“Brandon wrestled very well under the circumstances he was in,†said coach Craig Turnbull “That is a tough situation that comes with the territory at heavyweight.
He handled that very well and kept control of the match.â€
The Mountaineers jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead, as junior Shane Young (125) pinned Kory Mines at the 4:30 mark. Young looked to work a takedown, but in the process, he was able to gain an advantageous position that allowed him to pin Mines.
“Shane's extra three points were critical,†Turnbull said. “We needed to win two of three at 133, 141 and 149 pounds, and Shane's pin give us a little bit of leeway.â€
After redshirt sophomore Nathan Pennesi (133) lost a close decision to the Fighting Scot's A.J. Schopp, sophomore Michael Morales gave WVU another huge boost.
Morales (141) defeated No. 14 Mitchell Port, 8-6, in a match that was decided by sudden victory.
“You can't overstate the importance of Morales' win at 141 pounds,†Turnbull said. “Morales' win over a nationally ranked opponent was very critical to the team tonight. He did to them what they did to us against Matt Ryan - he stole a win away from them.â€
After Morales' victory built a 9-3 lead for the Mountaineers, Edinboro fought back with two decision victories at 149 and 157 pounds.
Redshirt senior Kyle Eason (165) turned the tables back in favor of WVU, however, as he defeated Jesse Swink in a 6-0 decision.
Redshirt junior Lance Bryson (174) then followed Eason's win with a decision victory of his own. Bryson found himself down 3-1 with less than 20 seconds remaining, as the Fighting Scots' Chris Hrunka earned a takedown. Bryson battled and got the escape point, then followed it up with a takedown with 12 seconds remaining to seal the victory.
“We wrestled well enough that we could have made that easier on ourselves,†Turnbull said. “We should have taken control of that match and should not have been in the position to give that takedown up to them. When it came down to winning the match, though, Lance had his back to the wall and responded the way you would hope.â€
Following a decision victory and a tech fall at 184 pounds and 197 pounds, the Fighting Scots held a 17-15 lead heading into the heavyweight match.
Williamson scored an early takedown to gain a 2-0 advantage and was able to fend off shots from opponent Ernest James. With the riding time advantage, Williamson earned a 3-0 decision win and an 18-17 win for the Mountaineers.
“The team was determined that since we have been all around the spectrum this season that we needed to pull it all together,†Turnbull said. “Tonight's win should put us in that top 25 position. It was a good win for the team overall.â€
WVU is now 8-4 overall and 3-2 in the Eastern Wrestling League.
The Mountaineers will close out their dual meet season with a match against EWL foe Cleveland State tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m.
Results:
125: No. 23 Shane Young (WVU) win by fall Kory Mines (EU), 4:30
133: No. 6 A.J. Schopp (EU) dec. No. 25 Nathan Pennesi (WVU), 6-2
141: No. 29 Michael Morales (WVU) dec. No. 14 Mitchell Port (EU), 8-6 SV
149: No. 5 David Habat (EU) dec. Brutus Scheffel (WVU), 6-1
157: Casey Fuller (EU) dec. Dominic Prezzia (WVU), 3-1
165: Kyle Eason (WVU) dec. Jesse Swink (EU), 6-0
174: No. 21 Lance Bryson (WVU) dec. Chris Hrunka (EU), 4-3
184: No. 28 Vic Avery (EU) dec. No. 16 Matt Ryan (WVU), 3-2
197: No. 2 Chris Honeycutt (EU) tech fall Mac Mancuso (WVU), 22-7
HWT: No. 17 Brandon Williamson (WVU) dec. No. 20 Ernest James (EU), 3-0
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