LAS VEGAS, Nev. (December 7, 2002) – Sophomore Greg Jones won the 174 bracket to help lead West Virginia to an fifth place finish at the Las Vegas Invitational this weekend. Two-time defending national champion Minnesota won the tournament with 131 points, followed by No.10 Illinois (123.50), No.5 Ohio State (118.50), No.18 Arizona State (112) and West Virginia (96.50).
Jones, now 12-0 on the year, did not have an easy road to the title winning two matches in overtime. Jones defeated No.14 Curtis Owen by escaping in the tiebreaker and defeated No.13 Blake Kaplan by scoring a takedown on the edge of the mat to score the win in overtime. In the finals, Jones defeated No.16 Brian Glynn 5-3 to take the title.
“I think Greg struggled a little bit in the fact that everyone else is going to raise their level against him and that he is now going to get everyone’s best shot,” head coach Craig Turnbull said. “This was his first title here, though, and he was able to win some tough matches.
After finishing the first day of competition in second place, the Mountaineers struggled on the second day of the tournament losing four of their five semifinal matches. All of those loses, however, came against ranked wrestlers.
Four West Virginia wrestlers finished in sixth place in their respective weight classes: Brandon Lauer (133), Shane Cunanan (141), Billy Smith (149) and Brent Miller (HWT). Lauer lost to No.4 Ryan Lewis in the semifinals before losing his other two matches on the day. Cunanan fell to No.17 Clinton Frease, 6-2, before losing matches to two other ranked wrestlers. Smith lost to No.1 Jared Lawrence and then withdrew due to a sore knee. Miller lost his semifinal match 5-2 to No.6 Kevin Hoy before getting beaten by No.10 Boe Rushton and No.11 Andy Bowlby.
Other than Jones, Matt Lebe (157) was the only Mountaineer to pick up a victory on the second day of the tournament. Lebe finished in seventh with a 10-5 win over No.13 Clovis Crane. The victory was Lebe’s first over a ranked wrestler.
“Overall, I’m pleased and think that this was a good tournament for us at this time of the year,” Turnbull said. “We lost some close matches today that we would obviously have like to won, but I think we learned a lot being at this excellent tournament. Our team showed great balance that we can build off of for the rest of the year.”
The Mountaineers will return to action December 28-29, at the Midlands tournament in Chicago, Ill.
The individual results are as follows:
125: Seth Lisa
Round 1: Defeated Tyler Wilcox (W Wyoming), 13-5
Round 2: Lost to No.19 Bobby Lowe (Minnesota), 11-7
Cons. Round 2: Defeated Davey Dike (Colby), 18-6
Cons. Round 3: Defeated Matt Strawser (N Dakota), 9-6
Cons. Round 4: Lost to No.9 Kyle Ott (Illinois), 12-4
133: Brandon Lauer, Sixth place
Round 1: Defeated Clarence Davis (NC State), Fall 2:50
Round 2: Defeated Renee Hernandez (Purdue), Fall 3:42
Quarterfinals: Defeated Mark Jayne (Illinois), 12-10
Semifinals: Lost to No.4 Ryan Lewis (Minnesota), Fall 4:19
Cons Semifinals: Lost to No.6 Foley Dowd (Michigan), 8-3
Fifth Place Match: Lost to Matt Sanchez (Bakersfield), 7-5 (sv)
141: Shane Cunanan Sixth place
Pigtail: Defeated Chris Bennett (Air Force), 5-3
Round 1: Defeated Shaine Jaime (Cent Wash), 5-3
Round 2: Defeated Bryan Miller (Colby), 12-3
Quarterfinals: Defeated No.15 Clark Forward, 5-4
Semifinals: Lost to No.17 Clinton Fease (Brown), 6-2
Cons Semifinals: Lost to No.10 Gabe Vigil (Boise State), 4-3
Fifth Place Match: Lost to Jeff Ratliff (Ohio State), 7-2
149: Billy Smith, Sixth place
Round 1: Defeated Josh Peterson (Air Force), Fall 4:12
Round 2: Defeated Mickey Henrey (Cent Oklahoma), 12-4
Quarterfinals: Defeated No.6 Collin Robertson (Boise State), 3-2
Semifinals: Lost to No.1 Jared Lawrence (Minnes
ota), 12-3
Withdrew due to injury
Matt Lebe (157), Seventh place
Round 1: Defeated Andrew Shuler (Wyoming), 7-2
Round 2: Advanced by MED FOR
Quarterfinals: Lost to No.1 Luke Becker (Minnesota), 8-3
Cons Round 4: Defeated Patrick Williams (Arizona State), 8-3
Cons Quarterfinals: Lost to No.14 Kenny Burleson (Missouri), 9-5
Seventh Place Match: Defeated No.13 Clovis Crane (Purdue), 10-6
174: Greg Jones, First place
Round 1: Defeated Matt Monteiro (Bakersfield), 22-10
Round 2: Defeated Tom Meester, Augustana, 8-6
Quarterfinals: Defeated No.14 Curtis Owen (Arizona State), 5-4 (tb)
Semifinals: Defeated No.13 Blake Kaplan (Ohio State), 8-6 (sv)
Finals: Defeated No.16 Brian Glynn (Illinois), 5-3
184: Ryan Wilman
Pigtail: Defeated Ron Renzi (Arizona State), 9-4
Round 1: Defeated Casey Woodall (Adams State), 14-2
Round 2: Defeated Jason Cox (VMI), 11-4
Quarterfinals: Lost to Mauricio Wright, 7-3
Cons Round 4: Lost to C.B. Dollaway (Colby), 13-6
197: Adrian Thompson
Pigtail: Defeated Tom Whiston (George Mason), Fall 2:11
Round 1: Defeated David Walker (VMI), 9-6
Round 2: Lost to No.12 Anton Talamantes (Ohio State), 15-5
Cons Round 2: Lost to Tim Boldt (S Dakota St), 10-3
HWT: Brent Miller, Sixth place
Pigtail: Defeated Joe Amick (Pac Luther), Fall 5:56
Round 1: Defeated Adam Nuru (Mo Valley), Fall 1:13
Round 2: Defeated Justin Staebler (Wisconsin), 5-2
Quarterfinals: Defeated Clint Walbeck (Fresno St), 3-2
Semifinals: Lost to No.6 Kevin Hoy (Air Force), 5-2
Cons Semifinals: Lost to No.10 Boe Rushton (Boise State), 5-2
Fifth Place Match: Lost to Andy Bowlby (Oregon St.), Fall :29