Eleven Wrestlers Place at W&J Tournament
By Brian Kuppelweiser, WVU Sports Information
November 12, 2011
WASHINGTON, Pa. – After opening the season with two shutout performances in dual meet format, the West Virginia wrestling team placed an impressive eleven wrestlers at the W&J Tournament in Washington, Pa.
“Overall, this tournament served its purpose because it gave us a chance to get the mat experience that we needed,” said coach Craig Turnbull. “It gave ours guys a chance to see what they are doing well, and what they aren’t doing very well.”
Highlighting the wrestlers that placed for the Mountaineers were junior Shane Young (125), redshirt sophomore Nathan Pennesi (141), freshman Dominic Prezzia (165) and redshirt sophomore Mac Mancuso (197), as they came away with first-place finishes.
“We had a quite a few people that went undefeated,” said Turnbull. “Overall, it was a very good day for us.”
Freshman Jesse Schiffbauer (133) and Brandon Williamson (HWT) brought home third-place finishes, redshirt freshman Michael Bennett (149) and redshirt junior Colin Johnston (133) came away with fourth-place finishes and redshirt junior Lance Bryson (174) and redshirt senior Kyle Eason (165) finished in fifth place, respectively.
Redshirt freshman Brutus Scheffel was the final WVU wrestler to place, as he came home sixth.
Young, who is a Jeanette, Pa., native, received a first-round bye before pinning his first opponent of the day, Mercyhurst’s Garth Simpson, at the 4:27 mark. Following the pin, Young earned a 6-1 decision over Dave Fogle of Pitt-Johnstown. Young majored Mercyhust’s Ryan Bohince 17-8 in the semifinals and then took a 5-0 decision over Seton Hill’s Kenny Trumbetta in the final.
Pennesi, who is a Latrobe, Pa., native, also received a first-round bye. In his second-round match, Pennesi scored a technical fall against Tevin Byers of Mount St. Joseph, which he followed with two straight majors against opponents from West Liberty and Mercyhurst Northeast. In his finals match, Pennesi won an 8-2 decision against Josh Etzel of Washington & Jefferson.
Prezzia, who was wrestling in his first collegiate tournament, had a first-round bye, which was followed by two decisions over opponents from Pitt-Johnstown and Mount St. Joseph. Prezzia also majored Grant Anglemeyer of Manchester. In the final, Prezzia defeated Mercyhurst’s Jordan Shields by decision, 3-2.
“Dominic wrestled with very great poise today,” said Turnbull. “His series of victories was a great confidence builder for us going forward.”
Mancuso began the day with a first-round match against Ryan Murphy of Thiel, which he won by technical fall, 16-1. He followed that win with a pin over Mercyhurst’s Charles Shaeaffer and a technical fall against Pitt-Johnstown’s Petros Georgilas. In the final, Mancuso won by pin at the 3:45 mark against West Liberty’s Jacob Donley.
The Mountaineers will return to action next Saturday when they travel to Annapolis, Md., for the Navy Classic.
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