The West Virginia University wrestling team overcame a 15:13 deficit on Saturday afternoon at Woodling High School in Cleveland, Ohio, beating Cleveland State (18:15).
With two fights remaining, the WVU (4-2, 0-1) urgently needed two decisions to win the team over the CSU (0-1). # 1 Noah Adams, a Redshirt junior from Coal City, West Virginia, responded to the mountaineering call when he made an 8-2 decision over Ben Smith by £ 197 for a one-point lead in the team standings . However, West Virginia was deducted a team point due to an unsportsmanlike call to Adams for throwing his headgear.
After the match was tied at 15, Redshirt newcomer Michael Wolfgram turned around in the heavyweight division and won 6-3 against John Kelby as WVU ran away with the 18:15 team win.
“Today was a crazy but exciting game,” said Tim Flynn, third year coach. “We have a lot of valuable mat time and it was huge for Michael to get a win for the team.”
Redshirt junior Killian Cardinale, ranked 25th nationwide over The Open Mat, started things off for the climbers with a 9-1 decision over Jake Manley at £ 125. Cardinale posted three takedowns to get WVU into play first on the road to their first bonus win of the season.
With 141 pounds, the Redshirt newcomer Jeffrey Boyd returned to the profit column with a 10: 4 decision over Joseph Caprella. Boyd started below to earn his escape, followed by a 3-0 lead in the second half. Caprella eventually escaped, but Boyd tackled another takedown and a reversal for the 7-3 lead in the final frame. Caprella quickly escaped to bring his deficit down to three, but Boyd scored his third deficit and increased driving timing at the end of regulation for the 10-4 win when WVU took a 7-3 lead in the competition.
The CSU struggled, however, and won two games in a row with 149 and 157 pounds for the 12-7 advantage in the middle of the brace.
Freshman Peyton Hall, ranked 24th nationwide by FloWrestling, cut the climbers deficit to two with an 8-2 decision on Riley Smucker at 165 pounds.
Sophomore Scott Joll followed with a hard-fought 12:11 win over Anthony Rice. After the fight ended between 8 and 8 in the final frame, Rice decided to start in the defensive position and earn his way to escape. Joll registered a takedown to secure the timing of the ride, but Rice used a reversal with one second remaining to force a sudden victory. However, Joll got the win after a stall call at Rice in extra time when the WVU regained the lead at 13-12.
Cleveland State then scored an 8-6 decision in a tie breaker at 184 pounds for the 15-13 lead. However, it was West Virginia that finished doubles with two decisive wins for the team’s overall victory.
Looking ahead, WVU will return home on Sunday, January 31st, at 12:00 noon (CET) in the WVU Coliseum to face the Big 12 subsidiary Northern Colorado (3-0, 2-0).
West Virginia 18, Cleveland State 15
125: No. – / – / 25 Killian Cardinale (WVU) main dec. Jake Manley (CSU), 9-1
133: Logan Heil (CSU) dec. Joey Thomas (WVU), 2-1
141: Jeffrey Boyd (WVU) dec. Joseph Caprella (CSU), 10-4
149: Marcus Robinson (CSU) dec. Brayden Roberts (WVU), 5-1
157: Daniel Patten (CSU) wins Alex Hornfeck (WVU) in autumn, F 4:56
165: No. – / 24/25 Peyton Hall (WVU) dec. Riley Smucker (CSU), 8-2
174: Scott Joll (WVU) dec. Anthony Rice (CSU), 12-11 [SV-1]
184: DeAndre Nassar (CSU) dec. Anthony Carman (WVU), 8-6 [TB-1]
197: No. 1/1/1 Noah Adams (WVU) dec. Ben Smith (CSU), 8-2
HWT: Michael Wolfgram (WVU) dec. John Kelbly (CSU), 6-3
* WVU was deducted a team point due to an unsportsmanlike behavior call from Noah Adams (throwing headgear) *
The rankings are as follows: Intermat / FloWrestling / The Open Mat
