Moisey, Morales Advance at NCAAs
March 19, 2015 04:16 PM | General
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| Freshman Zeke Moisey won a major decision over a seeded opponent to advance to the second round in his first NCAA Championships. |
| Photo courtesy of All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks |
ST. LOUIS – Zeke Moisey and Michael Morales won their initial bouts to advance to the second round of the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Scottrade Center in St. Louis on Thursday afternoon.
Morales and Moisey become the first Mountaineers to advance to the second round since 2012, when Lance Bryson (174) and Brandon Williamson (HWT) earned first-round wins.
“We started the day out strong with some good wins and some tough losses at the end in the upper weights,” said WVU coach Sammie Henson. “You have to want to battle in this tournament. You have to want to take the wins from your opponent, not just survive. We need to come out and make it happen tonight.”
Moisey started the tournament off on a high note for the Mountaineers at 125 pounds, taking a 14-6 major decision from No. 15 seed Chasen Tolbert of Utah Valley to advance to the second round Thursday evening, where he will face No. 2 seed Nahshon Garrett of Cornell. The two previously squared off at the Northeast Duals in November, with Garrett winning a 19-8 major decision.
Morales, who entered the tournament as the No. 16 see, used an 8-4 decision over Michigan’s George Fisher to move to the second round. He will face No. 1 seed and defending national champion Logan Stieber of Ohio State.
With four wrestlers in action, the Mountaineers went 2-2 in the first round. Bubba Scheffel dropped a 14-4 major decision to No. 2 seed Max Thomusseit of Pittsburgh, while Jake A. Smith lost a 3-1 decision to No. 15 seed Aaron Studebaker of Nebraska. The two will compete in Thursday evening’s wrestlebacks.
Moisey, who had previously defeated Tolbert at the Cliff Keen Invitational in December, scored a takedown a minute into the first period and added a pair of nearfall points to take a 4-0 lead. Tolbert escaped with a minute to go in the first, but Moisey countered with escape and two more back points before taking an 8-2 lead to close the first. With Tolbert on bottom, Moisey started the second period off with a trio of nearfall points to make it an 11-2 lead before Tolbert escaped and registered his first takedown. Moisey escaped midway through the period and quickly sent Tolbert to the mat for two, leading 14-3 to start the third. Starting on bottom, Moisey was unable to escape, giving Tolbert the point for riding time, but took the 14-6 major to advance.
The first WVU wrestler to earn a seed since 2009, Morales yielded a takedown to Fisher to trail 2-0 in the first minute of action. However, he escaped with 1:39 to go and countered with a takedown of his own for a 3-2 advantage in the closing seconds of the first. Starting on bottom, he escaped less than 15 seconds into the second period to push his lead to 5-2 before adding another takedown to make it 6-2. Fisher escaped, putting the score at 5-3 after five minutes of action. Fisher registered an escape to start the third, making it a one-point match at 5-4. However, Morales added a takedown with three seconds remaining, and tacked on a point for riding time, in earning the 8-4 decision.
Scheffel entered the day with the toughest match up, facing No. 2 seed Thomusseit. Thomusseit took a 2-0 lead on a takedown less than a minute in, though Scheffel escaped to trail 2-1. Thomusseit added another takedown with: 55 remaining in the first, ending the period with a 4-1 advantage. Starting on bottom, Scheffel escaped early in the second looking to make up ground with a 4-2 deficit. However, Thomusseit countered with a pair of takedowns in the second, with Scheffel adding another escape to put the score at 8-3 in favor of Thomusseit at the end of the period. Scheffel started on top in the third, but Thomusseit registered the escape and a takedown midway through the period. Scheffel got a point for the escape, but Thomusseit recorded another takedown and adding the point for riding time in taking the major decision.
Smith and Studebaker wrestled a scoreless first period, with Smith deferring and Studebaker choosing bottom in to start the second. Studebaker registered and escape midway through the period, taking a 1-0 lead thought neither wrestler scored an offensive point in the second. Smith started on bottom in the third, escaping early on to tie the score 1-1. Studebacker scored the first takedown of the bout with 1:20 to go, riding Smith out to take the 3-1 decision.
The second round of the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships will begin at 7 p.m. ET Thursday evening.
125 pounds
First round: Zeke Moisey (WVU) major dec. No. 15 Chasen Tolbert (UVU), 14-6
141 pounds
No. 16 Michael Morales (WVU) dec. George Fisher (Michigan), 8-4
184 pounds
No. 2 Max Thomusseit (Pitt) major dec. Bubba Scheffel (WVU), 14-4
197 pounds
No. 15 Aaron Studebaker (Nebraska) dec. Jake A. Smith (WVU), 3-1
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