Second-Place Finish in Conference

By Daniel Whitehead
WVU Sports Information Department

March 06, 2011

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Five Mountaineers qualified for the NCAA Championships as the team earned a second-place mark with 116.5 points at the 2011 Eastern Wrestling League Championships on Sunday night in Bloomsburg, Pa.

Although no WVU individuals won the championship for their respective weight classes, the team earned five second-place finishes at the tournament, three third-place finishes and two fifth-place marks in the league tourney.

“It was a successful tournament overall to come in second place, but we really struggled in the championship matches,” says WVU coach Craig Turnbull. “I thought the guys worked hard and competed, but things didn’t work out quite as we planned.

Pitt won their first ever EWL Tournament championship with 132.5 points followed by WVU. Bloomsburg and Clarion followed the Mountaineers with 102.5 and 96.5 points, respectively.

At 125 pounds, WVU’s No. 23 Shane Young fell to rival Pitt’s No. 28 Anthony Zanetta by decision, 3-0, as Young earned second place for the weight class. In the match, Zanetta had a takedown in the final period to secure the win. With a second-place finish in conference, Young qualified for a spot at the NCAA Championships.

Redshirt freshman No. 17 Nathan Pennesi also earned second place as he fell to Edinboro’s No. 15 Eric Morrill in overtime by a 3-1 decision. Locked up at 1-1 after three pounds, Morrill earned a takedown in the first overtime to get the win. Pennesi earned an automatic NCAA tournament entrance with the finish.

In a third-place match, freshman Michael Morales defeated Bloomsburg’s Derek Shingara by a 4-1 decision. Morales had a takedown and escape in the second period along with 1:19 of riding time to provide the team additional points in the tournament.

Pitt’s Dane Johnson was able to keep momentum from a win over Edinboro’s No. 15 Torsten Gillespie in the second round to defeat WVU’s No. 31 Brandon Rader by a 3-1 decision. Johnson earned a takedown with just seconds remaining in the bout to earn the upset. Rader had an escape in the third period and came in second place for the 149-pound class.

Redshirt junior Ryan Goodman came in fifth place for the 157-pound class following an 8-6 decision over Cleveland State’s Matt Donohoe. Goodman had three takedowns in the match and an escape in the win.

At 165 pounds, redshirt senior No. 20 Donnie Jones came in second place as well, falling to Pitt’s No. 21 Ethan Headlee by a 6-0 decision. Headlee had a takedown and had two near-fall points for the Pitt win.

Rader and Jones will still earn NCAA entrances with their second-place marks.

WVU’s Alex Meade came in second place in the 174-pound class after a 3-1 overtime loss to Bloomsburg’s Mike Dessino. Going into overtime tied at one apiece, Dessino earned a takedown in the first extra period to get the win.

No. 20 Matt Ryan gave the team its third victory of the championship round with a 7-0 win over Bloomsburg’s No. 23-ranked Nate Graham. Ryan earned two takedowns and two near-fall points in the bout with riding time to win third place in the class. He also qualified for the national tournament with his mark.

Before heavyweight Philip Mandzik had a medical forfeit, senior Kyle Rooney gave the team its final points of the night with a 4-1 decision over Clarion’s Alex Thomas to take third place in the 197-pound class. Rooney had a takedown and two escapes in his win.

“We competed well here for the league tournament, but hopefully we’ll continue to improve as we get ready for NCAAs in a couple of weeks,” Turnbull says.

NCAA Championships participants will be officially named early next week. The national tournament begins on March 17 in Philadelphia, Pa.

Team results
1. Pittsburgh (P) 1321/2
2. West Virginia (WV) 1161/2
3. Bloomsburg (B) 1021/2
4. Clarion (C) 951/2
5. Edinboro (E) 911/2
6. Lock Haven (LH) 701/2
7. Cleveland State (CS) 261/2

Match Results 125
1st: #23 Shane Young (WVU) (27-7) maj. dec. Thomas Gowing (Clarion) (3-17), 15-3
2nd: #23 Shane Young (WVU) (28-7) dec. Nick Hyatt (Lock Haven)(16-10), 4-2
Championship: #28 Anthony Zanetta (Pitt)(17-10) dec. #23 Shane Young (WVU) (28-8), 3-0

