Notes from Coach Doyle
November 19, 2014


We've had a great week since our last update! Following the Washington and Jefferson Invitational, last Wednesday we picked up our first dual win of the season over Alderson Broaddus 34-10 in front of a packed house at Wheeling Jesuit. The team won all three exhibition matches and won 8 of 10 varsity matches. It was a solid win to start our dual meet season and take us to 1-0.

This past Saturday we traveled to Mount Union for their invitational and like last year, the event was a step up in competition. Last year, we did not have one wrestler place in the top 3 and this year returned with a runner-up finish and three 3rd place finishes. In addition, 6 other wrestlers placed in the top 8. Our goals include improving on prior year finishes and getting better every time out. We did that Saturday! This Saturday will be one of our biggest challenges of the year as we face the #5 ranked team in the country, Mercyhurst and in-state opponent Ohio Valley University.

Please mark your calendars for December 3rd as we host cross town rival West Liberty in what is sure to be our most exciting home event of the season!

Individual Summaries:

125
Dustin Warner (10-2, 3 falls, 5th W&J, 3rd Mt.Union)
Dustin had a fantastic week on the mat picking up a victory in our first home dual meet and then going 3-1 in route to a 3rd place finish at Mount Union. Dustin has two losses this season; one to the #2 ranked wrestler in the country and the other in a close battle with Seton Hill's 5th year senior, Soria. Dustin is making great progress and will continue to close the gap heading into second semester.

Jerrid Whaling (2-2, 1 fall, 7th Mt. Union)
It was great seeing Jerrid in the Cardinal singlet for the first time and picking up his first win at Mount Union. Jerrid and his high school teammate Justin Trent both picked up their first wins this weekend with their high school coach, Andrew Sawka in attendance. Jerrid also avenged a first round defeat in his 7th/8th place, a great sign of things to come!

Brad Kakos (1-4, Captain)
The first three weeks of the season have been a grind for Brad as he's competed at the Clarion Open, W&J Invitational and Mount Union Invitational. Brad loves to compete and train but we'll be forcing Brad to give his body a break right now and I'm certain he'll see some rewards for his hard work as season progresses.

133
Nolan Whitely (6-2, 3rd W&J, 2nd Mt. Union)
Nolan, like Dustin, had a great week winning his first match in dual meet action and coupling that with a 2nd place finish at Mount Union this weekend. His loss came to the #2 ranked wrestler in D3 and I think it was a great opportunity for Nolan to see where he needs to get to.

Tyler Knul (4-4, 5th Mt. Union) Tyler continues to improve and competes at a very high level. He works hard in the room and continues to get better where he needs to. He picked up another couple wins this weekend and will continue to rack up the victories as season progresses. Jaylen Hill (3-4, 7th Mt.Union)
It was great to see Jaylen compete near his hometown with a lot of fans there to cheer him on. I think we need to invite them more often as Jaylen performed very well Saturday. Jaylen went 3-2 in finishing 7th. On a daily basis Jaylen gets better and it will be enjoyable watching him progress over the next few years.

141
Skyler Terrell (4-1, Captain, 2nd W&J)
Skyler had a minor injury that we're tending to. He weighted in light and bumped up to help his team. At the collegiate level, it is not easy to bump up a weight and compete and Skyler did it with success pulling out a hard fought decision. We sat Skyler on Saturday as we're healing him up for the big dual this weekend! He'll be near 100% and ready to go!

Preston Bowshier (12-2, 3 falls, 5th W&J, 3rd Mt. Union)
Preston continues to look fantastic with a wide display of attacks and scoring. In just 7 8 days of competition, Preston has chalked up 12 wins and leads the team in victories. He recorded a :29 pin Wednesday and after an early defeat Saturday rallied to 4 wins in a row to finish 3rd.

Kollin Clark (2-4)
Kollin is settling in to the weight class and continues to compete hard every time out. Kollin needs to do a better job of not giving up easy points and his success will continue. He competes hard in every position and has continued to keep every match competitive. We just need him to wrestle 7 minutes without any lapses.

149
Jonathan Barrett (3-2, Captain, 1 fall)
Jonathan had his National Guard obligation this weekend and did not compete at Mount Union.

Kyle Harris (3-4)
As Kyle gets more mat time after being off the past year, he's going to make more noise. He had a good day going 2-2 but very well could have had a few more wins. Kyle expects a lot of himself and for that reason, his progression will be accelerated.

Eric Green (2-4)
Eric if fun to watch and wrestles with a lot of energy. As Eric learns to manage his matches a little better and use his energy more effectively, he'll win more matches. He's done a great job of scoring early, as we ask the guys to do, but needs to keep his pace up for 7 minutes.

Kody Kernan (1-2)
It was awesome to have Kody Kernan on the mat Saturday. Kody comes to Wheeling Jesuit very accomplished and with high expectations. An injury has set him back a little but he's been working hard to get back at it. He wrestled well this week and was in every match. It will take some time for Kody to get fully healthy but it's great having him back!

