Lock Haven Up Next
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (December 18, 2014) – The West Virginia University wrestling team will travel to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, on Friday for a dual with the Lock Haven Bald Eagles at Thomas Fieldhouse.
“We’re looking forward to competition tomorrow after a big week of finals,” said WVU coach Sammie Henson. “We expect a tough, hard-fought dual against Lock Haven. We hope all of our WVU fans and alumni can make the trip to Pennsylvania.”
The 2014 season marks the 37th all-time meeting between West Virginia (0-4, 0-0) and Lock Haven (2-4, 0-0 PWL). Since the series started back in 1979, the Mountaineers have compiled a 21-15 mark, including an 18-12 victory in Morgantown last season. A.J. Vizcarrondo sealed the deal for the Mountaineers with a 3-2 decision over Cody Mason at heavyweight. Michael Morales took an 11-5 decision from Mac Maldrelli at 149 while Brutus Scheffel and Bubba Scheffel each picked up a win for the Mountaineers as well.
West Virginia is coming off a solid outing in Las Vegas as three Mountaineers reached the podium at the Cliff Keen Invitational on December 5 and 6, marking the first time since 2006 the Mountaineers have had more than two grapplers finish in the top eight. Michael Morales led the way with a sixth place finish at 141 pounds, going 6-3 with an upset of No. 8 Joe Spisak (UVa.). At 125 pounds, Zeke Moisey finished with a 4-3 mark for an eighth place finish, while Jake A. Smith went 4-3 at 197 to take eighth-place honors as well.
WVU posted its best finish in seven years at the event, taking 16th place out of 37 teams with 44 points. The Mountaineers finished ahead of Arizona State, who previously defeated WVU in head-to-head action. The two will square off again on January 4 in Phoenix. West Virginia also finished ahead of Harvard, Air Force, Columbia, American, Brown and Boise State, marking the highest finish for WVU since 2007 when they took 12th place. Minnesota took home the team title (146 points) followed by Ohio State (120) and Virginia Tech (110). Big 12 foe Iowa State was fourth with 106 points.
Bubba Scheffel highlighted the first day of action at the tournament with a 7-4 upset of No. 2 seed Kenny Courts of Ohio State. Courts was ranked sixth and eighth in the nation at the time. It marked the second consecutive weekend the Mountaineers have downed top-10 foes as Michael Morales previously topped No. 9 Mark Gray of Cornell at the Northeast Duals on November 29.
After topping a pair of ranked opponents at the Cliff Keen, Morales has moved up the national rankings at 141 pounds. Flo Wrestling ranks Morales 10th in the nation, while Intermat has the Brick, New Jersey, native at 12th. Morales won a 6-3 decision over No. 10/11 Todd Preston of Harvard before upsetting No. 8/9 Joe Spisak of Virginia in a 14-5 major decision.
Coach Sammie Henson was named a distinguished member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Class of 2015. Henson was a two-time NCAA National Champion at Clemson and a three-time All-American at Clemson and Missouri. He was the 1994 ACC Wrestler of the Year and went on to win a gold medal at the 1998 World Championships before winning silver at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
WIN Magazine has ranked the Mountaineer’s incoming recruiting class, also known as the “Dirty Dozen,” third in the nation among incoming classes for the 2015-16 season. The publication also ranks signee Devin Brown has No. 1 in the nation at 113 pounds. Keegan Moore (132), Patrick Duggan (145), Bailey Faust (195) and Austin Myers are all ranked in the top-20 of their respective weights by the magazine.
Projected Starters
125: WVU’s Zeke Moisey (Fr., 17-8) vs. LHU’s Kaleb LeMaire (r-So., 11-9)
133: WVU’s Cory Stainbrook (So., 8-9) vs. LHU’s Ronnie Perry (So., 12-4)
141: WVU’s No. 10/12 Michael Morales (Sr., 18-6) vs. LHU’s Bobby Rehm (r-Jr., 10-7)
149: WVU’s James Dekrone (r-So., 9-10) vs. LHU’s Dan Neff (r-Jr., 12-6)
157: WVU’s Tim Wheeling (Jr., 5-10) vs. LHU’s Elias Biddle (r-Sr., 12-5)
165: WVU’s Ross Renzi (Jr., 4-7) vs. LHU’s Aaron McKinney (r-Jr., 11-6)
174: WVU’s Christian Chirico (Jr., 1-6) vs. LHU’s Tyler Wood (r-So., 11-9)
184: WVU’s Bubba Scheffel (Jr., 12-7) vs. LHU’s Fred Garcia (r-Sr., 15-2)
197: WVU’s Jake A. Smith (So., 12-6) vs. LHU’s Adam Mackie (So., 8-6) or Blaze Buckwalter (So., 1-2)
HWT: WVU’s A.J. Vizcarrondo (Jr., 6-9) vs. LHU’s Brad Emerick (So., 8-8)
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