Wrestling overpowers West Virginia, 25-15

Freshman Ian Hinton pins 12th-ranked Kurt Brenner to lead the Spartans

MORGANTOWN, W. Va., 1/17/09 - The Michigan State wrestling team earned its second road win in as many tries this season on Saturday, Jan. 17, after defeating West Virginia, 25-15. The Spartans (4-2) won the first three bouts of the night to jump out to a 13-0 lead, and would remain in front of the Mountaineers (2-4) for the remainder of the match.

"Our goal over the last two weeks was to attack more," said MSU head coach Tom Minkel. "We've wanted to be more assertive and more aggressive on the mat. We've made a lot of good progress. Tonight was a good team effort."

Top-ranked 133-pounder Franklin Gomez (Brandon, Fla.) extended his season-opening winning streak to 10 bouts, earning his third major decision of the season; a 17-4 victory against WVU's Tyler Oravec.

"Franklin has trained really hard," Minkel said. "He's very disciplined and technically he's very sound. The key for him is staying focused, which can be hard when you are ranked No. 1 and undefeated. However, he he has a good grip on that lets the other things take care of themselves."

Spartan redshirt freshman Eric Olanowski (Virginia Beach, Va.) opened the competition with a bang, pinning Mountaineer 125-pounder Tyler Smith in 1:48 to give MSU the early 6-0 lead.

Olanowski's pin was followed by Gomez's major decision and a 4-1 decision by MSU redshirt freshman Collin Dozier (Virginia Beach, Va.) over Colin Johnston to boost the Spartans' lead to 13-0.

The Mountaineers' first win of the night came at 149 pounds, when 20th-ranked David Jaregui pinned Spartan redshirt freshman David Cheza (Grand Blanc, Mich.) in 1:48 to shorten MSU's lead to 13-6.

The two teams swapped decisions in the next two matches to leave the score at 16-9 after 165 pounds. Anthony Jones Jr. (Highland Park, Mich.) picked up the 9-7 win at 157 for MSU, while senior Rex Kendle (Edwardsburg, Mich.) dropped a 5-2 decision to WVU's Donald Jones.

Redshirt freshman 174-pounder Ian Hinton (Nappanee, Ind.) extended the Spartan lead to 22-9 after recording a fall in 4:45 against No. 12 Kurt Brenner. Senior Nick Palmieri (Highland Heights, Ohio) sealed the win for MSU at 184 with an 8-3 decision over Lance Bryson.

The Mountaineers picked up wins in the final two bouts of the night, but the 16-point Spartan lead was too much to overcome with only two bouts remaining. Redshirt freshman Tyler Dickenson (Pewamo, Mich.) and senior Alan O'Donnell (Lakewood, Mich.) lost 7-5 and 9-5 decisions at 197 and 285, respectively, to close out the night.

The Spartans continue will their weekend road trip tomorrow (Jan. 17) when they visit Ohio. Action is slated to begin at 1 p.m.

Final Results
125 Eric Olanowski (MSU) pins Tyler Smith (WVU), 1:48; MSU leads, 6-0
133 #1 Franklin Gomez (MSU) maj. dec. Tyler Oravec (WVU), 17 - 4; MSU leads, 10-0
141 Collin Dozier (MSU) dec. Colin Johnston (WVU), 4 - 1; MSU leads, 13-0
149 #20 David Jauregui (WVU) pins David Cheza (MSU), 1:48; MSU leads, 13-6
157 Anthony Jones (MSU) dec. Mark Tskierdanos (WVU), 9 - 7; MSU leads, 16-6
165 Donald Jones (WVU) dec. Rex Kendle (MSU), 5 - 2; MSU leads, 16-9
174 Ian Hinton (MSU) pins #12 Kurt Brenner (WVU), 4:45; MSU leads, 22-9
184 Nick Palmieri (MSU) dec. Lance Bryson (WVU), 8 - 3; MSU leads, 25-9
197 Kyle Rooney (WVU) dec. Tyler Dickenson (MSU), 7 - 5; MSU leads, 25-12
285 Dustin Rogers (WVU) dec. Alan O'Donnell (MSU), 9 - 5; MSU wins, 25-15