Michigan State University
West Virginia
Wrestling Rallies To Defeat West Virginia, 21-18
1/14/2011 12:00:00 AM | Wrestling
Jan. 14, 2011
MORGANTOWN, W.V. - The Michigan State wrestling team rallied from a 12-0 deficit to come back and defeat West Virginia, 21-18, Friday night at the WVU Coliseum. With MSU trailing 18-15 in the final match, heavyweight Joe Rizqallah pinned Philip Mandzik in the second period to give MSU the 21-18 victory. The Spartans continue their best start since 1993-94 by improving to 8-1, while the Mountaineers fall to 4-4.
The Spartans were behind the entire dual until Rizqallah's fall at heavyweight.
WVU began the evening with three straight wins at 125, 133 and 141 pounds. Shane Young beat Eric Olanowski by a 7-2 decision at 125, No. 15 Nathan Pennesi got a technical fall over Levi Stace, 16-0, at 133, and Michael Morales defeated Joel Trombly by a major decision, 10-0, at 141.
Michigan State got on the board as Dan Osterman recorded his first fall of the season, pinning Brandon Rader with 1:07 left in the second period of the 149-pound match. Osterman improved to a perfect 9-0 in dual meets.
At 157 pounds, true freshman Sean McMurray made his debut in the starting lineup a memorable one, defeating Ryan Goodman by a 5-2 decision, cutting the West Virginia lead to 12-9.
The Mountaineers responded in the 165 match as Donnie Jones beat Ben Boudro, 8-3, but Curran Jacobs fought right back for the Spartans at 174 pounds, recording a 9-5 decision over Alex Meade. With the win, Jacobs now leads the team in victories with 18 and is 7-1 in duals this season.
West Virginia extended its lead to 18-12 and pushed MSU to the brink as Matt Ryan topped Ian Hinton, 3-2, in the 184-pound matchup.
The Spartans rallied in the back half for the fifth time this season, however, winning the last two matches to claim the dual.
No. 19 Tyler Dickenson started the late charge with a 4-1 decision over Kyle Rooney at 197 pounds to cut the WVU lead to 18-15 before Rizqallah completed the comeback with his fall over Mandzik at heavyweight.
The Spartans (8-1, 0-1 Big Ten) return to action Sunday at 2 p.m. to face Ohio State in Millersburg, Ohio, at West Holmes High School.
Michigan State 21, West Virginia 18
125: Shane Young (WVU) dec. Eric Olanowski (MSU), 7-2; WVU leads, 3-0
133: No. 15 Nathan Pennesi (WVU) tech. fall Levi Stace (MSU), 4:16 (16-0); WVU leads, 8-0
141: Michael Morales (WVU) maj. dec. Joel Trombly (MSU), 10-0; WVU leads, 12-0
149: Dan Osterman (MSU) pinned Brandon Rader (WVU), 3:53; WVU leads, 12-6
157: Sean McMurray (MSU) dec. Ryan Goodman (WVU), 5-2; WVU leads, 12-9
165: Donnie Jones (WVU) dec. Ben Boudro (MSU), 8-3; WVU leads, 15-9
174: Curran Jacobs (MSU) dec. Alex Meade (WVU), 9-5; WVU leads, 15-12
184: Matt Ryan (WVU) dec. Ian Hinton (MSU), 3-2; WVU leads, 18-12
197: No. 19 Tyler Dickenson (MSU) dec. Kyle Rooney (WVU), 4-1; WVU leads, 18-15
HWT: Joe Rizqallah (MSU) pinned Philip Mandzik (WVU) , 4:50; MSU wins, 21-15
Players Mentioned
