Mountaineers Place Three at Vegas
By Steve Stone, WVU Sports Information Office
December 1, 2007
LAS VEGAS, NEV – The West Virginia University wrestling team placed three grapplers at the conclusion of the 26th annual Cliff Keen Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 1, at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
Dustin Rogers finished in second place in the heavyweight division after losing to Ohio State’s J.D. Bergman by injury default. Rogers experienced soreness in his shoulder following Friday night’s matches.
Jared Villers (197) finished fourth in his respective weight division. Villers competed against Daren Burns of North Carolina Greensboro for third place but was pinned in 1:55.
Zac Fryling (157) received an eighth place finish despite being forced to miss the rest of the tournament following his win today.
WVU finished in 12th place with 55.5 points out of the 50 competing schools.
The Mountaineers improved in their return to Las Vegas after placing only one wrestler last season. WVU also was without two-time All-American Brandon Rader and 125-pounder Kyle Turnbull, both out with injuries.
WVU will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 2, as they travel to Cal State Fullerton for a dual meet at 5 p.m. PST. On Thursday, Jan. 3, they will also head to Cal Poly for a dual meet against the Mustangs at 1 p.m. PST.
Team Summary
125 Mark Anderson: 5-2 decision over Nick Murray of Virginia Tech, but was eliminated after falling in his next two bouts.
149 David Jaurequi: 9-2 decision over Matt Pridgeon of Dickinson State in the second round; Jauregui decisioned Navy’s Bryce Saddoris, 7-4, in round three until falling to No. 2 seed J.P. O’Connor of Harvard in an 8-3 decision.
Lost to Old Dominion’s Kylan Baxter in a close 4-3 decision to garner his second loss in the double-elimination tournament.
157 Zac Fryling: major decision over Kyle Dobbs of California Davis, 14-6; defeated No. 10 Jake Frerichs of Ohio in a 5-4 decision in third round action; fell in the quarterfinals losing to No. 2 Michael Poeta of Illinois in an 11-4 decision. Defeated Jonny Bonilla-Bow of Hofstra in a 12-8 decision. However, a concussion and a shoulder injury forced Fryling out of the rest of the tournament with an injury default.
165 Donnie Jones: lost first match; 14-4 major decision over Devan Lewis of Northern Colorado in the consolation bracket;
174 Chance Litton: defeated No. 8 seed Auby Geving of Columbia in a 2-0 decision. In the second round he decisioned Zac Cornett from Colorado School of Mines, 9-3; Defeated No. 9 James Williamson of Missouri 3-1 decision; Lost to No. 1 Keith Gavin of Pitt in an 8-2 decision; Lost to Tyler Berhacci of California Davis in a 5-1 decision.
184 Kurt Brenner: defeated Jake Taovs of Dickinson State in the second round with a 7-2 decision; eliminated from the tournament after losing in his final two matches.
197 Jared Villers: 17-3 major decision over Purdue’s Logan Brown; In the third round Villers decisioned Ohio State’s John Weakly, 9-5, in the 197-pound bout. In the quarterfinals Villers won a competitive match against Michigan’s Anthony Biondo, taking a 7-5 decision to move into the semifinals. Defeated by No. 2 Dallas Herbst of Wisconsin, 13-0. Villers then earned a 7-3 decision over Edinboro’s Pat Bradshaw in the consolation rounds to advance to the third place match.
Heavweight Dustin Rogers: 16-4 major decision in the second round against Rick Alcala of California Davis; pin at 4:53 against Brandon Rupp of Western Wyoming in the third round of the heavyweight bout. Rogers followed with an 8-2 decision against North Carolina’s Justin Dobies to earn a berth in semifinal action. Rogers won by forfeit in the semifinals as No. 1 seed Tervel Diagnev of Nebraska Kearney could not participate due to injury. Lost to Ohio State’s J.D. Bergman by injury default in the Finals.
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