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Coming off an emotional high from the Ron Mauck OVAC Wrestling Tournament, Beallsville's Jimmy Reisz was on a roll being unmarked for the year until he stepped foot in Hannibal this weekend.
The OVAC champion was stunned by Barnesville's Kurtis Jefferis in a sudden-death overtime matchup. The win for Jefferis was a great win and will hopefully will be used as a spring board for the Shamrock grappler as the sectional tournament comes closer.
But don't think this loss will slow down Reisz. As one coach said to me this weekend, "everyone loses a match" and he is right. Maybe Reisz was on too high of a note and needed a reality check. Call it what you may, but Reisz will be prepared going into the state tournament.
In the best form of his prep career, Reisz is on a mission this season and it ends in Columbus. Every great wrestler hits a bump in the road and it is no different for Reisz.
However, this is going to set up an interesting bracket for the sectional tournament with Reisz, Jefferis and Bellaire's Robbie Chilson, a returning state runner-up, vying for position in the 140-pound weight class.
Look for these three grapplers to potentially be the top three at the D-III sectional tournament at Barnesville on Feb. 16.
Bulldogs place 4 wrestlers
NEW LEXINGTON -- The Bridgeport mat program continued to build momentum this weekend as the Bulldogs placed four grapplers to take 15-of-25 in the New Lexington Tournament.
"It was an exciting weekend," Bridgeport mat coach Ross Roskovich said. "The competition was really competitive and we got to see some guys who we will see in our districts."
The Bulldogs were led by senior Bryan Skoff. The 160-pounder found a couple mat slappers as he pinned his way into the finals before toeing the line with Robert Norway (25-1) of Nelsonville-York. Both entering the match undefeated, Skoff (37-0) unloaded on his D-III rival with an 18-3 technical fall.
Others placing in Bulldog fashion were Sean West (4th-285), Jimmy Gessler (6th-112) and Todd Bevan (7th-171).
West's placement trail was one of the tougher ones as the Most Outstanding Wrestling -- Eddie Buddy of Fisher Catholic -- came from his weight class.
Park drops in finals
of West Virginia Duals
PARKERSBURG, W.Va. -- Coming off an emotional high winning the overall title at the Ron Mauck OVAC Wrestling Tournament, the Wheeling Park mat program wasn't at the top of its game entering the two-day dual tournament that hosted the top teams in West Virginia and a few dominant Ohio squads.
"We didn't wrestle our best this weekend," Park mat coach Sean Doyle admitted in a phone conversation. "Coming off the OVAC tournament and coming right into this tournament has been tough on us and it only gets harder. This week we'll dual with both Cambridge and John Marshall."
Even not wrestling their best, the Patriots were still able to secure a runner-up finish to Walsh Jesuit in the championship of he inaugural West Virginia Duals at Parkersburg's Memorial Fieldhouse.
Finishing with a 7-0 record in its pool, the Patriots defeated Parkersburg South (40-30) for the second time this season to advance to the finals.
Down Jason Waugh after a season-ending injury and Bryce Rush to injury, the Warriors had to much gun power as Wheeling Park lost its second dual match of the season, 41-33.
''The guys wrestled fairly well,'' Doyle said. ''We definitely didn't have our best weekend by any means. Coming off the OVAC Tournament, which was a huge event for our guys, it was hard to get back up emotionally. I think toward the end of (Saturday) you saw that more than anything."
WLSC WRESTLERS
GO 3-1
PEMBROKE, N.C.--The West Liberty State College wrestling team upended No. 10-ranked Newberry on Saturday at the East Coast Duals at the University of North Carolina-Pembroke.
The Hilltoppers won three of four matches at the event, which featured 17 of the nation's top-ranked individuals.
West Liberty defeated Newberry 23-14 behind victories by Lucas Huffman (125), Dustin Daugherty (133), former St. John Central graduate Kayne Melko (149), Seth Phalen (165), Brandon Neifeld (174) and Mitch Knapp (197).
Belmont Abbey defeated West Liberty, 19-13, in the Hilltoppers' other match on Saturday.
West Liberty got off to a solid start during Friday action by posting victories against Carson-Newman (33-18) and St. Andrews (40-4).
BROOKE'S BLISS
POSTS WINS
PEMBROKE, N.C.-- In the 157-pound weight class former Brooke High standout Phil Bliss posted three wins at the East Coast Duals for Belmont Abbey (N.C.).
