Mountaineers Honor Seniors With Shutout Victory
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (February 20, 2009) – Appropriately enough, the West Virginia University wrestling team honored its four seniors, Jared Garvin, David Jauregui, Kurt Brenner and Dustin Rogers, on ‘Senior Night’ with a 41-0 shutout victory over Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) foe Cleveland State on Friday night at the WVU Coliseum. With the win, the Mountaineers improve to 8-4-1 overall and remain perfect in league action, now with a 4-0-1 record, while the Vikings drop to 4-13, 0-6, respectively.
The most anticipated match of the night took place at heavyweight between Rogers, ranked No. 11 nationally, and Cleveland State’s Rashard Goff, ranked No. 20. After the two traded numerous shots and quite a bit of hand fighting, Rogers jumped on the scoreboard first with an escape less than 10 seconds into the second period. Moments later, the Corning, Calif., native registered two more points with a takedown to go ahead, 3-0. Goff was only able to muster an escape in the third point and Rogers took the 4-1 decision after garnering 1:23 in riding time.
Rogers has now won nine consecutive matches and holds a 15-4 overall record, including a 5-0 mark in EWL action.
"We've got four nationally ranked heavyweights in our league and I think all of them were in the third round of nationals last year,” Coach Craig Turnbull said. “This match is really important in Dustin's preparation that he finds a way to win these. I think the team recognized too. It's a good team. They all seem to care about each other. They want each other to do well."
WVU began the match with an easy six points after fifth-year senior Kyle Turnbull recorded a win by forfeit at 125 pounds.
Redshirt freshman Grant Lowther, competing in only his second dual meet, did not show an ounce of inexperience when he faced Cleveland State’s Josh Palivoda at 133 pounds. The Washington, Pa., native jumped out to a quick 7-1 lead in the opening session after recording a pair of takedowns and three near fall points. After registering another takedown in the second period, Lowther seemed determined to earn more points. Electing neutral, Lowther notched an early takedown and following Palivoda’s reversal, went on to score seven more points (an escape followed by three takedowns). By tacking on 2:09 in riding time, Lowther took a 19-6 major decision to up WVU’s lead to 10-0.
Compiling another impressive match, freshman Colin Johnston recorded his second straight major decision. Despite Johnston and Lawrence Cavello ending the first period scoreless, Johnston found his zone in the second period, recording an escape and then a takedown, followed by two near fall points. The Eighty Four, Pa., resident would nearly mirror his second period performance in the third, scoring a takedown and two more near fall points. With the 1:48 in riding time, Johnston tallied a 10-1 victory as WVU went ahead 14-0.
After Jauregui, ranked No. 20 at 149 pounds, recorded a 7-1 decision and redshirt freshman Ryan Goodman notched an 8-2 decision at 157 pounds to put WVU up 20-0, redshirt junior Donnie Jones experienced a hard-fought match against Rob Michaels. Jones looked flawless in the opening session scoring at-will (three takedowns and a two-point near fall) and was up 8-3 going into the second period. Michaels, however, scored three points in the second to close the gap at 8-5. Jones, a Slickville, Pa., native, responded with a pair of takedowns in the final period to earn his eighth-straight victory, a 12-8 decision.
Brenner, ranked No. 11 nationally, flexed his muscle and experience over Nate Kmetz. After recording two-straight takedowns in the first period, Brenner opened the flood gates with an escape and three takedowns in the second period before pinning Kmetz at the 4:39 mark. Brenner is 15-4 this season and holds a 5-0 mark in league action.
The shutout marks the second time this season the Mountaineers have blanked an opponent (57-0 victory at Duquesne on Jan. 23).
WVU returns to action at home with a league match against No. 13-ranked Edinboro on Sunday. The final regular-season match is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start at the WVU Coliseum.
West Virginia 41 Cleveland State 0
125: Kyle Turnbull (WVU), Wins by forfeit
133: Grant Lowther (WVU) MAJOR Josh Palivoda (CSU), 19-6
141: Colin Johnston (WVU) MAJOR Lawrence Cavello (CSU), 10-1
149: #20 David Jauregui (WVU) DEC Antonio Nicholson (CSU), 7-1
157: Ryan Goodman (WVU) DEC Corey Carlo (CSU), 8-2
165: Donnie Jones (WVU) DEC Rob Michaels (CSU), 12-8
174: #11 Kurt Brenner (WVU) FALL Nate Kmetz (CSU), 4:39
184: Lance Bryson (WVU) DEC JT Miller (CSU), 7-5
197: Matt Ryan (WVU), Wins by forfeit
285: #11 Dustin Rogers (WVU) DEC #20 Rashard Goff (CSU), 4-1
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