MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Redshirt sophomore Noah Adams, redshirt freshman Alex Hornfeck and junior Nick Kiussis earned wins in the first dual match of the season as the West Virginia University wrestling team fell to Big 12 foe Northern Colorado, 31-10, on Saturday, at the Bank of Colorado Arena, in Greeley, Colorado.
"Tonight wasn't our night," coach Tim Flynn said. "We can do better than what we showed tonight and we will. We just need to focus on getting better and improving each day. We have a lot to work on before next week's match against Army."
The win marked the first time Northern Colorado (1-0, 1-0 Big 12) has earned a win over WVU (0-1, 0-1 Big 12) as the series now stands at 3-1 in favor of the Mountaineers.
The Bears jumped out to an early 9-0 lead after Billy Higgins defeated Tucker Nadeau (174), 11-4, and Jackson Moomau was pinned at the 5:48 mark to begin the match.
West Virginia secured its first points of the night as Adams earned a 15-4 major decision over UNC's Jacob Seely. The Coal City, West Virginia, native, used a quick takedown to earn a 2-0 lead, before Seely secured an escape point. Adams then secured a takedown and a two-point near-fall to grab a 6-1 advantage at the end of the first period. After choosing to start the second period at the bottom, Adams earned two reversal points and following an escape by Seely, earned his second takedown of the match. He would register two more takedowns and a penalty point in the third to earn a 15-4 victory.
The win marked Adams' ninth straight to begin the season and the second time that he has won with a major decision.
With the match now at 9-4, redshirt senior Brandon Ngati faced Dalton Robertson at 285, in hopes of closing the Bears lead. Ngati led 2-1 through two periods of action, before Robertson used a late takedown to secure a 3-2 win and give the Bears a 12-4 advantage.
Northern Colorado then took a commanding 31-4 lead after winning five straight matches with two decisions, a pair of tech falls and a pin.
After trailing 2-0 heading into the third period, Hornfeck rallied with a five-point third period to earn a 5-1 decision over Jimmy Fate.
Kiussis ended the dual with a WVU win after he secured a pair of takedowns and a second-period escape to pick up a 5-1 victory over Macoy Flanagan.
Looking ahead, West Virginia will head to West Point, New York, to take on Army on Sunday, Nov. 24. The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. ET at Christl Arena.
Northern Colorado 31, West Virginia 10
174: Billy Higgins (UNC) dec. Tucker Nadeau (WVU), 11-4
184: Alan Clothier (UNC) F Jackson Moomau (WVU), 5:47
197: Noah Adams (WVU) MD Jacob Seely (UNC), 15-4
HWT: Dalton Robertson (UNC) dec. Brandon Ngati, 3-2
125: Jace Koelzer (UNC) dec. Joey Thomas, 4-1
133: Mosha Schwartz (UNC) TF Lucas Seibert, 22-7 (5:18)
141: Brody Lamb (UNC) F Caleb Rea, 1:16
149: Andrew Alirez (UNC) TF Seth Hogue (WVU), 17-0 (4:27)
157: Alex Hornfeck (WVU) dec Jimmy Fate (UNC), 5-2
165: Nick Kiussis (WVU) dec. Macoy Flanagan (UNC), 5-1
For more information on the Mountaineers, visit WVUsports.com and follow WVUWrestling on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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