TWO WVU WRESTLERS PLACE AT MIDLANDS
Chicago, Ill. (December 29, 2002)- Ryan Wilman (184) finished fifth
and Shane Cunanan (141) placed eighth to lead No.9 West Virginia at the
40th annual Midlands tournament this weekend.
Wilman, scored a major upset in the match for fifth place by defeating
second-seeded and second-ranked Greg Parker of Princeton, 8-5. He
advanced to the quarterfinals before losing a 3-1 tiebreaker to
No.10-seed Gerald Harris of Cleveland State. He then picked up four wins
in the consolation bracket before defeating Parker.
Cunanan, seeded sixth, advanced to the quarterfinals before dropping a
5-3 decision to third-seeded Dylan Long. He then defeated Iowa's Luke
Moffitt, the fifth-seed, 3-0 before losing 1-1 tiebreaker to defending
national champion and top-ranked Aaron Holker of Iowa State.
Senior Tom McMath did not place but finished among the top 12 in his
first appearance this season after missing the first month of
competition with an injured wrist. McMath beat the tournament's
sixth-seed Drew Kelly 4-3 before losing 8-0 to third-seeded Troy Letters
of Lehigh and fifth-seeded Noel Thompson of Hofstra.
The Mountaineers did not take a full squad to the tournament as starters
Brandon Lauer (133), Billy Smith (149), Matt Lebe (157), Greg Jones
(174), and Brent Miller (HWT) rested nagging injuries.
West Virginia returns to action on Saturday, January 4, at noon to
battle No.13 Iowa State in the WVU Coliseum.
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