Bryson and Pennesi Place at Reno
By Brian Kuppelweiser
WVU Sports Information Office
December 18, 2011
Team scores and brackets AT THIS LINK
RENO, Nev. – In the last matches of the day for the West Virginia wrestling team, redshirt sophomore Nathan Pennesi (141) and redshirt junior Lance Bryson (174) each won to place for the Mountaineers at the Reno Tournament of Champions.
The No. 5-seeded Pennesi squared off against Kyle Wirkuty of Southwestern Oregon for fifth place and came away victorious by way of a 4-0 decision.
Bryson, who fought back through the consolation rounds after losing his first match of the day, defeated No. 4-seeded Pat Martinez of Wyoming 4-2 in extra time. Bryson fell behind 2-1 early in extra time, but he then earned an escape point to even the match. Bryson followed the escape with a hard-fought takedown that sealed the victory.
The Mountaineers will now enjoy two weeks off for the holidays before they open the second half of their season with their first home dual meet of the year against defending ACC champion, Maryland on Jan. 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Update from Reno Tourney of Champions
December 18, 2011
RENO, Nev. – Prior to the start of the medal rounds, the West Virginia wrestling team had two grapplers still competing in the Reno Tournament of Champions in Reno, Nev.
Redshirt sophomore Nathan Pennesi (141) and redshirt junior Lance Bryson (174) each advanced to the placement rounds of their brackets and will have a chance to wrestle for fifth and third place, respectively.
The No. 5-seeded Pennesi opened his tournament with two straight major decisions over opponents from Montana State Northern and Arizona State. In his third match, Pennesi come out on top of a 4-2 decision against Michigan State’s Bryan Gibbs. In the following match, Pennesi fell to No. 4-seeded Josh Strait of Boise State in a 10-4 decision. In his first consolation match, Pennesi toughed out a 3-0 decision against Darrin Boing of Ohio and followed that with a 7-2 decision victory over Great Falls’ Myles Mazurkiewicz. In the consolation semifinals, Pennesi lost in a 12-2 major decision to No. 3-seeded Josh Kindig of Oklahoma State. Pennesi will wrestle Kyle Wirkuty of Southern Oregon in his final match.
After starting the day with a 3-0 decision loss to No. 1-seeded Ryan DesRoaches of Cal Poly, Bryson was matched against Dallas Hintz of Wyoming in his first consolation match. After being down 2-1 heading into the third period, Bryson scrambled and was able to secure a takedown on Hintz that iced away the match. In his next match, Bryson was able to pin Trevor Davis of Southwestern Oregon Community College 35 seconds into the first period. Bryson then used consecutive decision victories over Clay Gable of Air Force and No. 5-seeded Ty Vinson of Oregon State to advance. The Shoaf, Pa., native faced No. 6-seeded Curran Jacobs of Michigan State in the consolation semifinals and won a 4-2 decision in extra time. Bryson fell behind 2-1 early in overtime, but was able to gain a point after Jacobs was called for stalling. Bryson then converted a takedown to score the victory.
A final recap of the day’s action from the Reno Tournament of Champions will be available on MSNsportsNET.com after the completion of the medal rounds.
Updated brackets from the Reno Tournament of Champions are available at RTOC.net
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