MORGANTOWN, W.V. (Feb. 22, 2020) – The Wyoming wrestling team came up just short in its final dual of 2019-20, falling on the road Saturday to West Virginia, 17-16 in Morgantown. Both teams won five matches on the day, but the Mountaineers were able to get two bonus-point victories to edge the Pokes.
After losing a heartbreaker, 3-2 to begin the dual at 125 pounds, eighth-ranked Montorie Bridges got the biggest win of the day for the Cowboys (8-10, 4-4 Big 12) at 133 as he notched an impressive 16-3 major decision victory over WVU's Lucas Seibert.
Bridges controlled the match from the very beginning, getting a pair of takedowns and a four-point nearfall all in the first period and took a 8-1 advantage into the second. In the second, he registered another pair of takedowns and in the third period, got an escape and a fifth takedown in the match to go along with the riding time bonus point. After two matches, the Cowboys led the dual 4-3.
At 141 pounds, the Mountaineers regained the team lead with a major decision win and went up 7-4. At 149, No. 31 Jaron Jensen was able to knot-up the team score at 7-7 with a 7-4 win over Liam Lusher. Jensen came out on fire early, tallying three opening-period takedowns and led 6-3 after one. After Lusher got an escape in the second, Jensen was able to control the third and eventually got an escape to make the final margin, 7-4.
WVU got its second major decision win in the dual at 157 pounds as Alex Hornfeck defeated Dewey Krueger, 9-1 and pushed WVU out in front in the dual, 11-7.
At 165, Cole Moody got the Cowboys back on track with his hard-fought 7-5 upset-victory over No. 27 Nick Kiussis. The match was tied at 2-2 going into the final period when Moody got the first of his two reversals in the period, going up 4-2. Kiussis was able to take a brief lead late, 5-4 after he got an escape and a takedown, however, Moody would not stay behind long as he got another reversal to grab the lead, 6-5 and then added the riding time point to grab the victory and make the team score 11-10 in favor of the Mountaineers.
WVU went up 14-10 in the match after a win at 174 pounds by Scott Joll as he defeated Hayden Hastings 9-7. At 184, Tate Samuelson got the Pokes back within one with his 8-4 decision over Jackson Moomau.
After a scoreless first, Samuelson went to work in the second period with an escape and a pair of takedowns and took a 5-2 lead into the third. In the third, Samuelson sandwiched his third takedown of the bout in-between a couple of Moomau escapes and led 7-4 before adding the riding time bonus and making the team score 14-13.
In the marquee matchup of the dual, second-ranked and undefeated Noah Adams of WVU outlasted No. 18 Stephen Buchanan of Wyoming, 9-8. Buchanan wrestled hard in the back-and-forth heartbreaker, leading 7-6 in the third. Adams was able to break a 7-7 tie with a late takedown in the final period and Buchanan was able to escape late but ran out of time to pull off the upset.
In the final bout of the afternoon, No. 15 Brian Andrews was able to rally to pick up a 3-2 win at heavyweight for the Pokes over Brandon Ngati. Ngati took a 2-0 lead into the second period and led 2-1 after an Andrews escape heading into the third. In the third period, Ngati chose neutral and Andrews was able to grab a takedown and then rode-out Ngati to pick up the win and make the final team score 17-16.
The Cowboys will now shift their focus to postseason tournaments, beginning with the Big 12 Championships held March 7-8 in Tulsa, Okla.
WVU 17, WYOMING 16
Feb. 22, 2020 | University High School | Morgantown, W.V.
125: Joey Thomas (WVU) dec. Jake Svihel (WYO) 3-2
133: No. 8 Montorie Bridges (WYO) MD Lucas Seibert (WVU) 16-3
141: Caleb Rea (WVU) MD Trevor Jeffries (WYO) 11-1
149: No. 31 Jaron Jensen (WYO) dec. Liam Lusher (WVU) 7-4
157: Alex Hornfeck (WVU) MD No. 33 Dewey Krueger (WYO) 9-1
165: Cole Moody (WYO) dec. No. 27 Nick Kussis (WVU) 7-5
174: Scott Joll (WVU) dec. No. 11 Hayden Hastings (WYO) 9-7
184: No. 30 Tate Samuelson (WYO) dec. Jackson Moomau (WVU) 8-4
197: No. 2 Noah Adams (WVU) dec. No. 18 Stephen Buchanan (WYO) 9-8
HWT: No. 15 Brian Andrews (WYO) dec. Brandon Ngati (WVU) 3-2
-WYO-
