Notes from Coach Doyle
February 23, 2015
It's been a few weeks since we've provided an update and the guys are hard at work in hopes of becoming Wheeling Jesuit's first NCAA Qualifiers this weekend. Since our last update, we defeated #5 regionally ranked Seton Hill 16-14 and lost to #6 regionally ranked Gannon 25-12. The team finished the season 10-5 after going 6-7 in our first year as a program. To achieve 10 wins in just our second season is a great accomplishment for our guys and says a lot about their commitment of building our program.
This weekend we'll compete in the Super Region at West Liberty University, where the top 4 wrestlers in each weight class will earn a birth to the NCAA Championships in St. Louis on March 13-14. Our guys are motivated to be our first ever NCAA Qualifier! Looking at pre-seeds, we'll most likely only have one wrestler ranked in the top 4, with a number of others in the 5-8 range. That being said, the guys are ready and we expect to be taking a few wrestlers to St. Louis!
125
Dustin Warner (26-9, 7 falls, 5th W&J, 3rd Mt.Union, 5th Midwest Classic, WV Inv Champion)
Dustin pulled off what is probably our single biggest win in our two year history, knocking off the #2 ranked wrestler in the country from Gannon. His opponent was undefeated, a two time All-American and a 5th year senior. Dustin continues to make great gains and will be right in the mix this weekend to not only qualify but to win the region!
Jerrid Whaling (3-6, 1 fall, 7th Mt. Union, 5th WV Invitational)
NA
133
Nolan Whitely (22-8, 2 fall, 3rd W&J, 2nd Mt. Union, WV Inv Champion)
Nolan defeated his Seton Hill opponent and lost his Gannon match. Nolan has been ranked as high as #1 in our region and fell out of the rankings as well. He has performed at a high level when it counts in the past and this weekend shouldn't be different. When Nolan committed to Wheeling Jesuit, he has consistently text me on how many days it was to the NCAA Championships. I think he plans to be there and wasn't just wasting his time!
Josh Henderson (2-1, 1 fall, 2nd WV Inv, 5-5 unattached)
Jaylen Hill (7-8, 7th Mt.Union, 4th WV Invitational)
Brad Kakos (1-8, Team Captain)
141
Preston Bowshier (26-8, 4 falls, 5th W&J, 3rd Mt. Union, 8th Midwest Classic, WV Inv Champ)
Preston went 2-0 and looked good in both matches. He defeated his Seton Hill opponent that beat him earlier in the year and looked impressive in winning over a Senior from Gannon. Preston is ready for this weekend and has competed well every time out this year. We wouldn't expect that to change. As long as Preston wrestles one match at a time and stays focused, we expect a big weekend from him.
Tyler Knul (6-8, 5th Mt. Union)
149
Skyler Terrell (13-10, Captain, 2nd W&J, 3rd WV Invitational)
Skyler had two losses and both were to very good opponents. We don't usually have to motivate Skyler as he is very hard on himself and I'm sure that his recent losses will only fuel the fire for what counts most this weekend. I know one thing for sure, his opponents will have to work extremely hard for 7 minutes to beat him.
Kollin Clark (4-8, 2 falls)
Kyle Harris (4-6, 1 fall)
Jonathan Barrett (7-7, Captain, 2 fall, 6th Simonson Open)
Kody Kernan (1-4)
157
Dominick Nania (22-10, Captain, 8 falls, 3rd Mt. Union, WV Invitational Champion)
Dom's 9 match win streak came to an end against his Gannon opponent but as many of you have seen, Dom is wrestling very well. He picked up another great win over his Seton Hill opponent and solidified his #5 ranking in the region. Dom will have to be at his best and those around him know he is ready to go!
Peyton Geary (11-9, 3 fall, 8th Mt. Union, 2nd Ashland Open)
Peyton has had a wonderful year at Wheeling Jesuit and finished it with a solid 2nd place finish at the Ashland Open. Peyton is quickly becoming a guys that is reliable and very much a team player. He comes to the room on a daily basis with goals of not only getting better but helping those around him. We expect Peyton to become a household name for our Cardinal fans during his time here!
