No. 7 Wrestling Finishes Fifth at National Duals
January 4-5, 2019
Kentucky Expo Center,
Louisville, KY
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 6) - The No. 7 Wheeling Jesuit University wrestling team won four duals on its way to a fifth place finish at the National Wresting Coaches Association (NWCA) National Duals Friday and Saturday inside the Kentucky Expo Center.
"So happy for this group of men the last 10 days," said Head Coach Danny Irwin. "We had eight days to get ready for the event coming off of winter break and they were all in on the training! It showed as we turned a lot of heads this weekend."
The Cardinals opened the day with a convincing 27-12 victory over No. 8 Lindenwood. Lindenwood was tabbed as the sixth-seed in the bracket and was favored against the unseeded Wheeling Jesuit squad. The Cardinals walked away with bonus points in three matches thanks to falls and won seven of the 10 match ups.
Wheeling Jesuit had to quickly turn its attention to No. 3 Notre Dame in the second round in the winner's bracket, but the Falcons piled up seven decisions to claim a 21-9 win that sent the Cardinals to the consolation bracket.
WJU staved off elimination in its third dual of the day with a 22-20 win over No. 18 Indianapolis to advance to Saturday's competition.
"We were disappointed with the Notre Dame result," Irwin said "That match could have gone our way, but the team let it fuel them and responded well by beating UIndy again to guarantee placement. Coming into Saturday I told the team this was a crucial moment for our program: were we going to fight & finish fifth or think about how banged up we were and just see what happens! Teams that fight on the second day like we did are going to be in the hunt come March!"
The Cardinals kept things rolling on Saturday with a pair of dual wins over No. 13 Central Oklahoma and a second victory against Lindenwood to secure fifth place at the event.
Irwin had glowing remarks for sophomore Connor Craig (Cincinnati, Ohio/Elder), who won all five of his matches with a pair of falls and a technical fall to garner the team bonus points.
"He did so much this weekend on the mat for the team including a big win over a higher ranked opponent," Irwin said. "He is someone that is impacting our program at a even higher level by his daily approach to his training. It is paying off for him & the team which makes it that much more enjoyable!"
"This past weekend is something both the team and myself can look back on and realize what's needed in order to reach our goals in March," Craig said afterwards. "Beating some very tough kids here makes me trust more in my training and preparation."
Sophomore Tyler Warner (Dennison, Ohio/Claymont) went 4-1 on the weekend and his performance did not go unnoticed by his coach.
"He just stepped up his game," added Irwin. "From the opening whistle to the time he got his hand raised for the second time vs Lindenwood. He was offensive minded which is opening up a whole new level to his wrestling. He was already one of the best guys in the nation, now I think he will separate himself from the competition!"
Irwin received huge contributions from everywhere on his roster, including from junior Brandon Tenney (Buckhannon, W.Va./Buckhannon-Upshur) at 141. Tenney notched a pair of decisions at to help the team score wins over UIndy and Central Oklahoma.
"He is a quiet person who hasn't been in the spotlight for our program but has been and will continue to be a huge part of our success," Irwin said. "He stepped up twice for us and really helped propel us to dual wins with how much toughness he competed with. So proud of him and everyone in our program, this was a great moment that we will remember, but are excited to build off of towards Nationals!"
Irwin was also pleased with how his wrestlers at 197 performed at the high-profile event. The duo of Dalton Hoover (Mingo Junction, Ohio/Martins Ferry) and Chase Logan (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) combined to go 3-2 for the Cardinals, including a 5-3 decision for Hoover over Central Oklahoma's Colton Looper who was ranked No. 4 individually.
"Huge weekend for our team at this weight class," Irwin noted. "We had been lacking production here up to this point. Not anymore as both Hoover & Logan beat nationally ranked opponents. They split time but made the most of their opportunities and did an excellent job supporting one another and ultimately the team!"
"I feel that I wrestled well this weekend and went out on the mat relaxed and had more confidence," Hoover remarked. "I honestly had no idea going out there that he was ranked No. 4. I just treated it like any other match and wrestled hard for the entire seven minutes."
The Cardinals will return to the mat next week when they travel to Collegeville, Pennsylvania for the Will Abele Open hosted by Ursinus College on Saturday, January 12 at 9 a.m.
