From the WVU Wrestling Website


Two Grapplers Capture Titles at Southeast Open

November 03, 2019

Redshirt sophomore Noah Adams and sophomore Caleb Rea claimed tournaments wins as the West Virginia University wrestling team opened the 2019-20 season at the 2019 Southeast Open in Roanoke, Virginia, on Sunday.

In addition to the tournament wins, five Mountaineers earned top-three finishes on the day: Adams, Alex Hornfeck, Nick Kiussis, Brandon Ngati and Rea. In total, 17 Mountaineers went a combined 42-24 on the day.

"It was a great day," second-year coach Tim Flynn said. "We got a lot of matches in and we competed hard. We found out a little bit about ourselves and what we need to work on, but overall it was a really good start to the season."

Adams, a native of Coal City, West Virginia, captured the 197-division title with four straight wins. He opened the day with a 17-2 tech fall (6:21) over Roderick Davis (Gardner-Webb), before earning a 14-1 major decision victory in the second round.

In the semifinal round, Adams earned a 10-5 decision over Stan Smeltzer (Virginia Tech) to secure a spot in the championship. In the final round, Adams led 6-3 when his opponent withdrew from with a medical forfeit at the 1:46 mark.

Wrestling at 141 in the freshman/sophomore division of the tournament, Rea went 4-0 to earn his first career tournament win. Weirton, West Virginia, began the event with two straight falls over Blake Baker (Appalachian State) and Jack Darling (Virginia Tech, unattached) at 2:45 and 6:49 respectively.

Rea went on to earn an 11-2 major decision over Connor Alexander (North Carolina, unattached), before capturing the crown with a 2-0 decision against Nick Coy (Virginia, unattached).

Ngati, a redshirt senior, finished second in the 285 open division after earning a pair of decision wins, before falling in the championship in a close, 3-1, match to Andrew Gunning of North Carolina.

After suffering a 9-3 loss to Kennedy Monday, Kiussis rallied to earn three straight wins to secure third place in the 165-pound open division. Kiussis faced Peyton Mocco of Missouri in the third-place match and earned his first fall of the season at the 1:11 mark to earned the top-three finish.

In his Mountaineer debut, Hornfeck cruised through the 157-pound freshman/sophomore division, notching four straight wins courtesy of two tech. falls, a major decision and a 9-2 decision.

Hornfeck placed second in the division after falling to Matthew Dallera, in a close 6-4 decision, to earn the first podium finish of his career.

Of note, redshirt junior Seth Hogue (149, Open), freshman Scott Joll (174, Fr./So.) and sophomore Lucas Seibert (133, Fr./So.), each placed fifth in their respective classes.

The most interesting match of the day came when Hogue took on teammate redshirt junior Kyler Rea in the 149-open division. Hogue earned an 11-2 major decision over K. Rea en route to a fifth-place finish.

Up next, WVU will compete in its second open tournament of the season, on Sunday, Nov. 9, as the team travels to Boone, North Carolina, for the 2019 Mountaineer Invitational. The Holmes Convocation Center will host the tournament, which is hosted by Appalachian State University.

Return to the WV-Mat front page