Young, Pennesi Take First at Navy Classic
By Brian Kuppelweiser, WVU Sports Information Department
November 19, 2011
Complete Brackets
Final Team Scores
1. Navy, 147.5
2. West Virginia, 96
3. Bucknell, 88.5
4. The Citadel, 77.5
5. Gardner-Webb, 62.0
6. George Mason, 50.5
7. Franklin & Marshall, 29.0
ANNAPOLIS, Md. – For the second tournament in a row, the combination of junior Shane Young (125) and redshirt sophomore Nathan Pennesi (141) took first place, as they were the title winners of their weight class at the Navy Classic in Annapolis, Md.
“Overall, it was a good performance,” said coach Craig Turnbull. ”The matches that we were able to get in today were very valuable. The competition was a little more challenging. We did take some losses, but the losses were mostly due in part to things that are fixable.”
Redshirt freshman George Scheffel (149), redshirt senior Kyle Eason (165) and redshirt sophomore Mac Mancuso (197) placed third for the Mountaineers, while freshman Dominic Prezzia (157) placed fifth.
Also placing for WVU was redshirt junior Lance Bryson. The Shoaf, Pa., native advanced to the final of the 174-pound weight class, but fell to Navy’s Peter Huntley, who was ranked No. 20 in the nation, in a 3-1 decision.
As a team, the Mountaineers placed second overall with a total of 96 points.
Young, who was the No. 1-seeded 125 pounder, started off his tournament with a first-round bye. In the quarterfinals, Young pinned Navy’s James Kerrick at the 4:36 mark of the match. In the semifinals, Young defeated No. 4-seeded Michael Slaughter of Gardner Webb by decision, 6-3. In his final match of the day, Young topped Bucknell’s Austin Miller by decision, 3-2.
“I wrestled pretty well today, but there are still some things I need to work on,” said Young. “I still need to work on my footwork as we move forward, and I need to take more shots on my opponents in future matches.”
Pennesi, who was also the No.1 seed in his weight class, began the day with a bye. In his first match, the Latrobe, Pa., native majored John Coutoumas of Navy. Pennesi’s semifinal matchup proved to be the toughest of the day, as he battled No. 4-seeded Alex Pellicciotti of Bucknell in a highly physical, overtime match that he came out on the top of with a 5-3 decision victory. Pennesi put on a dominant performance in the finals, as he majored Navy’s Raymond Borja, 12-3.
“The tournament wins by Young and Pennesi were good,” Turnbull said. “We were also close to placing other guys in the final matches. It was a very helpful day, and as a team, we are getting better.”
The Mountaineers will now enjoy a week off from competition before they head to Las Vegas, Nev., for the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational on Dec. 2-3.
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