WVU Takes Fifth at Navy Classic
November 22,2014
Complete brackets AT THIS LINK
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (November 22, 2014) – Michael Morales took home the title at 141 pounds and Zeke Moisey claimed third at 125 pounds to lead the West Virginia University wrestling team to a fifth-place finish at the Navy Classic at Wesley Brown Field House in Annapolis, Maryland, on Saturday.
The Mountaineers finished with 84.5 team points while No. 23 Chattanooga took home top honors with 108.5 points. The Mocs edged out Princeton, who took second with 106.0 points, followed by No. 24 Ohio in third with 105.5 points. No.19 Wisconsin used three first-place finishes to take fourth with 105.0 points. WVU’s fifth-place rank is an improvement from last season when the Mountaineers took ninth at the event.
“I’m proud of the way our team competed today,” said first-year head coach Sammie Henson. “We are making strides every week. We are become a close team and there’s a lot of excitement within the Mountaineer wrestling family. Thanks to the parents, family and support staff who made the trip to Annapolis this weekend.”
Morales opened the tournament with a 12-5 decision over Princeton’s Coy Ozias before pinning Anthony Finocchiaro of Brown in the second period (3:35). He followed that with a 17-4 major decision over Chattanooga’s Mike Pongracz in the quarterfinals. An 11-2 major decision over Navy’s Patrick Prada put Morales into the championship bout, where he defeated Princeton’s Jordan Laster with a sudden victory takedown in the second overtime for the 8-6 win.
Moisey earned a 19-5 major decision over Navy’s Brant Leadbeter to start things off. He followed that up by sending Joaquin Marquez of The Citadel to the mat in just 36 seconds to advance to the quarterfinals, where he dropped a 7-3 decision to Cleveland State’s Ben Willeford, who is ranked 19th at 125. Dropping into the consolation bracket, Moisey defeated Brown’s Michael Russo in a 4-1 decision before taking a 9-2 decision from Anthony Tutolo of Kent State for third place.
Bubba Scheffel took fourth place at 184 pounds, winning three straight before dropping his semifinal match. Scheffel opened with a 4-2 decision over Cleveland State’s Xavier Dye before defeating Charles Keenan of Kent State in a 10-0 major decision. He then earned a 5-3 win by decision over Navy’s Matt Woulfe in the quarterfinals before dropping a 5-1 decision to Princeton’s Brett Harner in the semis. Wrestling in the consolation bracket, Scheffel sent Kent State’s Cory Campbell to the mat in the first period (1:38) before dropping an 8-4 decision to No. 9 Ophir Bernstein of Brown in the third-place match.
Jake A. Smith took home fifth place with a 5-0 decision over Bucknell’s Tyler Luster. Smith suffered a 2-1 setback to Wisconsin’s Timothy McCall in the first round, dropping down into the consolation bracket. From there, Smith defeated Brown’s Austin Pfarr in a 5-1 decision before topping Tyler Greene of Bucknell in a 15-3 major decision. He followed that with a 9-3 decision over Navy’s Steban Cervantes before pinning Chattanooga’s Scottie Boykin in 4:37. Smith lost a 7-4 decision to Kent State’s Stephen Suglio, who moved onto the third-place match and leaving Smith to wrestle for fifth.
At 149, James Dekrone also registered a fifth-place finish, going 6-2 in his weight. Following an 11-5 decision over Princeton’s Nick Maselli, Dekrone recorded an 18-4 major decision over Navy’s Blake Peek before dropping a tight 6-5 decision to Shawn Greevy of Chattanooga in the quarterfinals. In the consolation bracket, Dekrone won an 8-7 decision over UNC’s Jack Clark before taking a 5-4 decision from another Tar Heel in Joe Moon. After falling to Princeton’s Adam Krop, Dekrone bounced back to pin Matt Frisch of The Citadel in 53 seconds for fifth place.
A.J. Vizcarrondo went 4-3 at heavyweight in the tournament, winning a 3-2 decision over Samuel Breese of Kent State and taking a 5-1 decision over Amon Willis of Cleveland State before dropping a 7-1 decision to George Mason’s Jacob Kettler. At 133 pounds, Cory Stainbrook also posted a 4-3 mark. Stainbrook won a 7-3 decision over Cleveland State’s Dan King before dropping a 9-4 decision to George Mason’s Vince Rodriguez. Stainbrook won three straight in the consolation bracket before losing a 13-8 decision to Chattanooga’s Nick Soto.
The Mountaineers will trek to Troy, New York, to compete in the Journeyman/Asics Northeast Duals on Saturday at Hudson Community College. The team will face Cornell, Rutgers and Northern Illinois in a series of dual matches starting at 9 a.m.
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