WRESTLERS TENTH AFTER SESSION ONE AT MIDLANDS

CHICAGO, Ill. (December 29, 2000) – West Virginia's wrestling team is in tenth place with 19.5 team points after session one in the Midlands tournament.

Heavyweight Ryan Kehler, ranked No. 1 in the nation, won his first match after pinning Eastern Illinois' B.J. Bertelsman at 5:30. The junior from Klingerstown, Pa., seeded fifth, notched his fifth pin of the year and upped his record to 14-0. Kehler is the first Mountaineer wrestler to be ranked No. 1 in the nation since Scott Collins in 1991.

Freshman Anthony Regalbuto, a Martinsburg, W.Va., native earned his first career win at 149 pounds with a 12-3 major decision victory over American's No. 5 seed Marc Hoffer. He is now 1-1 on the year.

Freshman Greg Jones, a Slickville, Pa., native upped his record to 6-0 on the year after defeating The Citadel's Mike Regnar by way of a technical fall, 18-3, at 4:29.

Redshirt sophomore Tom McMath of Sharpsville, Pa., defeated Hofstra's No. 5 seed Noel Thompson 14-5 in pigtail action of the 165 pound bracket. He then lost to Iowa's Mike Anderson 4-1 in first round action. McMath is now 13-5 on the year.

Junior Joe Carr, a Lexington, Ky., native also won his first match of the tournament over Ohio State's Josh Jansen 12-4. Carr is seeded seventh and is 6-2 on the season.

KEHLER FINISHES FIFTH AT MIDLANDS TOURNAMENT

CHICAGO, Ill. (December 30, 2000) – West Virginia heavyweight wrestler Ryan Kehler placed fifth at the Midlands tournament Saturday.

The junior from Klingerstown, Pa., defeated Fresno State's Billy Blunt by way of a forfeit to finish the tournament with a 5-2 mark. Kehler picked up three pins in the event, giving him seven on the season, including a 15 second fall over Michigan State's Matt Lamb. He defeated two ranked wrestlers -- Lamb, ranked ninth, and Oregon State's Jason Cooley, ranked eighth. He has now defeated seven ranked opponents this season and is 17-2.

***Note – Up-to-date results can be obtained by accessing: http://www.themat.com


Return to the WV-Mat WVU Main Page