Round 1 - No. 7 Wheeling Jesuit 27, No. 8 Lindenwood 12
125
Carlos Jacquez (Lindenwood) over Cole Laya (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 3-1
133
Tyler Warner (Wheeling Jesuit) over Tanner Hitchcock (Lindenwood) Dec 3-1
141
Jared Donahue (Wheeling Jesuit) over Tyler Wicken (Lindenwood) Fall 0:40
149
Gavin Londoff (Lindenwood) over Christian Rivera (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 5-1
157
Nate Trepanier (Lindenwood) over Dylan Taylor (Wheeling Jesuit) Fall 1:17
165
Keegan Driscoll (Wheeling Jesuit) over Kyle Jolas (Lindenwood) Dec 4-3
174
Connor Craig (Wheeling Jesuit) over Sam Pennington (Lindenwood) Fall 1:24
184
Aidan Pasiuk (Wheeling Jesuit) over Colton Clingenpeel (Lindenwood) Dec 5-2
197
Dalton Hoover (Wheeling Jesuit) over Jared McKindley (Lindenwood) Dec 5-2
285
Terrance Fanning (Wheeling Jesuit) over Courvoisier Morrow (Lindenwood) Dec 8-1
Round 2 (Winner's Bracket) - No. 3 Notre Dame (Ohio) 21, No. 7 Wheeling Jesuit 9
125
Cole Laya (Wheeling Jesuit) over Robert Campos (Notre Dame College) Maj 11-1
133
Hunter Bray (Notre Dame College) over Tyler Warner (Wheeling Jesuit) SV-1 3-2
141
Kelen McKenna (Notre Dame College) over Jared Donahue (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 5-3
149
Taylor Misuna (Notre Dame College) over Tyler Alberts (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 6-1
157
Zach Kelly (Notre Dame College) over Dylan Taylor (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 5-3
165
Jashon Hubbard (Notre Dame College) over Keegan Driscoll (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 10-5
174
Connor Craig (Wheeling Jesuit) over Cornell Beachem (Notre Dame College) Dec 1-0
184
Aidan Pasiuk (Wheeling Jesuit) over Logan Hall (Notre Dame College) Dec 5-2
197
Jared Campbell (Notre Dame College) over Chase Logan (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 4-0
285
Kameron Teacher (Notre Dame College) over Devan Uzelak (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 6-0
Round 3 (Consolation Bracket) - No. 7 Wheeling Jesuit 22, No. 18 Indianapolis 20
125
Cole Laya (Wheeling Jesuit) over D.J. Smith (Indianapolis) Maj 11-1
133
Tyler Warner (Wheeling Jesuit) over Ana Abduljelil (Indianapolis) Dec 2-0
141
Brandon Tenney (Wheeling Jesuit) over Angelo Robles (Indianapolis) Dec 3-2
149
Christian Rivera (Wheeling Jesuit) over Jacob Henley (Indianapolis) Dec 10-4
157
Heath Lange (Indianapolis) over Dylan Taylor (Wheeling Jesuit) Fall 3:20
165
Shelden Struble (Indianapolis) over Keegan Driscoll (Wheeling Jesuit) Fall 1:43
174
Connor Craig (Wheeling Jesuit) over Zach Fry (Indianapolis) Dec 6-4
184
Aidan Pasiuk (Wheeling Jesuit) over Jack Michel (Indianapolis) Fall 4:05
197
Brian Wagner (Indianapolis) over Dalton Hoover (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 6-1
285
Dylan Faulkenberg (Indianapolis) over Devan Uzelak (Wheeling Jesuit) TF 16-0
Round 4 (Consolation Bracket) - No. 7 Wheeling Jesuit 27, No. 13 Central Oklahoma 16
125
Tanner Cole (Central Oklahoma) over Cole Laya (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 11-7
133
Tyler Warner (Wheeling Jesuit) over Rio Zamora (Central Oklahoma) Maj 11-1
141
Brandon Tenney (Wheeling Jesuit) over Will Steltzlen (Central Oklahoma) Dec 5-3
149
Brik Filippo (Central Oklahoma) over Christian Rivera (Wheeling Jesuit) Fall 4:05
157
Dylan Taylor (Wheeling Jesuit) over Dayton Garrett (Central Oklahoma) Fall 1:40
165
Wyatt Jordan (Central Oklahoma) over Keegan Driscoll (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 5-2
174
Connor Craig (Wheeling Jesuit) over Devin Crawl (Central Oklahoma) TF 16-0
184
Heath Gray (Central Oklahoma) over Aidan Pasiuk (Wheeling Jesuit) Maj 17-4
197
Dalton Hoover (Wheeling Jesuit) over Colton Looper (Central Oklahoma) Dec 5-3
285
Terrance Fanning (Wheeling Jesuit) over Blake Berryhill (Central Oklahoma) Fall 2:14
Round 5 (Fifth Place Dual) - No. 7 Wheeling Jesuit 32, No. 8 Lindenwood 13
125
Isaac Jacquez (Lindenwood) over Frankie Bonura (Wheeling Jesuit) Dec 5-0
133
Tyler Warner (Wheeling Jesuit) over Tanner Hitchcock (Lindenwood) Maj 9-1
141
Jared Donahue (Wheeling Jesuit) over Tyler Wicken (Lindenwood) Fall 0:29
149
Tyler Alberts (Wheeling Jesuit) over Unknown (Unattached) Forf
157
Nate Trepanier (Lindenwood) over Dylan Taylor (Wheeling Jesuit) Fall 2:19
165
Kyle Jolas (Lindenwood) over Christian Rivera (Wheeling Jesuit) Maj 10-2
174
Connor Craig (Wheeling Jesuit) over Jorge Guerrero (Lindenwood) Fall 2:42
184
Aidan Pasiuk (Wheeling Jesuit) over Miles Nuessle (Lindenwood) Dec 15-11
197
Chase Logan (Wheeling Jesuit) over Jared McKindley (Lindenwood) Dec 5-1
285
Terrance Fanning (Wheeling Jesuit) over Tage McNutt (Lindenwood) Maj 12-2
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