BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – A 4-2 decision
victory by senior Kyle Rooney in the second-to-last bout sealed a win
for the Mountaineers as they defeated Bloomsburg on Friday evening by a
19-12 score at Nelson Field House.
With the win, West Virginia improves to 5-4 in dual meets and 1-0 in the
Eastern Wrestling League. The Huskies drop to 11-3 as the Mountaineers
snapped Bloomsburg’s nine-match win streak.
“We expected close matches in every bout,” says WVU coach Craig
Turnbull. “Their coach does a great job of preparing his guys to compete
with us and they battled hard.”
WVU jumped to a 13-0 lead following a Brandon Rader 13-3 major decision
victory over Josh Roosa in which he earned two takedowns and three
near-fall points in the opening period.
Before that, WVU grapplers No. 19 Shane Young and No. 13 Nathan Pennesi
earned wins by decision to start the matchup with a quick 6-0 lead.
Freshman Michael Morales then picked up a crucial 4-3 bout over
Bloomsburg’s Derek Shingara after earning a takedown late in the third
period to earn the win. Shingura had almost earned a fall right after
the opening whistle, but Morales managed to escape from his back
position.
“It was good to see (Michael) Morales come back from his early mental
error,” Turnbull says. “Those first four bouts we knew we had to win if
we were going to get the team victory tonight.”
No. 22 Husky Frank Hickman trimmed the lead by three points with an 8-2
decision victory over redshirt junior Ryan Goodman at 157 pounds before
WVU’s 165-pounder Donnie Jones brought the lead up to 16-3 with a 13-7
decision win over Bloomsburg junior Josh Veltre. Veltre was 15-6 heading
into the matchup. Jones earned five takedowns in the bout and also had
two escape points in addition to over two minutes of riding time.
In just his second match as a Mountaineer, redshirt sophomore Oklahoma
State transfer Alex Meade fell in his bout with Husky Mike Dessinio by a
5-2 decision score. At 184 pounds, WVU’s No. 18 Matt Ryan lost to
Bloomsburg’s No. 19 Nate Graham by a 2-0 score.
Rooney picked up the deciding win at 197 pounds to build the lead to
19-9 having earned two takedowns in the second period. WVU heavyweight
Philip Mandzik dropped the final bout of the night by a 0-1 score to Zac
Walsh as West Virginia earned the 19-12 team victory.
The Mountaineers next compete on Saturday night at Clarion. The matchup
is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
WVU 19, Bloomsburg 12
125: No. 19 Shane Young (WVU)(So., 21-6) dec. Sean Boylan (Fr., 13-10),
3-2
133: No. 13 Nathan Pennesi (WVU)( (r-Fr., 18-4) dec. Nick Wilcox (Fr.,
15-10), 9-5
141: Michael Morales (WVU)( (Fr., 12-7) dec. Derek Shingara (Fr.,
16-12), 4-3
149: No. 31 Brandon Rader (WVU)( (r-Sr., 7-7) maj. dec. Josh Roosa (Jr.,
10-7), 13-3
157: No. 22 Frank Hickman (BU)( (So., 19-6) dec. Ryan Goodman (r-Jr.,
9-12), 2-8
165: Donnie Jones (WVU)( (r-Sr., 11-3) dec. Josh Veltre (So., 15-7),
13-7
174: Mike Dessinio (BU)( (So., 18-5) dec. Alex Meade (r-So., 0-2), 2-5
184: No. 19 Nate Graham (BU)( (Sr., 19-5) dec. No. 18 Matt Ryan (r-Jr.,
13-4), 0-2
197: Kyle Rooney (WVU)( (Sr., 10-7) dec. Richard Perry (r-Fr., 8-6), 4-2
HWT: Zac Walsh (BU)(Jr., 14-9) dec. Philip Mandzik (7-14), 0-1