Mendes, meriting a medical redshirt season. The injury kept him out of competition for two complete seasons.
Attempting a comeback for the 2009-10 season, he was lost for another year with a shoulder injury and forced to sit out. Finally healthy as a redshirt senior in 2010-11, Rader currently finds himself with a five-match winning streak and recently beat Illinois’ 7th-ranked Eric Terrazas by a fall in 49 seconds that lifted the Mountaineers to an 18-15 upset win over the Illini.
“One of my favorite memories of my career was to get that win at Illinois this year,” Rader said. “That match was pretty memorable and meaningful to me because I wasn’t doing as well as I wanted. With how the season was going at that point, it really helped me to pick it up a bit and regain confidence.”
With the recent success, he maintains his goal of winning the EWL Championship at 149 pounds and ultimately to become a national champion.
“It would mean a lot to him to become the first true West Virginian to win an NCAA Championship,” Turnbull said. “He’s dealt with a lot of adversity during his time here. It’s a credit to his character that he’s had to work through it and accept situations where he’s fallen short of his own expectations. It’s made him a better person and it’s made him appreciate this year that he’s getting himself back into a position to compete for that ultimate goal of winning a national title.
“His passion for wrestling and his demonstrating how to keep yourself together through adversity has made a deep impact on the program. He will be forever better because of his contributions.”
Jones will also be remembered for his contributions over a six-year span in a WVU singlet. Hampered with injuries throughout his career, Jones missed the 2006-07 season with a shoulder injury following a redshirt season the year before. He battled back for a 10-9 season in 2007-08 in which he finished second at the EWL Championships and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Going 6-0 in the EWL as a redshirt sophomore, he once again qualified for the national tourney where he fell to Iowa’s No.3 Ryan Morningstar. He also registered for the most takedowns and technical falls on the team, winning nine consecutive bouts and a defeat over Edinboro’s No. 11-ranked and eventual national champion Jarrod King.
Last season, he qualified for a third time to the NCAA Tournament where he fell again to Iowa’s Ryan Morningstar after taking second place at the EWL Tournament. He had three wins over ranked opponents on the year and earned a career-high 20 victories.
“Donnie has also dealt with some adversity where he’s had injuries and has had to battle through them,” Turnbull said. “He’s never let go of his goal of winning an NCAA Championship and has always chosen a path with honor and has stayed positive through it all.
“He demonstrates leadership not only in competition and in practices but through his actions. He will be significantly missed not only for his wins and losses but his character and motivation to help the team.”
In his final season, Jones is currently on a seven-match winning streak and ranked No. 20 in the country at 165 pounds. He has two wins over ranked opponents this year and owns a 15-3 overall record. He was named the EWL Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 25 following wins over Bloomsburg and Clarion opponents.
With the success enjoyed this year, he hopes to maintain focus and finish the season as a national champion.
“I’m focused on competing and getting better for the EWLs in a couple weeks,” Jones said. “My goals haven’t changed since the beginning of the year. I want to win every match, finish the dual meet season with team and individual wins, get individual titles at EWLs and then make noise at NCAAs.”
Jones will graduate with a degree in civil engineering and hopes to find employment in the field, but won’t stray too much from the game of wrestling.
“Somehow, I’ll still be involved with wrestling, whether it’s here or not,” he said. “I don’t plan on going into coaching, but I’ll show up to practice if someone needs my help. Past wrestlers have been good to come in and help us, so I figure I should do likewise.”
Rooney started off wrestling at Division III Heidelberg College from 2006-07 before taking a year off from school to work from home. He decided to pursue wrestling at West Virginia, where he was given the opportunity to jump to Division I wrestling.
The regular starter at 197 pounds, Rooney hopes to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
“I hope to go into the EWLs with confidence by winning these two bouts this weekend,” he said. “I want to place high enough to qualify for the national tournament, which is still my No. 1 goal.”
Not soon to be forgotten is the fact that he proved to everyone that he could wrestle at this level.