CYLONES EDGED, BERTOLINO PICKS
UP WIN
STILLWATER, Okla. - Iowa State and Oklahoma State split the difference Sunday evening but a lone bonus point was the difference as the No. 3 Cowboys escaped with a 16-15 victory over No. 9 ISU at Gallagher-Iba Arena.
ISU's No. 20 197-pounder David Bertolino -- a Buckeye Local graduate -- opened the dual with a 3-1 decision over Clayton Foster. Eight seconds into the second period, Foster was able to escape from the grasp of Bertolino to take a 1-0 lead, but Bertolino answered by taking down the Cowboy for a 2-1 advantage and added to his lead with an escape in the final period. Bertolino improves to 17-9 in his senior campaign.
Despite the team score, Iowa State was often the aggressor in matches which pleased head coach Cael Sanderson.
"I thought we wrestled well today," Sanderson said to ISU's Sports Information Department. "We need to take a few steps now and work ourselves toward coming back here for the Big 12 Tournament. Stillwater is a tough place to wrestle and we went five-and-five with them. We were there the whole time. OSU is tough at the lighter weights and we were right in there with them. We need to take it up a notch and master the fundamentals."
RUSH POSTS TWO WINS
BOSTON, Mass. – The Boston University wrestling team split a home tri-meet on Saturday, dropping a tight 22-19 battle with Rutgers before posting a 42-0 shutout victory against Delaware State. The Terriers now stand at 5-6 on the season.
The Terriers won five of the nine contested matches against the Scarlet Knights and held a 19-16 edge, but were unable to overcome their forfeit at the 125-pound match.
Former Wheeling Park standout Abbie Rush earned a 6-3 decision over Dan Hilt of Rutgers and pinned Ted Broomall of Delaware State in 1:26.
The Terriers will return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 30, when they host Springfield College at the Track & Tennis Center beginning at 7 p.m.
TUCKER WINS THIRD STRAIGHT AS OHIO FALLS SHORT
Buffalo, N.Y. -- Martins Ferry native Clay Tucker won his third straight dual meet bout, defeating Buffalo's Jon Cummings by a 4-1 decision, but the Bobcats struggled as team, falling 24-9 to the Bulls in their third MAC dual this season.
The Bobcats will be back in action Friday in Blacksburg, Va. as they face Virginia Tech in a dual meet.
MUSKINGUM, JEFFERIS PINS COMPETITION
NEW CONCORD -- Muskingum College pinned the competition at the Thiel College Duals on Saturday posting a perfect 4-0 record to extend it's season-best winning streak to five. The Muskies beat R.I.T. (35-15), West Virginia University Tech (54-0), Thiel (24-22) and Mercyhurst North East (21-20).
True freshman and Barnesville native Paul Jefferis led the Muskies with three falls on the day and one technical fall, while senior Dave Minner also posted a 4-0 mark with two major decisions, one decision and one forfeit.
Muskingum received six forfeit wins against WVU Tech to easily build a large lead. Jefferis added a pin at the 2:12 mark and freshman Tommy Patterson chipped in a pin at the 4:55 plateau to set the stage for the dominating win.
Against Thiel, Muskingum rallied from a 22-12 deficit in the final two matches to stun the host Tom Cats. Freshman Robbie Weisenberger closed the gap to 22-18 with a pin at the 2:42 mark in his 197-pound bout. Jefferis completed the comeback with a dominating effort that resulted in a pin just 35 seconds into his match to clinch the win for the Fish.
Muskingum mounted a comeback once again against Mercyhurst NE. The Fish trailed 20-16 heading into the final bout before Jefferis secured a 22-6 technical fall to lift the Muskies to a stunning 21-20 win. The win marked the third time in the Fish's last five matches that Jefferis has clinched the victory for Muskingum with a win.
With the wins, Muskingum improves to 6-8 overall.
Muskingum hits the mat again as they host Ohio Athletic Conference rival Wilmington Tuesday.
HARDING MIDDLE TAKES OHIO VALLEY CHAMPIONSHIPS
MORRISTOWN -- Rich with athletic talent, Steubenville Harding (255) used its depth to blast the compeition at the Junior High Ohio Valley Championships this weekend.
Winning by over 80 points, Oak Glen (171), Harrison Central (162.5), Shadyside (161) and Caldwell (138.5) trailed the Harding mat program had five placers with one individual champion -- JoJo Pierro (142).
Claiming Most Oustanding Wrestler of the tournament was Jeremy Border (92) of Caldwell.