Comeback Victory
January 25, 2004
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – West Virginia won six matches in pulling out a 25-15, dual meet win over Clarion on Sunday afternoon in the WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia's Greg Jones earned a 19-4, techical fall victory over Clarion's Marcus Surin. (All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks)
The 17th-ranked Mountaineers (4-4, 2-0) dropped three of the first four bouts to the Golden Eagles (2-6, 0-3) to trail 12-4. However, West Virginia ended strong in taking the final three matches to post a ten-point win and extend their Eastern Wrestling League winning streak to 16 straight.
“I like how our team responded down the stretch,” says WVU head coach Craig Turnbull. “It made for a much more interesting dual meet than I would have liked to have seen though.”
Sophomore Seth Lisa scored WVU’s first win at 133-pounds over CU’s Doug Surra. Lisa trailed 2-1 before taking over with a strong second period. The Northampton, Pa., native, scored a near fall and received a point for Surra stalling to take a 5-2 lead after two periods. Lisa finished the match off with a takedown at the buzzer to secure at 12-3 major decision victory.
Lebe notched win number 20 on the year in turning the momentum into WVU’s favor. The junior turned in a solid 6-3 decision over Chris Horning at 157-pounds. The Jeanette, Pa., native, tallied three takedowns in his return and added three team points as WVU trailed 12-7.
“Starting at the 157-pound weight class, we had very little room for mistakes,” admits Turnbull. “The back half of the lineup came up big and we escaped with a league win.”
In perhaps the most even match of the day, Zac Fryling won a close 3-1 decision against Jeremy Reitz. Fryling, a true freshman, scored the only takedown of the match in the final ten seconds of the second period. The Lansdale, Pa., native, opened the final period with an escape to seal the 3-1 win.
“Zac’s win was very critical for our team today,” says Turnbull. “He wrestled against a senior (Jeremy Reitz) who has twenty-plus wins and the dual meet was basically on the line. Zac tired their guy down and scored a huge takedown at the end. He recognized that if he didn’t win, we were in trouble. He rose to the occasion and it was an impressive win by Zac.”
NCAA champion Greg Jones turned in another stellar performance in scoring a technical fall victory over Marcus Surin. The junior grappler scored six takedowns and two near falls in taking the 19-4 win and even the team score at 15-15. Jones remains unbeaten with a record of 13-0.
Matt Daddino won his sixth major decision of the year with a 12-3 triumph over Kyle Cathcart. The junior Mountaineer was aggressive from the start in taking an early 4-1 lead after one period. The Franklin Square, N.Y., native, would score two more takedowns and an escape in earning a 12-3 major decision.
With the team score at 19-15 in favor of West Virginia, sophomore Lanfer Simpson ended Clarion’s hopes with a fall over Charlie Cilinski in less than a minute into the heavyweight match. The Waynesburg, Pa., native, posted his second fall in five career matches for WVU.
“You have to give Lanfer some credit,” says Turnbull of his young heavyweight. “He has been in two matches where the outcome is on his shoulders. With so few matches under his belt, he looked very poised out there and has come through in the clutch.”
Joe Clarke suffered a high ankle sprain in the opening period at 141-pounds. The senior was forced to take an injury default defeat to Clarion’s Frank Edgar. The loss snapped Clarke’s six-match win streak.
The Mountaineers return to the mat on Thursday, Feb. 6, to face EWL rival Pitt, at 8 p.m., at the WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia 25 (4-4, 2-0 EWL)
Clarion 15 (2-6, 0-3 EWL)
125: Peter Derstine (CU) Dec Troy Forte (WVU) 7-1
133: Seth Lisa (WVU) Major Doug Surra (CU) 12-3
141: Frank Edgar (CU) Ind Def #10 Joe Clarke (WVU) 1:42
149: T.J. McCance (CU) Dec Mike Torriero (WVU) 12-6
157: #7 Matt Lebe (WVU) Dec Chris Horning (CU) 6-3
165: Zac Fryling (WVU) Dec Jeremy Reitz (CU) 3-1
174: Aaron Wright (CU) Dec Douglas Studenic (WVU) 6-4
184: #1 Greg Jones (WVU) Tech Fall Marcus Surin (CU) 19-4
197: #18 Matt Daddino (WVU) Major Kyle Cathcart (CU) 12-3
285: Lanfer Simpson (WVU) Fall Charlie Cilinski (CU) 0:56
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