Mountaineers Go 2-0 in League Play
By Daniel Whitehead
WVU Sports Information Office
January 22, 2011
CLARION, Pa. – Four victories by fall allowed the West Virginia wrestling team to build an early lead and earn a 39-4 victory over Clarion Saturday night at W.S. Tippin Gym.
With the win, WVU went 2-0 over the weekend trip with its win over Bloomsburg on Friday night and improved its record to 6-4 overall, 2-0 in the Eastern Wrestling League while the Golden Eagles fell to 3-3, 1-1 EWL.
“We had very good intensity tonight and a very competitive approach in every match,” says WVU coach Craig Turnbull. “I was very pleased with the effort all the way through the lineup. It was one of our most complete efforts from the 125-pound class through the heavyweights. We did a great job out of the blocks.”
Sophomore Shane Young grabbed a quick 6-0 lead for the Mountaineers as he pinned Clarion’s Thomas Gowing in 2:39 after earning an early takedown. Nathan Pennesi extended the lead to 9-0 with a 7-0 decision victory over Golden Eagle Devin Cook.
WVU freshman Michael Morales earned a victory by fall over Cameron Moran in 1:41 before redshirt senior Brandon Rader had a similar result, gaining a victory by fall in 6:23 to extend the Mountaineer lead to 21-0. The Golden Eagles cut the lead to 21-4 as No. 8 James Fleming picked up a 13-2 major decision win over Ryan Goodman.
“Getting three falls in those first four weights was crucial for us,” Turnbull says. “Donnie (Jones) also did a great job with his tough opponent.”
With just ten seconds remaining in the 165-pound matchup, WVU’s Donnie Jones earned a takedown to gain a 6-5 advantage over No. 29-ranked Bekzod Abdurakhmonov to grab the decision win to increase the score to 24-4.
WVU’s Alex Meade earned his first win as a Mountaineer by defeating Clarion’s Scott Joseph by a 2-1 sudden victory decision to increase the lead to 27-4 for the team.
At 184 pounds, WVU’s No. 18 Matt Ryan defeated Steven Cressley to build the lead up to 33-4 with a fall in 1:50. Senior Kyle Rooney beat his first ranked opponent of the year with a 9-7 decision over Clarion’s No. 30 Alex Thomas.
Philip Mandzik also picked up his second dual meet victory of the season with a 4-3 sudden decision win over Clarion’s Quintas McCorkle.
“Alex is working on his conditioning, but he hung in there and got that decision win for us,” Turnbull says. “It was also great to see Philip (Mandzik) get a win out there. All the way through it was a good night for us.”
The Mountaineers will compete next Saturday at Lock Haven with a start time of 7 p.m.
WVU (6-4, 2-0) 39, Clarion (3-3, 1-1) 4
125: No. 19 Shane Young (WVU)(So., 22-6) won by fall Thomas Gowing (Jr., 2-9), 2:39
133: No. 13 Nathan Pennesi (WVU)(r-Fr., 19-4) dec. Devin Cook (Fr., 7-9), 7-0
141: Michael Morales (WVU)(Fr., 13-7) won by fall Cameron Moran (Jr., 10-7), 1:41
149: No. 31 Brandon Rader (WVU)(r-Sr., 8-7) won by fall Anthony White (Fr., 16-8), 6:23
157: No. 8 James Fleming (Clarion)(So., 21-2) maj. dec. Ryan Goodman (r-Jr., 9-13), 2-13
165: Donnie Jones (WVU)(r-Sr., 12-3) dec. No. 29 Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Jr., 17-6)
174: Alex Meade (WVU)(r-So., 1-2) SV dec. Scott Joseph (Sr., 8-14), 2-1
184: No. 18 Matt Ryan (WVU)(r-Jr., 14-4) won by fall Steven Cressley (So., 11-11), 1:50
197: Kyle Rooney (WVU)(Sr., 7-7) dec. No. 30 Alex Thomas (So., 12-8), 9-7
HWT: Philip Mandzik (WVU)(Jr., 8-14) dec. Quintas McCorkle (Jr., 17-9), 4-3
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