Super Sendoff
By Tim Goodenow
WVU Sports Information Office

February 18, 2005

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Senior Greg Jones propelled the No. 21-ranked West Virginia University wrestling team to its third EWL dual meet title in four seasons with a 27-13 win over Cleveland State on Friday evening at the WVU Coliseum.

Senior Greg Jones trips up Cleveland State's Ron Howard on the way to posting a 17-2 technical fall victory Fridya night in his final home match.

West Virginia finished 4-1-1 (5-6-1 overall) in the EWL with its convincing 14-point victory and received some help from Edinboro who defeated Pitt, 19-17, who fell to 4-2 (8-7 overall).

"I felt Pitt was the next-best team behind us but evidently that's not the case," said West Virginia coach Craig Turnbull. "Fortunately we had two more starters in the lineup against Pitt."

The EWL dual meet championship is the sixth in school history.

"It's great for these guys to have such a depleted lineup and still find a way to get the job done within the league," Turnbull said.

Two-time NCAA champion Jones gave WVU a 22-10 lead with his technical fall at 184 pounds. Jones improved to 17-0 on the season while capturing the EWL points champion award for his amazing 33 dual meet points in six league contests.

Jones, the No. 1 ranked 184-pounder in the country, gave the home crowd of 820 an impressive final showing with 17-2 win over Cleveland State’s Ron Howard. Jones raced out to a 6-2 lead on three takedowns in the opening three minutes. The Slickville, Pa., native held Howard scoreless in the final two periods and tallied back points with eight seconds remaining for the tech fall.

Freshman Jared Villers won his fifth straight match to seal the win for the Mountaineers. Villers trailed early in the opening period at 5-0 before erupting for 12 unanswered points on a takedown and four near-falls. He added eight back points in the final stanza and was awarded a point for stalling to post a 22-7 technical fall at 6:46.

The evening’s first bout took place at 125 pounds between Shawn Cordell and the Vikings' Joe Wornoff. After a scoreless opening period, Cordell escaped to begin the second period and followed with a takedown for a 3-0 lead. Freshman Cordell added riding time in the final session for the 4-1 decision.

Cleveland State (4-15, 2-4 EWL) received its first points with a victory at 133 pounds from David Armstrong. Leading 2-1 to begin the second period, Armstrong and WVU’s Codie Gustines traded reversals to make it 4-3. Armstrong collected a second takedown for the 7-3 decision.

WVU took a 9-3 advantage from a forfeit at 141 pounds. Mountaineer Vince Gioiella picked up the victory to improve to 11-8 on the season.

Ryan Hurley narrowed the deficit to 9-7 with a 15-5 major decision over WVU’s Teddy Adams. Hurley led 10-3 after two periods before adding riding time and a pair of takedowns in the final two minutes.

West Virginia won the next two bouts at 157 and 165 pounds as Matt Lebe finished the EWL regular season undefeated with a 6-0 record.

Lebe posted his team-leading 29th victory with a solid 8-4 decision over CSU’s Marcus Effner. WVU’s 157-pounder led 2-0 on the bout's first takedown at the edge of the mat in the first period. Lebe initiated nearly all the action and scored two more takedowns for the decision.

Sophomore Zac Fryling put WVU up 17-7 with a dominant performance at 165 pounds. Fryling bolted out to an 11-0 lead just one minute into the bout against David Gilkey. Fryling added a second takedown and two near falls to end the match in 3 minutes with a 19-2 tech fall.

Cleveland State won two more bouts at 174 pounds and heavyweight to get its 13 team points.

West Virginia returns to action at the 2005 EWL Wrestling Championships on March 6-7. Clarion will host the NCAA-qualifying tournament, which the Mountaineers won a season ago.

Tickets for the EWL Championships can be purchased by calling the WVU ticket office at 1-800-WVU-GAME. The discounted presale tickets will be on sale at WVU until Feb. 28.

No. 21 West Virginia 27 (5-6-1, 4-1-1 EWL)
Cleveland State 13 (4-15, 2-4 EWL)
125: Shawn Cordell (WVU) DEC Joe Wornoff (CSU), 4-1
133: David Armstrong (CSU) DEC Codie Gustines (WVU), 7-3
141: Vince Gioiella (WVU) FORFEIT
149: Ryan Hurley (CSU) MAJOR Teddy Adams (WVU), 15-5
157: #7 Matt Lebe (WVU) DEC Marcus Effner (CSU), 8-4
165: Zac Fryling (WVU) TECH (5pt) David Gilkey (CSU), 19-2 3:00
174: Matt Klinger (CSU) DEC Eric Mullen (WVU), 6-5
184: #1 Greg Jones (WVU) TECH (5pt) Ron Howard (CSU), 17-2 7:00
197: Jared Villers (WVU) TECH (5pt) Joe Phillips (CSU), 23-7 6:46
285: Joe Dennis (CSU) DEC Matt Holsopple (WVU), 9-3

Official: Joe Tauber
Attendance: 820



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