133
1st: No. 17 Nathan Pennesi (bye)
2nd: #17 Nathan Pennesi (WVU)(24-5) maj. dec. #32 John Trumbetti (Lock Haven)(16-8), 12-1
Championship: #15 Eric Morrill (Edinboro)(24-8) dec. #17 Nathan Pennesi (WVU)(24-6), 3-1

141
1st: Michael Morales (WVU)(16-10) maj. dec. Hunter McGraw (Clarion)(11-16), 11-2
2nd: #14 Matt Bonson (Lock Haven)(24-2) dec. Michael Morales (WVU)(16-11), 6-5
Cons. Semis.: Michael Morales (WVU)(17-11) dec. Kasey Davis (Edinboro)(18-16), 6-5
3rd Place: Michael Morales (WVU)(18-11) dec. Derek Shingara (Bloomsburg)(20-18), 4-1

149
1st: #31 Brandon Rader (WVU)(13-8) tech fall Lawrence Cavello (Cleveland St.)(12-20), 17-0
2nd: #31 Brandon Rader (WVU)(14-8) maj. dec. Anthony White (Clarion)(23-10), 15-5
Championship: Dane Johnson (Pitt)(19-16) dec. #31 Brandon Rader (WVU)(14-9), 3-1

157
1st: #21 Frank Hickman (Bloomsburg) (24-8) won by fall Ryan Goodman (WVU)(12-16), 4:09
2nd: Ryan Goodman (WVU)(13-16) dec. Seth Creasy (Lock Haven)(14-21), 4-1
Cons. Semis.: #25 Donnie Tasser (Pitt)(18-17) dec. Ryan Goodman (WVU)(13-17), 3-1
Fifth place: Ryan Goodman (WVU)(14-17) dec. Matt Donohoe (Cleveland State)(12-19), 8-6

165
1st: #20 Donnie Jones (WVU)(18-3) maj. dec. Ethan Saylor (Edinboro) (6-21), 11-3
2nd: #20 Donnie Jones (WVU)(19-3) injury def. #29 Robbie Michaels (Cleveland St.)(21-9), 6:15
Championship: #21 Ethan Headlee (Pitt)(27-10) dec. #20 Donnie Jones (WVU)(19-4), 6-0

174
1st: Alex Meade (WVU)(6-2) won by fall Aric Thurn (Cleveland St.)(9-19), 0:51
2nd: Alex Meade (WVU)(7-2) dec. Chris Hrunka (Edinboro)(16-17), 3-2
Championship: Mike Dessino (Bloomsburg)(24-8) dec. Alex Meade (WVU)(7-3), 3-1

184
1st: #20 Matt Ryan (WVU)(18-6) won by fall Corbin Boone (Cleveland St.) (5-19), 4:15
2nd: #1 Chris Honeycutt (Edinboro)(25-0) dec. #20 Matt Ryan (WVU)(18-7), 5-2
Cons. Semis.: #20 Matt Ryan (WVU)(19-7) won by fall Scott Joseph (Clarion)(12-21), 4:42
Third Place: #20 Matt Ryan (WVU)(20-7) dec. #23 Nate Graham (Bloomsburg)(25-9), 7-0

197
1st: Kyle Rooney (bye)
2nd: #24 Shawn Fendone (Edinboro)(25-9) dec. Kyle Rooney (WVU)(9-11), 4-2
Cons. Semis.: Kyle Rooney (WVU)(10-11) dec. Richard Perry (Bloomsburg)(13-9), 4-3
Third place: Kyle Rooney (WVU)(11-11) dec. Alex Thomas (Clarion)(20-11), 4-1

HWT
1st: Philip Mandzik (WVU)(10-17) dec. Quintas McCorkle (Clarion)(21-13), 4-1
2nd: Zac Walsh (Bloomsburg)(19-11) dec. Philip Mandzik (WVU)(10-18), 4-0
Cons. Semis.: Ernest James (Edinboro)(17-15) medical forfeit Philip Mandzik (WVU)(10-18)
Fifth place: Harry Turner (Lock Haven)(25-16) medical forfeit Philip Mandzik (WVU)(10-18)


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