West Virginia Wrestling

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Wheeling Jesuit University
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Jesuit Blanks OVU

December 6, 2015

WHEELING, W.Va. – In the 2015-16 home opener, Reyse Wallbrown registered an upset decision at 157 and helped No. 14 Wheeling Jesuit blank Ohio Valley, 44-0, on the wrestling mat Sunday afternoon.

Trailing 3-2 against Super Region I's No. 6-rated Nikoloz Varazashvili, Wallbrown lifted his opponent for a takedown with 43 seconds left in the bout and eventual 5-3 victory. The Cardinals garnered victories, including a fall by Dustin Warner (125) and a tech fall wins by Dominick Nania (149) and Terrance Fanning (197) and improved to a perfect 8-0 on the season.

"It was a nice way to end the dual season for the first semester. Having every guy get a victory, it is always good," said Cardinals head coach Sean Doyle.

The afternoon, though, had an even more special cause. The WJU wrestling program donated all proceeds from the gate, concessions and merchandise for Hope for Hines.

"It was a neat opportunity to do this for the Rotriga family and for Hines," added Doyle.

The Cardinals wrestlers made a big impression for their last time on the mat, before WJU's finals week. WJU registered its third shutout in program history and second of the year – it opened the season with a 56-0 victory over Mt. St. Joseph.

Leading 18-0 after four bouts, Wallbrown recorded a strong final minute of his match and registered the day's biggest upset. The sophomore from Indian Lake, Ohio, trailed 3-0 four minutes into the match and 3-1 at the end of the second period against Varazashvili. After he escaped with 1:20 left in the third, Wallbrown lifted the Fighting Scot wrestler and took him down with 43 seconds left. The Cardinals wrestler received a stall point for the 5-3 final.

"It was a great confidence builder for Reyse," pointed out the WJU head coach. "He needs these wins to keep building confidence heading into the second semester."

All-American sophomore Dustin Warner started the day off in crowd-raising style. The 125-pound grappler held a 5-3 lead when he took OVU's Anthony Tripke for a pin 1:06 left in the second period.

At 133, Nolan Whitely continued the strong WJU start. Off three takedowns and some back points, the sophomore had a 13-3 lead and finished with a 16-5 major decision over Levi Congleton.

Local Ohio Valley product, Damon Outward (Martins Ferry, Ohio) came from behind for his win over Maverick Meeks. Trailing 7-3 in the second period, the Cardinals sophomore took down Meeks for the second time in the match with 22 seconds for a 7-5 margin. Outward rode his momentum with a takedown with 1:47 in the third to tie the bout, 7-7, before he turned in two more back points. The 141-pounder added one final takedown with 38 seconds left for an 11-7 final.

Nania wasted no time against Ohio Valley's Sam Phillips. The 149-pound Cardinal took down Phillips 20 seconds in the match and added two quick combinations for a 10-0 advantage. Nania put two more near fall points to his credit, before he fired in for the match-ending combo and 16-1 tech fall in 2:25.

Following Wallbrown and back-to-back OVU forfeits, freshman Garrett Reinwald kept the Scots off the team scoreboard. Tied at 2-2 after two periods, the Cambridge Springs, Pa., native escaped to start the third period and took down Ben Willard with 1:20 to go, 5-2. After an opponent escape, Reinwald sealed his win with a single-leg takedown with 17 seconds left for the 7-3 final.

At 197, Fanning was almost as quick as Nania. The redshirt freshman turned a takedown of Tyler Koreski into a 6-0 lead and never let up. Fanning turned the six-point lead moments later to 12-0 and then 16-0 with four seconds left in the opening period and tech fall win.

Heavyweight Logan Bowman made it a perfect 8-0 winning WJU bouts. The Fairmont, W.Va., product escaped Dane Mills in the second period for a 1-0 lead. Bowman gave up a late escape for the tie, 1-1, but gained a 2-1 decision win with more than the minute riding time.

WJU has this week off, before it travels to the tough Midwest Classic on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 19-20, in Indianapolis.

No. 14 Wheeling Jesuit (8-0) 44, Ohio Valley (2-1) 0
125 – Dustin Warner (WJU) fall over Anthony Tripke (OVU), 3:55 – WJU 6-0
133 – Nolan Whitely (WJU) maj. dec. Levi Congleton (OVU), 16-5 – WJU 10-0
141 – Damon Outward (WJU) dec. Maverick Meeks (OVU), 11-7 – WJU 13-0
149 – Dominick Nania (WJU) tech fall Sam Phillips (OVU), 16-1 (2:25) – WJU 18-0
157 – Reyse Wallbrown (WJU) dec. Nikoloz Varazashvilli (OVU), 5-3 – WJU 21-0
165 – Peyton Geary (WJU) forfeit – WJU 27-0
174 – Clayton Ray (WJU) forfeit – WJU 33-0
184 – Garrett Reinwald (WJU) dec. Ben Willard (OVU), 7-3 – WJU 36-0
197 – Terrance Fanning (WJU) tech fall Tyler Koreski (OVU), 16-0 (2:56) – WJU 41-0
285 – Logan Bowman (WJU) dec. Dane Mills (OVU), 2-1 – WJU 44-0


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