Mountaineers Fall to Cyclones
AMES, Iowa (February 14, 2016) – A thrilling win by Zachary Moore and a technical fall by No. 17/17 Dylan Cottrell were not enough to push the West Virginia University wrestling team (6-10, 0-4) past No. 16 Iowa State (10-5, 2-2) as the Mountaineers fell to the Cyclones, 28-11, on Sunday afternoon at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
The Mountaineers found themselves in a 15-0 deficit after four bouts, but won back-to-back matches midway through the dual before taking the final bout at 197 pounds.
“Our men fought the whole match and had some great wins,” said coach Sammie Henson. “We need to continue building and remain with the system. Good things will happen with a lot of determination and the right mindset.”
Starting at heavyweight, the Cyclones won three in a row before Tony DeAngelo dropped a close 4-3 decision to Nathan Boston at 141 to put Iowa State in front 15-0.
Zachary Moore and Blayne Briceno combined for 17 points in the first period of the 149-pound match. Briceno got the first takedown and four near fall points before Moore countered with a reversal. Briceno escaped, but Moore took him down and added back points to make it 7-6 in favor of Briceno. Briceno escaped, Moore added another takedown and Briceno escaped again to take a 9-8 lead after just three minutes of action. Moore scored the lone point of the second period, tying the score 9-9 on an escape. Starting on bottom in the third, Briceno escaped before Moore added another takedown to take an 11-10 advantage. Briceno escaped again to tie the score 11-11 and it looked like the two would move to sudden victory. However, Moore took a shot and scored the takedown in the final 15 seconds of regulation to win the 13-11 decision.
With the Mountaineers trailing 15-3, Cottrell added a bonus-point victory with a tech. fall over Logan Breitenbach at 157. Cottrell scored a takedown 45 seconds into the first and rode Breitenbach for the rest of the period to lead 2-0 with 2:15 of riding time after one. Cottrell chose to start the second in the defensive position, escaping to lead 3-0. He added two points on a takedown almost immediately, twice turning Breitenbach for eight back points and a 13-0 advantage. Breitenbach chose neutral to start the third, and Cottrell got the takedown 30 seconds into the period to end the match with a 16-0 win by tech. fall after riding time. West Virginia trailed Iowa State, 15-8 with four bouts remaining.
Iowa State took three straight matches, with Bubba Scheffel dropping a close 5-4 decision to Patrick Downey at 184. Scheffel appeared to have a takedown in the closing seconds of regulation, but a challenge by Henson upheld the original no-call as the Cyclones took a 28-8 lead over the Mountaineers.
At 197 pounds, Jacob A. Smith won a 9-2 decision over Marcus Harrington. Smith took a 4-1 lead after a pair of first-period takedowns, choosing to start the second on bottom. He stretched his lead to 5-1 on an escape just 10 seconds in to the period before both wrestlers were warned for stalling. Harrington chose to go neutral to start the third, and picked up his second stalling call 45 seconds into the period to give Smith a 6-1 lead. Smith was also called for stalling, making it 6-2, before Smith registered a takedown with 13 seconds remaining. He tacked on a point for riding time for the 9-2 decision as the Mountaineers took the 28-11 loss to the Cyclones.
West Virginia will close out the regular season at home on Friday when the Mountaineers host Clarion in an 8 p.m. dual at the WVU Coliseum. Seniors Chris Nelson, Ross Renzi, A.J. Vizcarrondo and Bubba Scheffel will be honored during the match.
No. 16 Iowa State 28, West Virginia 11
HWT: Quean Smith (ISU) dec. A.J. Vizcarrondo (WVU), 3-1 SV-1
125: Kyle Larson (ISU) def. No. 12/13 Zeke Moisey (WVU), injury default
133: No. 8 Earl Hall (ISU) dec. Cory Stainbrook (WVU), 10-5
141: Nathan Boston (ISU) dec. Tony DeAngelo (WVU), 4-3
149: Zachary Moore (WVU) dec. Blayne Briceno (ISU), 13-11
157: No. 17/17 Dylan Cottrell (WVU) tech. fall Logan Breitenbach (ISU), 16-0
165: No. 11/12 Tanner Weatherman (ISU) pinned Connor Flynn (ISU), 2:42
174: Lelund Weatherspoon (ISU) major dec. Ross Renzi (WVU), 11-3
184: Patrick Downey (ISU) dec. Bubba Scheffel (WVU), 5-4
197: No. 9/10 Jacob A. Smith (WVU) dec. Marcus Harrington (ISU), 9-2
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