Justin Trent (2-4)
165
Reyse Wallbrown (16-12, 4 falls, 5th Mt. Union, 6th WV Invitational)
It was great to have Reyse back on the mat against Gannon after experiencing some health issues in the past month. Reyse made a name for himself first semester with some top notch wins and with that comes a target on his back. With Reyse wrestling up a weight, he's continued to battle but we've had to give him some breaks to keep him healthy for the post season. Reyse is another one of our freshman that is a gamer and wrestles his best when it counts most, and this weekend will be fun to watch him go after that NCAA birth.
Anthony Smith (9-8, 4th WV Invitational)
TJ, again, looked fantastic in a solid win at Seton Hill picking up a much needed major decision. TJ won all three dual matches this month when the team really needed him to step up. As I've said since day one, he is a leader and a model of what we expect in a Wheeling Jesuit wrestler. I'm very proud of his season and the great improvements made.
Cody Eggers (2-8)
174
Sawyer Leppla (13-11, 4 fall, 4th W&J, 5th Midwest Classic, 5th WV Invitational)
Sawyer did not wrestle since our last update due to medical issues. He will be our entry in the regional tournament. Sawyer placed in the top 6 last year and it'll take being in the top 4 to move on. Sawyer wrestled his best at the Midwest Classic this year with a few big time wins and wrestled his best last year at Midwest and Regionals. He'll be ready to go!
Dean Meyer (4-3, 3rd WV Invitational)
Many did not get to know Dean until second semester because he played Varsity Rugby first semester. It took Dean a little while to settle in and get physically ready to compete but once he did, it was a lot of fun seeing what the future has in store for him. He went 4-3, with all three of his losses coming to tough regional opponents. He represented us very well and it provided a situation where we felt we had two guys that could perform at a high level. Dean earned a wrestle off and he and Sawyer had a tough battle that ended in an overtime ride out win by Sawyer. Dean is going to accomplish big things in a WJU singlet and the past 5 weeks was a lot of fun seeing him compete!
Nate Starkey (2-5, 2 falls)
184
Ryan Winslow (16-10, Captain, 9 falls, 2nd W&J, WV Invitational Champ)
Ryan went 1-1 in the two duals and picked up his team leading 9th fall of the season. After a big first semester, Ryan had a few set backs but is looking better every day and will be at his best this weekend. All of his attention is at being an All-American and being ready at this time of the season and trains like a mad man, even through competition.
Ki Ryder (4-6)
Jared Leasure (0-2)
Nate Hupp (3-3, 2 fall, 3rd WV Invitational)
197
Maxwell Lacey (13-15, 1 fall, 2nd W&J, 8th Midwest Classic, WV Invitational Champ)
Max had two losses against Seton Hill and Gannon. I think Max would agree that both losses could have easily been wins for him had he not got in an early hole. We've seen Max at high levels on occasion and some below average performances. He won't have the option of having those sub par performances this weekend, which I hope will have him fully focused every time out.
Jacob Haynes (0-4)
285
Corey Siegfried (20-12, 4 falls, 2nd W&J, 5th Mt. Union, 2nd WV Invitational)
Corey won us the dual against Seton Hill in dramatic fashion, winning in overtime when the dual meet was on the line. It's hard not to cheer for Corey with his positive, relentless attitude on the mat. He always makes his opponent work hard for a victory and like last year, Corey has been very consistent for us and a great team leader. Heavyweight is maybe the strongest weight class in our region and Corey knows what he has to do in order to be in a position to make the National Tournament.
Miguel Staples (0-10)
Redshirts/Injured
For those wondering about some names that have been missing, here is a list of wrestlers not listed above:
Scott Lopez- Scott is redshirting this year.
Damon Outward- Damon recorded 3 wins by fall at the Ashland Open in route to a runner up finish as an unattached wrestler. Damon continues to work hard and look great! This off season will be fun for him in preparation of next year!
Steven Frazier- Competing as an unattached wrestler 2-4 year to date. Steven is redshirting.
Logan Bowman- Competing as an unattached wrestler 3-6 year to date. Logan is redshirting.
Terrance Fanning- Competing as an unattached wrestlers 1-2
Dustin Kuhlwein- Not currently competing (recovering from injury)
Kale Rayner- Not currently competing
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