“The fact I’m still on this team has been my biggest accomplishment,” he said. “I even doubted at first if I would be able to make it here, but I’m still here and earned a starting position, so I feel honored to still be wrestling at this level. I’ll never let go of that.”
Coach Turnbull is not surprised with the level of success Rooney has enjoyed at Division I.
“He has worked to where he has competed successfully against national-caliber competition,” Turnbull said. “It is a realistic goal for him to get to the national tournament and compete in several matches there. His commitment and work ethic have pulled him through the highest level of wrestling.”
Redshirt juniors Weston, Mory, DeSano and Eason will graduate with their bachelor’s degrees in May and will not return for a fourth year of eligibility.
Turnbull is grateful for the efforts from this group as they begin the next step of life.
“This is such a challenging sport that the people that commit to it for four to five years make a lasting impression on the program,” he said. “Whether they have a tremendous amount of varsity matches or not, they have put themselves in a position to help us and the program is forever better because of their efforts.
“We’ll miss this class of seniors very much and we’re grateful for the time they put in to helping us improve the program.”
“When we get to Senior Night every year, it’s a time for the individual team members to reflect and for us as coaches to recognize that these student-athletes are people who committed to our program and have contributed significantly in so many ways,” he said.
Leading this year’s class are sixth-year seniors Donnie Jones and Brandon Rader in a group that includes senior Kyle Rooney and redshirt juniors Matt Weston, Christian Mory, Robert DeSano and Kyle Eason.
The Mountaineers complete the dual meet regular season this weekend at home as they prepare to take on No. 20 Edinboro Friday night at 7:30 p.m and Cleveland State on Saturday at 7 p.m. Coaches have designated Friday night’s matchup with Edinboro as the team’s Senior Night when the seven grapplers will be honored before the meet begins.
A two-time All-American, Rader wants to end his Mountaineer career in style with victories this weekend.
“The best way I can contribute in my final matches at home is to go out and win,” he said. “I hope to finish the season strong by doing my best to help the team win.”
Among his many accomplishments, the Parkersburg, W. Va., native leaves his mark as the only true freshman in WVU history to become an All-American and one of only four native West Virginians to earn All-America status. During that 2005-06 season, he won the EWL Championships at 141 pounds and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, falling only to eventual champion Nate Gallick of Iowa State.
As a sophomore, he continued to improve as 15 of his 19 wins before the NCAA Tournament included bonus points for the team. He once again placed sixth at the national tourney, earning All-America status for a second consecutive year and becoming just the sixth Mountaineer in history to earn multiple All-America accolades.
“Rader was the first true freshman from WVU to place at the NCAA Tournament,” Turnbull said. “In his first two years, he saw a lot of success and was showing signs of making it to the NCAA Finals someday. He made it a very clear goal to win an NCAA Championship and we realized he had that potential early in his career.”
As all signs pointed upward, tragedy struck his junior year when he was lost for the year following a dual meet against Cal Poly in which he reinjured a troubled knee against eventual NCAA runner-up Chad Mendes, meriting a medical redshirt season. The injury kept him out of competition for two complete seasons.
Attempting a comeback for the 2009-10 season, he was lost for another year with a shoulder injury and forced to sit out. Finally healthy as a redshirt senior in 2010-11, Rader currently finds himself with a five-match winning streak and recently beat Illinois’ 7th-ranked Eric Terrazas by a fall in 49 seconds that lifted the Mountaineers to an 18-15 upset win over the Illini.
“One of my favorite memories of my career was to get that win at Illinois this year,” Rader said. “That match was pretty memorable and meaningful to me because I wasn’t doing as well as I wanted. With how the season was going at that point, it really helped me to pick it up a bit and regain confidence.”
With the recent success, he maintains his goal of winning the EWL Championship at 149 pounds and ultimately to become a national champion.
“It would mean a lot to him to become the first true West Virginian to win an NCAA Championship,” Turnbull said. “He’s dealt with a lot of adversity during his time here. It’s a credit to his character that he’s had to work through it and accept situations where he’s fallen short of his own expectations. It’s made him a better person and it’s made him appreciate this year that he’s getting himself back into a position to compete for that ultimate goal of winning a national title.
