No. 25 WVU to Host Lock Haven, Cradles for Cancer
MORGANTOWN. W. Va. (December 11, 2015) – After more than a month on the road the No. 25 West Virginia University wrestling team returns home on Saturday to host longtime foe Lock Haven in a 7 p.m. dual at the WVU Coliseum.
Saturday’s match will serve as the Mountaineers' Cradles for Cancer match. Head coach Sammie Henson started the event in 2014 in honor of his wife, Stephanie, who was battling breast cancer at the time. A number of Mountaineers will be wrestling in honor of a loved on affected by the disease. Junior Tony DeAngelo will wrestle in honor of Stephanie, while senior Bubba Scheffel will wrestle in honor of his mother, who was diagnosed with cancer four years ago. Freshman Connor Flynn is competing in memory of his mother, Lucy, who lost her battle with leukemia in 2005. WVU Medicine will be on site to collect donations, and fans are encouraged to wear pink to the meet.
“In the year 2014 my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Henson. “We wanted to do something special for her and all the fighters and survivors of this horrible disease. We created Cradles for Cancer to give recognition and to hopefully raise some money and fight this disease.”
Tickets for the event are $5 and are available at the WVU Ticket Office or in advance at WVUGAME.com. Fans can also purchase tickets to the 2016 Big 12 Wrestling Championship, to be held at the Sprint Center in Kansas, Missouri, on March 5-6, at WVUGAME.com
This weekend marks the 38th meeting between the Mountaineers and the Bald Eagles in a series that started in 1979. West Virginia boasts a 22-15 lead in the all-time series, including a 23-12 win over Lock Haven in Pennsylvania last season. The victory was the first of Henson's head coaching career.
A pair of West Virginia natives led WVU to a successful outing at the CKLV Invitational in Las Vegas last weekend. Spencer's Dylan Cottrell went 6-1 to take third place at 157 pounds, while Charleston native Jacob A. Smith went 4-2 to take fourth place at 197 pounds at the event. It was Smith's second year on the podium, as he took eighth in 2014. The Mountaineers finished tied for 16th overall - the second-best finish by a Big 12 team.
As with Zeke Moisey in 2014-15, Henson pulled a trio of redshirts in time for last weekend's CKLV tournament. Keegan Moore (133), Zachary Moore (149) and Connor Flynn (165) all saw their first official action in a WVU singlet. Keegan Moore pulled of a major upset in his first collegiate match as he defeated No.6-ranked Rossi Bruno of Michigan in a 12-9 decision.
The Mountaineers next compete at the Southern Scuffle, hosted by Chattanooga on January 1 and 2.
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