Lebe Earns Fifth-Place Honors

By Tim Goodenow, WVU Sports Information Office

December 30, 2004

EVANSTON, Ill. * West Virginia University wrestler Matt Lebe earned a fifth-place finish on Thursday at the 42nd Midlands Wrestling Championships hosted by Northwestern University.

Lebe posted a 6-2 record at 157 pounds over the two-day tournament. He took home fifth-place honors with a win via forfeit over American's Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov, the No. 2 seed.

Lebe's only loss of the day came against Iowa State's Trent Paulson, the No. 5 seed. The two wrestled to a 3-3 score after one period before Paulson closed the match at 7-3.

Junior Lebe began the day with two wins over seeded opponents in the afternoon session. He defeated No. 11 seed Mike Kimberlin of Northwestern with an impressive 9-1 major decision and then scored a 3-2 decision over sixth-seeded Joe Johnston of Iowa.

The Jeannette, Pa., native becomes WVU's first 20-match winner and has placed in each of the four tournaments entered this season.

West Virginia next travels to Penn State on Jan. 9 for a non-league dual meet at 1:00 p.m.



Return to the WV-Mat WVU Main Page
Return to the WV-Mat Front Page