“His passion for wrestling and his demonstrating how to keep yourself together through adversity has made a deep impact on the program. He will be forever better because of his contributions.”
Jones will also be remembered for his contributions over a six-year span in a WVU singlet. Hampered with injuries throughout his career, Jones missed the 2006-07 season with a shoulder injury following a redshirt season the year before. He battled back for a 10-9 season in 2007-08 in which he finished second at the EWL Championships and qualified for the NCAA Tournament.
Going 6-0 in the EWL as a redshirt sophomore, he once again qualified for the national tourney where he fell to Iowa’s No.3 Ryan Morningstar. He also registered for the most takedowns and technical falls on the team, winning nine consecutive bouts and a defeat over Edinboro’s No. 11-ranked and eventual national champion Jarrod King.
Last season, he qualified for a third time to the NCAA Tournament where he fell again to Iowa’s Ryan Morningstar after taking second place at the EWL Tournament. He had three wins over ranked opponents on the year and earned a career-high 20 victories.
“Donnie has also dealt with some adversity where he’s had injuries and has had to battle through them,” Turnbull said. “He’s never let go of his goal of winning an NCAA Championship and has always chosen a path with honor and has stayed positive through it all.
“He demonstrates leadership not only in competition and in practices but through his actions. He will be significantly missed not only for his wins and losses but his character and motivation to help the team.”
In his final season, Jones is currently on a seven-match winning streak and ranked No. 20 in the country at 165 pounds. He has two wins over ranked opponents this year and owns a 15-3 overall record. He was named the EWL Wrestler of the Week on Jan. 25 following wins over Bloomsburg and Clarion opponents.
With the success enjoyed this year, he hopes to maintain focus and finish the season as a national champion.
“I’m focused on competing and getting better for the EWLs in a couple weeks,” Jones said. “My goals haven’t changed since the beginning of the year. I want to win every match, finish the dual meet season with team and individual wins, get individual titles at EWLs and then make noise at NCAAs.”
Jones will graduate with a degree in civil engineering and hopes to find employment in the field, but won’t stray too much from the game of wrestling.
“Somehow, I’ll still be involved with wrestling, whether it’s here or not,” he said. “I don’t plan on going into coaching, but I’ll show up to practice if someone needs my help. Past wrestlers have been good to come in and help us, so I figure I should do likewise.”
Rooney started off wrestling at Division III Heidelberg College from 2006-07 before taking a year off from school to work from home. He decided to pursue wrestling at West Virginia, where he was given the opportunity to jump to Division I wrestling.
The regular starter at 197 pounds, Rooney hopes to make it to the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
“I hope to go into the EWLs with confidence by winning these two bouts this weekend,” he said. “I want to place high enough to qualify for the national tournament, which is still my No. 1 goal.”
Not soon to be forgotten is the fact that he proved to everyone that he could wrestle at this level.
“The fact I’m still on this team has been my biggest accomplishment,” he said. “I even doubted at first if I would be able to make it here, but I’m still here and earned a starting position, so I feel honored to still be wrestling at this level. I’ll never let go of that.”
Coach Turnbull is not surprised with the level of success Rooney has enjoyed at Division I.
“He has worked to where he has competed successfully against national-caliber competition,” Turnbull said. “It is a realistic goal for him to get to the national tournament and compete in several matches there. His commitment and work ethic have pulled him through the highest level of wrestling.”
Redshirt juniors Weston, Mory, DeSano and Eason will graduate with their bachelor’s degrees in May and will not return for a fourth year of eligibility.
Turnbull is grateful for the efforts from this group as they begin the next step of life.
“This is such a challenging sport that the people that commit to it for four to five years make a lasting impression on the program,” he said. “Whether they have a tremendous amount of varsity matches or not, they have put themselves in a position to help us and the program is forever better because of their efforts.
“We’ll miss this class of seniors very much and we’re grateful for the time they put in to helping us improve the program.”
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