West Virginia (1-0) won the first four matches, including two pins, to take an unsurmountable lead of 18-0 over the Golden Eagles (1-3) before nationally ranked Mark Angle put Clarion on the board.
The contest opened with a 6-4 win by sophomore Jon Foster (Guilderland, N.Y.) at 197-lbs. Foster improves to 4-6 on the season. Heavyweight sophomore Ryan Kehler (Klingerstown, Pa.), filling in for a sick Sean Hage, pinned Jon Testa at 1:56 in the first period of their match. Kehler, (6-1), has only lost to teammate Hage this season. Angelo Zegarelli (Deer Park, N.Y.) defeated Mike Snyder 8-5 at 125-lb. Zegarelli is now 9-2 on the season with his only losses coming against the number two and three ranked wrestlers in the nation. Senior Bob Patnesky (Canonsburg, Pa.), attained the Mountaineers second pin of the day at 4:04 over Mike Diaz at 133-lbs. Number two Angle defeated WVU's Akil Coad, 17-2 for a technical fall at 141-lbs. making the score 18-5 in favor of the Mountaineers. Clarion got its second straight victory as Stan Spoor defeated freshman Billy Smith, 8-6, at 149-lbs. One week ago, Smith defeated Spoor 7-2 at the Las Vegas Invitational. But West Virginia finished the match just how it started it with four straight victories. Sophomore Joe Carr (Lexington, Ky.) tallied West Virginia's third pin of the day at 2:09 over Shane McChesney. Carr is 15-3 on the year and ranked 13th in the nation. Senior Richard Taylor (Milesburg, Pa.) extended the Mountaineers' lead to 27-8 with an 11-4 decision over Kevin Brown. Freshman Erik Warg (Churchville, Pa.) earned his first collegiate dual meet victory with a 11-5 decision over Mike Weaver. Number three Vertus Jones (Slickville, Pa.) sealed the West Virginia victory with his 18-3 technical fall over Aaron Mitchell. The senior has yet to be defeated this season, owning a 15-0 record. "I'm pleased with the work the team is doing and how they are wrestling when we compete," said coach Craig Turnbull. "We have had good tournaments and now one good dual meet, so I'm very pleased with where we are right now."