MORGANTOWN, W.Va.  – The West Virginia University wrestling team opened the Sammie Henson era at the Michigan State Open on Sunday, with Michael Morales and Bubba Scheffel leading the way in East Lansing, Mich.

 

“Michigan State was a true measuring stick for our program. We have a lot to work on and I know we have the wrestlers who will put in the work,” said Henson. “Our wrestlers competed hard, but we have to compete smarter and grow our wrestling knowledge and our skills.”

 

Scheffel finished fifth at 184 pounds, posting a 5-1 record at the tournament. After earning a bye in the first round, he pinned Tiffin’s Jake Cramer in 4:17 before dropping a 5-1 decision to Zack Hernandez of Columbia in the quarterfinals. Scheffel rebounded by defeating Cramer for the second time in a 4-1 decision in the consolation semifinals before winning an 11-2 major decision over Cory Campbell of Kent State.

 

Competing for the first time at 141 pounds, Morales went 4-2 for a sixth-place finish. He started things off with a 10-2 major decision over Brandon Fifield of Michigan State before winning a 2-1 decision over Navy’s Patrick Prada. Morales lost a 6-3 decision to Andrew Bannister of Notre Dame (OH) in the quarterfinals but took a 6-0 decision from Tiffin’s Mike Screptock in the consolation round. He went on to win a 7-4 decision over Kyle Springer of Eastern Michigan before falling to Kent State’s Tyler Small.

 

Tim Wheeling finished eighth at 165 pounds, rebounding from a first-round loss to win four in a row. After falling to Michigan’s Taylor Massa, he earned a bye in the consolation round before winning a 14-7 decision over Connor Moynihan of Central Michigan. Wheeling pinned Purdue’s Kirk Johnson in the first period and took a 4-1 win by decision over Derek Davidson of Eastern Michigan to advance to the consolation semifinals, where he lost a 6-1 decision to Dean Vettese of Michigan State.

 

Jake S. Smith, wrestling unattached, claimed the title at 141 pounds. Smith pinned Ohio’s Jacob Rockoff in the first period before earning a 7-5 decision over Eastern Michigan’s Jacob Byers to advance to the quarterfinals. He then earned a 6-1 win over Michigan State’s Terry Turner before claiming a 1-0 decision from Purdue’s Nick Lawrence to advance to the championship bout. Smith won a 1-0 decision over Kent State’s Kyle Bauer to claim the title.

 

Also competing unattached, Zeke Moisey took third at 125 pounds with an 11-8 decision over Conor Youtsey of Michigan. Moisey won by tech. fall, 22-5, over Andy Lenz of St. Catharine before pinning Derek Elmore of Northern Illinois in 1:26 to advance. Moisey’s only loss came by major decision, 11-6, in the semifinals.

 

“Big props to our champion Jake,” said Henson. “And to Zeke who took third, as well as Bubba, Mike and Tim. They scrapped every second of every match.”

 

Cory Stainbrook earned a bye in the first match at 125 pounds before dropping an 8-3 decision to Zane Richards of Illinois. He received another bye before losing a 3-1 decision to Angelo Amenta of Columbia in the consolation round.

 

William Jenkins and James Dekrone both competed at 149 pounds for the Mountaineers. Jenkins went 1-2 with a win by tech. fall over Akinfemi Akinniran of Indiana Tech, while Dekrone won his first two matches before dropping his final two. Dekrone earned a major decision over Michigan’s Aaron Calderon by a score of 9-0 before earning a 5-2 decision win over Indiana’s Joe Randazzo.

 

Brutus Scheffel went 1-2 at 157, dropping a 3-0 decision to Ohio’s Andrew Romanchik before rebounding with an 8-1 decision over Michigan State’s Robert Hughes. He then dropped an 11-6 decision to Joe Cozart to Lindsey Wilson, knocking him out of contention.

 

Also at 157 pounds, Roman Perryman came away with a 2-2 record. After a 6-2 first round loss to Andrew Morse of Northern Illinois, Perryman won a 13-3 major decision over Michael Clark of St. Catharine. He then won a 4-3 decision over Michigan State’s Travis Curley before falling to Michigan State’s Roger Wildmo.

 

Jake A. Smith made his debut for the Mountaineers, picking up a pair of byes and pinning Columbia’s Troy Hembury. A 10-6 loss to NIU’s Shawn Scott in the consolation round eliminated him from contention.

 

The Mountaineers return home to host their first dual of the season on November 13 when Arizona State comes to the WVU Coliseum for an 8 p.m. tilt.