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WV Natives Lead WVU at Cliff Keen
December 05, 2015 09:28 PM | Wrestling
LAS VEGAS – A pair of West Virginia natives represented the No. 24 West Virginia wrestling team on the podium at the 34th Annual Cliff Keen Las Vegas Collegiate Open, as No. 14/17 Dylan Cottrell took third at 157 pounds while No. 7/8 Jacob A. Smith placed fourth at 197 pounds at the Cashman Center on Saturday.
Cottrell, a native of Spencer, won a 5-3 decision over Virginia’s Andrew Atkinson in the third-place match to earn his place on the podium. Charleston native Smith dropped a 6-1 decision to Cal State Bakersfield’s Ruben Franklin in the third-place match. It marked Smith’s second straight year on the podium, as he took eighth in 2014.
The Mountaineers finished in 16th place at the tournament, tying No. 15 Wisconsin at 51.5 team points. No. 8 Missouri took home the team title with 154 points, while No. 14 Cornell took second with 113 points. West Virginia posted the second-best score amongst Big 12 schools, trailing Oklahoma (fourth, 102 points), and topping Iowa State (19th), North Dakota State (22nd), Utah Valley (25th), Northern Colorado (25th) and Air Force (29th).
“I’m proud of our team’s overall effort,” said WVU coach Sammie Henson. “This is something we can build on. I love having a pair of West Virginia natives finish strong today and place as high as they did.”
Cottrell faced No. 20 Brandon Kinglsey of Minnesota in Saturday morning’s consolation rounds. He got off to a quick start against the Golden Gopher, taking an 8-0 lead in the first period. Cottrell went on to secure a 14-2 major decision and advance to the consolation quarterfinals, where he faced No. 13 Aaron Walker of The Citadel. Cottrell defeated Walker, 3-1, before topping No. 19 Russell Parsons of Army in a 7-4 decision to move onto the third-place match.
Smith entered Saturday’s action as the lone undefeated Mountaineer in the championship round, but dropped a 9-3 decision to No. 2 J’Den Cox of Missouri to move to the consolation bracket. He faced No. 13 Jared Haught of Virginia Tech, taking a 2-0 decision in the consolation semifinals to earn his spot in the third-place bout.
No. 9/10 Zeke Moisey finished the tournament 4-2 after going 4-1 on the first day of action to qualify for the consolation round of eight. His run came to an end Saturday morning as he fell to Bucknell’s Paul Petrov, ranked No. 14 in the nation, in the second period.
“It was a tough loss for Zeke today,” said Henson. “We expect him to bounce back stronger than ever.”
The Mountaineers return home to host Lock Haven in a dual on Dec. 12. The Cradles for Cancer match is set for a 7 p.m. start at the WVU Coliseum.
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