Kolat coaches Campbell University to wins over WVU, Ohio in Mountaineer Quad
Darnell Graham
Campbell University’s Nathan Kraisser controls West Virginia University’s Devin Brown during the first period in Sunday’s dual meet as part of the Mountaineer Quad at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown. Kraisser, who won all three of his bouts on Sunday, pinned Brown later in the period. Kraisser is coached by Jefferson-Morgan grad Cary Kolat.
Campbell head coach Cary Kolat provides instruction to Austin Kraisser during the Camels' match against West Virginia University on Sunday in Morgantown at the Mountaineer Quad.
MORGANTOWN — Campbell University benefited from a disqualification but head coach Cary Kolat will take it, as the Camels earned a 29-17 victory over West Virginia University on Sunday in the Mountaineer Quads at the WVU Coliseum.
Kolat, who was a four-time state champion with a career record of 137-0 at Jefferson-Morgan High School, came back to Morgantown where he was once an assistant, and led Campbell to a 23-15 win over Ohio, but the Camels (2-1) suffered a 21-13 loss to Pitt (2-0) in their final match. Campbell competed in the Mountaineer Quads last season but didn’t win a match.
“Any time you put wins in the wins column, it’s good for our program, so going 2-1 on the day, looking back, it’s good, but now we will assess how we won,” Kolat said. “There were some ugly wins, and we have to make some corrections there, and against Pitt, we saw a lot of chinks in the armor where we were exposed, and we got to go back and tighten things up this week.
“We were here last year, but it was a rough weekend and we didn’t win a match, so to come out of here with two wins and one loss is a step up for our program.”
WVU and Campbell were tied at 18-18 heading into the 197-pound bout between the Mountaineers’ Jacob A. Smith and the Camels’ Willie Bivens III.
Smith, who is ranked in the top 10 in the country according to polls by InterMat (8), TrackWrestling (10) and FloWrestling (10), used a takedown and two-near fall points to build a 4-0 after the first period, and extended his lead in the second to 7-0 after an escape and another takedown.
The Charleston, West Virginia, native allowed Bivens to escape in the third and picked up another takedown and rode out the period for an apparent 10-1 victory with riding time and a 22-18 lead in the team score for West Virginia.
However, Smith was disqualified for some extracurricular activity following the bout, much to the chagrin of the Mountaineer faithful in attendance. WVU coach Sammie Henson challenged but the call stood and Bivens picked up the win via disqualification and the Mountaineers lost a team point. Campbell took a 24-17 lead into the final bout at 285.
Smith wasn’t able to compete in WVU’s match against Ohio later on Sunday, and will not be available for the Mountaineers in their next competition at Journeymen ASICS Collegiate Classic on Nov. 13 in Troy, New York.
Jere Heino (285) added a technical fall for the Camels when he used eight takedowns, a four-point nearfall and riding time for a 21-6 win as time expired in the third to Campbell a 29-17 triumph.
Heino earned a decision over Ohio and topped Pitt’s John Rizzo, 9-6, to win all three of his matches.
The match started well for Campbell when returning NCAA National Championship qualifier Nathan Kraisser pinned Franklin Regional High School grad Devin Brown in the first period and a 6-0 lead for the Camels. Kraisser won his next two matches to finish 3-0 at the quad meet.
Kraisser’s eventful weekend started Saturday in Cleveland at the NWCA All-Star Classic. Kraisser, who is the first Campbell wrestler to compete in the 51 years of the event, edged Missouri’s Barlow McGhee, 3-2. McGhee was ranked No. 6 by InterMat, while Kraisser was No. 14.
“To have a guy win for us at the All-Star meet and win these two matches today, it was a good weekend for the Campbell wrestling program,” Kolat said. “We are a young team and we had some freshmen make some freshmen mistakes. I think as you see our season progress, those younger guys will be more of a veteran type.”
Cory Stainbrook (133) got the Mountaineers back in the match with a fall over Jonathan Ryan in the third period for a 6-6 tie. Tony DeAngelo put WVU ahead, 9-6, when he picked up a 6-2 decision over Joshua Heil at 141.
Christian Monserrat (149) pinned Luke Stewart in 2:14 to increase the home team’s lead to 15-6.
Austin Kraisser cut into the deficit to 15-12 for the Camels when he pinned Daton Garrett in 4:07 at 157.
Dylan Cottrell defended his No. 15 ranking with a 5-2 decision over Quentin Perez at 165 to increase the Mountaineers’ lead to 18-12. Cottrell picked up a takedown in the first and allowed an escape for a 2-1 lead. He escaped for a 3-1 lead in the second and scored another takedown for a 5-1 advantage. He allowed Perez to escape in the third.
Alexander Herringshaw helped Campbell cut into WVU’s lead with a 3-0 decision over Ty Millward at 174 for an 18-15 West Virginia lead.
Ville Heino qualified for the national championships last season, and the Camel redshirt senior didn’t disappoint with a hard-fought 6-4 decision over Parker VonEgidy at 184 to tie the score at 18-18.
VonEgidy scored the first takedown for a 2-0 lead but Heino escaped and scored a takedown for a 3-2 lead in the second. VonEgidy escaped to tie the match at 3-3 and escaped for a 4-3 lead in the third. Heino stayed poised, though, got the takedown and rode out VonEgidy for the remainder of the third and picked up one-riding point for the two-point win.
Heino picked up victories in the Camels’ dual matches against Ohio and Pitt to start his season at 3-0.
Pitt and Ohio battled on Mat 2 while the Camels and Mountaineers were on Mat 1. The Panthers edged the Bobcats, 21-16, with Pitt heavyweight Ryan Solomon earning a 6-2 decision over Zack Parker to seal the victory.
Ohio (1-2) defeated West Virginia, 25-11, on Mat 1 as Pitt and Campbell were wrestling in the day’s final session. The Mountaineers were 0-2.
Match notes: Waynesburg Central grad and Drew Headlee is an assistant coach on Pitt’s staff. Headlee wrestled and graduated for the Panthers in 2008. Although he didn’t compete on Sunday, Belle Vernon grad Austin Bell is on Pitt’s roster. Bell is listed at 165/174. Pitt is ranked No. 23 in the country.
Up next: Campbell meets Clarion and American in Washington, D.C. while Pitt travels to Edinboro for a dual match. Ohio competes in the Bearcat Open in Binghampton, New York. All the matches will be on Nov. 13.