Wrestling finishes quad match 1-2
The Waynesburg University wrestling team hosted a quad match Saturday, Dec. 12 against West Virginia Tech, 12th-ranked Stevens Institute of Technology and 16th-ranked Baldwin Wallace. The Jackets finished the day 1-2 with a win against West Virginia Tech 43-9.
“We were going in tough,” said head coach Ron Headlee. “We gave ourselves a chance to win and showed good effort in our matches against Tech.”
Waynesburg had leads in all three contests, and nearly beat the 12th-ranked Ducks, but came up short in two Waynesburg losses that came by two points or fewer.
“Both teams were really good,” said junior 141-pounder Filippo Crivelli. “Being young is no excuse, we can hang with any team, and we just have to believe in ourselves more.”
Crivelli led the Jackets by beating West Virginia Tech’s Dennis Marmalyukov by 13-3 major decision.
“This was his best match so far this year,” said Headlee. “Each guy gains confidence each week and this week was Filippo’s turn.”
He then had two more straight wins on the day with another major decision over Stevens’ Gianpierre DiBattista 13-3.
“We keep improving with each event that we wrestle,” said Crivelli. “I like where our team is going and I’m excited for the end of the semester.”
The Waynesburg 141-pounder ended his day by upsetting B-W’s Josh Decatur 5-1.
“It felt really good to win,” said Crivelli. “My last opponent was nationally ranked so he was pretty tough.”
Junior 184-pounder Ryan Shank also went 3-0 on the day. He picked up two forfeits against both West Virginia Tech and Stevens.
“Ryan has been solid for us all year,” said Headlee. “He’s placed in the top four every match so we know what we’re getting out of him.”
Shank scored an impressive victory against D3Wrestle.com national top 10, Ben Lebrun from Baldwin Wallace to a 6-1 decision.
“Shank always performs well,” said Crivelli. “We’re both captains so he does a good job representing the team on and off the field.”
Freshman heavyweight Jake Evans finished 2-0 on Saturday, by pinning Stevens’ Pete Andrish in 2:14. He also pulled out a 2-0 victory over BW’s Joe Belford. Evans had a 1-0 lead on a second period escape before riding out his opponent for two minutes of the third period.
Sophomore 133-pounder Zach Swarrow went 2-1 with his only loss from Baldwin Wallace’s Jesse Gunter. Gunter is the number three ranked wrestler in the country and a two time Division III All American. Swarrow had the team’s fastest pin in 49 seconds against West Virginia Tech’s Brannon King. He also won an 8-0 major decision against Stevens’ Joey Borai.
Senior Gordan Bieber and sophomore Tristan Buxton were both successful at 125 pounds. Other names mentioned by coach Headlee were senior heavyweight Greg Kumer, sophomore 165 pounder Landon Lohr and freshman 174 pounder Mike Millero.
“We’re prepared for Seton Hill,” said Crivelli. “They’re a good team that keeps improving but I think we’ll end the semester on a good note.”
The Jackets travel to division II Seton Hill, Saturday, Dec. 19 when they travel to Division II. Start time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
“Seton Hill is just another good test for us,” said Headlee. “They’ll be good competition but I think we’ll surprise them in a few weight classes.”