I knew this dual would be a tall task for Wyoming, and they would need everyone to be their best to escape Morgantown with a win. West Virginia had some gamesmanship with a gymnastic match going on right behind the Wyoming bench; talk about a distraction. Even with missed opportunities, Wyoming had a shot late to win the dual but would come up short in a 21-15 loss. Let’s break it down.
West Virginia wanted to press Wyoming early after winning the toss and choosing to start at 141. David Saenz was the aggressor but got taken to his back and found himself in a quick 6-0 deficit. He worked himself back in the match but came up short in a 10-4 loss. Battling to a decision is big in a dual when you are the underdog and facing a returning NCAA qualifier. At 149 Gabe continued his great second half and would score a MD victory.
157 Hill appears to have injured his knee late. #4 Watters has aggressive all night forcing Hill to move when it was clear he couldn’t move side to side well. With all that, Hill was down late and would have lost by MD but went for a big move and ended up losing by tech fall. 1 additional dual point. At 165 Swan picked up a MD; it was probably one of the best matches I have seen from Sloan. 174 Davis had a 1-0 lead late in the third but a stall warning against him with 15 seconds remaining Davis had double overs while Baldwin (WVU) had double unders’. I am not sure why Davis tried to spin but he twisted right into a takedown for Baldwin and a loss. 3 point swing.
Eddie continues to come back from an illness but worked himself to a 4-2 win. Novak was listed as the starter, but I didn’t see him on the bench, I assume he didn’t make the trip. Coach Branch stated this week he doesn’t like to forfeit matches and sent out TF Lane Foard, normally a 174, to face #12 Rune Lawrence. I am not sure if everyone has seen the movie 300; when Leonidas first met Xeres it looked like there was a foot difference between them. That is how Lane matched up on Rune, but ole Foard tough came out firing and scored the first takedown. Being bottom was too much; giving up height and two weight classes was evident. He would lose via decision 9-4; what an effort from that young man.
Carroll appears to be trying to overcome a left knee injury and limped some during his match. With 45 seconds remaining he needed a takedown and ride out to score the tech fall but would end up with a 17-5 MD. Let’s hope that knee injury is nothing serious, but he is wearing a brace. 1-point dual point.
Sefton improved against Jett from an earlier 17-0 loss and would lose 12-4 via MD. He had his shots against Jett; Jett is a tremendous talent and was able to turn Sefton’s offense into points.
I highlighted the dual points in bold as coming into 133 Luke Willochel would need a MD or better to win the dual. At this point the dual was WVU 18 and WYO 15. The tech fall from Watters would have won criteria for the dual. Luke was on offense and looked for points but in doing so would give up two reversals. Late in the 3rd it was tied with the riding time ticking up for WVU, Luke couldn’t score the escape to send it to SV and the dual would end there. Luke had lost earlier this year 6-2; this match was a marked improvement.
The five point shift was the difference in this dual. However, Wyoming won’t be in a hotel again until Big 12s in Tulsa. Their last road dual will be in Greeley. They get four more home duals so pack the UniWyo if able. This storm is bad out east; the team is stuck in Pittsburgh. They deserve a good home crowd to shift momentum to them. Let’s hope that Hill, Carroll, and Novak can go next Saturday against a ranked Oregon State team.
West Virginia wanted to press Wyoming early after winning the toss and choosing to start at 141. David Saenz was the aggressor but got taken to his back and found himself in a quick 6-0 deficit. He worked himself back in the match but came up short in a 10-4 loss. Battling to a decision is big in a dual when you are the underdog and facing a returning NCAA qualifier. At 149 Gabe continued his great second half and would score a MD victory.
157 Hill appears to have injured his knee late. #4 Watters has aggressive all night forcing Hill to move when it was clear he couldn’t move side to side well. With all that, Hill was down late and would have lost by MD but went for a big move and ended up losing by tech fall. 1 additional dual point. At 165 Swan picked up a MD; it was probably one of the best matches I have seen from Sloan. 174 Davis had a 1-0 lead late in the third but a stall warning against him with 15 seconds remaining Davis had double overs while Baldwin (WVU) had double unders’. I am not sure why Davis tried to spin but he twisted right into a takedown for Baldwin and a loss. 3 point swing.
Eddie continues to come back from an illness but worked himself to a 4-2 win. Novak was listed as the starter, but I didn’t see him on the bench, I assume he didn’t make the trip. Coach Branch stated this week he doesn’t like to forfeit matches and sent out TF Lane Foard, normally a 174, to face #12 Rune Lawrence. I am not sure if everyone has seen the movie 300; when Leonidas first met Xeres it looked like there was a foot difference between them. That is how Lane matched up on Rune, but ole Foard tough came out firing and scored the first takedown. Being bottom was too much; giving up height and two weight classes was evident. He would lose via decision 9-4; what an effort from that young man.
Carroll appears to be trying to overcome a left knee injury and limped some during his match. With 45 seconds remaining he needed a takedown and ride out to score the tech fall but would end up with a 17-5 MD. Let’s hope that knee injury is nothing serious, but he is wearing a brace. 1-point dual point.
Sefton improved against Jett from an earlier 17-0 loss and would lose 12-4 via MD. He had his shots against Jett; Jett is a tremendous talent and was able to turn Sefton’s offense into points.
I highlighted the dual points in bold as coming into 133 Luke Willochel would need a MD or better to win the dual. At this point the dual was WVU 18 and WYO 15. The tech fall from Watters would have won criteria for the dual. Luke was on offense and looked for points but in doing so would give up two reversals. Late in the 3rd it was tied with the riding time ticking up for WVU, Luke couldn’t score the escape to send it to SV and the dual would end there. Luke had lost earlier this year 6-2; this match was a marked improvement.
The five point shift was the difference in this dual. However, Wyoming won’t be in a hotel again until Big 12s in Tulsa. Their last road dual will be in Greeley. They get four more home duals so pack the UniWyo if able. This storm is bad out east; the team is stuck in Pittsburgh. They deserve a good home crowd to shift momentum to them. Let’s hope that Hill, Carroll, and Novak can go next Saturday against a ranked Oregon State team.
