MORGANTOWN, W.Va. –
Redshirt sophomore
Matthew Schmitt went 5-0 in his pool to claim his first tournament win of his career at 133 pounds, as the West Virginia University wrestling team completed the 2018 Hokie Open in Roanoke, Virginia, with 10 top-five finishes on Sunday.
Redshirt junior
Zachary Moore (157) and sophomore
Nick Kiussis (165) also earned third-place finishes in their respective weight classes in the open division, while redshirt junior
David Smith placed fifth in the heavyweight bracket.
In the freshman/sophomore division, WVU placed six Mountaineers on the podium, as redshirt freshman
Noah Adams went 4-0 to capture the 197-pound title. Redshirt freshman
KJ Fenstermacher (125) and freshman
Josh Ramirez (174) also collected third-place finishes in their respective weight classes, while sophomore
Hunter DeLong placed fourth at 184 pounds. Additionally, redshirt freshmen
Joey Thomas and
Sean Mullican each claimed a fifth-place finish in the 125-pound and 285-pound pool, respectively.
"It was a great day," first-year coach
Tim Flynn said. "We needed guys to get a lot of bouts, and that is exactly what we got. Matt wrestled well to earn himself a first-place finish. Everyone competed hard today, and that was what we wanted."
Schmitt, who is ranked as high as No. 18 by The Open Mat, started the day with a win by technical fall over Tennessee-Chattanooga's Colton Landers. The Platte City, Missouri, native then picked up a 16-6 major decision over Sam Book of Virginia to advance to the quarterfinal round of competition. Schmitt later used a pair of decisions over Indiana's Garrett Pepple and North Carolina's Zach Sherman, earning himself a spot in the finals. Schmitt finished the day with a 13-3 major decision over Appalachian State's Codi Russell, his second of the event and third of the year, to claim first place overall in the 133-pound open division.
Moore cruised through the 157-pound open division, notching a tech. fall and a pair of pins before dropping a 13-4 major decision to No. 2 Hayden Hidlay of NC State in the semifinals. The Oklahoma City native bounced back in the third-place match, though, picking up an 11-4 decision over Indiana's Jake Danishek for his first third-place tournament finish of his career.
Kiussis earned a 4-1 mark in the 165-pound open division, with his lone loss coming against No. 12 Mekhi Lewis of Virginia Tech in the semifinals. The Brunswick, Ohio, native notched a pair of pins on the day, most notably pinning George Mason's Colston Diblasi in 1:02 to claim a third-place finish in his respective weight class.
At 285 pounds, Smith dropped a 4-1 decision to Virginia Tech's John Borst in the second round of competition. The Charleston, West Virginia, native capped the day with a trio of pins to finish fifth overall in his respective pool. Of note, Smith now has a team-leading four pins on the year.
Adams, a native of Coal City, West Virginia, collected three major decisions before defeating NC State's Anthony Wuest in a 10-3 decision for first place in the 197-pound freshman/sophomore division.
Additionally, Fenstermacher topped Virginia Tech's Kyle Norstrem in a 7-5 decision for third place in the 125-pound bracket, while Ramirez pinned American's Colin Shannon in under two minutes for third place in the 174-pound freshman/sophomore division.
At 184 pounds, DeLong earned a 2-2 mark on the day, picking up wins over Houston Tywater of The Citadel and D'Angelo Dewitt of Virginia for fourth place.
Thomas also notched an 11-6 decision over Virginia's Benyamin Kamali for fifth place in the 125-pound pool, while Mullican earned a 4-1 mark to finish fifth in the heavyweight division.
Of note, six other Mountaineers competed in a Gold and Blue singlet at the Hokie Open on Sunday.
Looking ahead, West Virginia will head to its final open tournament of the season, traveling to Troy, New York, for the 2018 Journeymen Collegiate Classic on Sunday, Nov. 11. It will mark the first time since 2016 that WVU will compete at the event.
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