157
Dominick Nania (8-4, Captain, 2 falls, 3rd Mt. Union)
Dom had a huge day in knocking off the 7th ranked wrestler in the country in the quarterfinals Saturday. Dom lost a 21-18 (that's not a typo) in the semi's in what may have been the most exciting match of the tournament, but wrestled back to 3rd. He tech falled his Lake Erie opponent, ranked 6th in Super Region II to cap off a great day. Look for Dom to have a big year as his persistence to get better is unmatched.

Reyse Wallbrown (9-3, 2 falls, 5th Mt. Union)
Reyse gained a lot of new fans Wednesday night as he bumped up to 165 to pull off a great win in our opening dual meet. Reyse also had a great day Saturday at Mount Union winning a number of matches over quality opponents. It's not a coincidence that Reyse and Dom are both off and running early as they are good friends and great workout partners.

Peyton Geary (4-5, 8th Mt. Union)
157 is presenting a great problems to our program, depth! Peyton gets better every time he steps foot on the mat and Saturday was a great indicator of this. Peyton is a competitor with a lot of motivation to be great. I'm certain that Peyton will do the necessary things to keep moving forward.

Justin Trent (1-2)
Congratulations to Justin on his first collegiate victory Saturday. Justin wrestled well Saturday and with more mat time, we expect a lot of success from Justin. Justin, like a few other guys, experienced some minor injuries that set him back, but it's not taking much time for him to get into form.

165
Anthony Smith (2-4)
As always TJ battled hard and wrestled for 7 minutes but went 0-2. TJ is always focused on areas for improvement and I'm guessing he'll have a season that continues to see improvements. Last year it took TJ a 1-2 months to get into his groove, so we're hoping we'll see similar results come December-January.

Na'Codie Barrows (3-4, 1 fall)
Na'Codie went 0-2 as well and like many of our freshman is still getting used to what it takes to be successful at this level. Na'Codie knows how to work hard and as long as he focuses on where he needs to improve, he'll be just fine.

Cody Eggers (0-2)
Eggs was back on the mat for the first time and it is always great having Cody's presence in the building. Cody is a driven young man and will get better. Cody's had some set backs that have kept him out of competition but as he gets more mat time, he'll settle in.

174
Nate Starkey (2-5, 2 falls)
Nate experienced and injury in his second match of the day that ended his afternoon. Nate was in control of his match when the injury occurred and at this point, we're trying to get Nate healthy. Nate's experienced a few injuries in the past 12 months so I'm confident he'll recover and be back soon, but we will be sure to make sure he's healthy before returning.

184
Ryan Winslow (6-1, Captain, 5 falls, 2nd W&J)
Ryan picked up a big pin Wednesday night to close out the dual against Alderson Broaddus. On Saturday Ryan recorded two pins before we removed him from the tournament for precautionary reasons. Ryan will be ready to go Saturday! He's having a big season with 5 pins in 6 matches and we'll look for it to continue over the next few weeks as we approach the end of the semester.

Sawyer Leppla (4-4, 4th W&J)
As Sawyer continues to work his way down to 174, we've decided to have him continue to compete to get mat time. Sawyer went 1-2 on Saturday and I'm sure he'll be motivated to improved on this result. Look for Sawyer to be down to weight soon and ready to rock and roll.

Jared Leasure (0-2)
We were happy to have Jared compete in the WJU singlet for the first time! Jared red shirted last year and we're excited to get him on the mats for a full season of competition.

Nate Hupp (1-2, 1 fall)
Nate is also working his way down a weight class and competed for the first time this past Saturday. Nate looked sharp at moments and had some rough patches. This is expected early in the season and Nate is motivated to finish off his senior season in style.

197
Maxwell Lacey (4-3, 2nd W&J)
Max went 1-2 on Saturday and I'm sure no one was as frustrated with Max's performance as much as he was. We have high expectations of Max and are working hard to get Max into the mindset that he can beat anyone in the country. Look for him to rebound!

Jacob Haynes (0-4) Jake's record doesn't speak to the gains he's made in the past 12 months at Wheeling Jesuit. Jake works tirelessly to get better and improve and he's doing just that. He'll continue to get better and with that will come the wins!

285
Corey Siegfried (9-3, 2 falls, 2nd W&J, 5th Mt. Union)
Corey's first two weeks have gotten him a number of tight matches. He continues to know how to win close matches and we'll need him to keep doing that. He lost a tough 2-1 decision in the semi finals but finished the day by winning a double overtime match to win his 5th place match.

Miguel Staples (0-4) Miguel showed great signs of improvement Saturday and although he didn't record any wins, Miguel gets better every time on the mat. Look for this to continue.


Return to the WV-Mat front page