WJU Wrestlers Host No. 1 Notre Dame College Friday

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WHEELING, W.Va. – The Wheeling Jesuit campus is getting used to hosting the nation's best in NCAA Division II competition. Friday night will be no different. The No. 16 Cardinals wrestlers host the No. 1 ranked Falcons of Notre Dame College as the third WJU team to host a top-rated opponent this year.

In the third year of its program, WJU has sustained a Top 20 ranking all season for the first time. The Cardinals (8-5) hold down the No. 16 spot heading into their highest first time hosting a top ranked opponent in the McDonough Center in the Falcons (9-0).

"Anytime that you have the No. 1 team in the country coming to your campus, you have to embrace the opportunity that it presents. Notre Dame has won a Division II Team Title in the last two years and recently won the NWCA National Dual Championships in dominating fashion," said WJU head coach Sean Doyle. "Our program is working relentlessly to become a program that can contend for a title and it's extremely important that we see that level of wrestling on a regular basis."

For the big match, WJU will have Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Wrestling Appreciation Night. The Cardinals will offer free admission both to area youth wrestling organization's wrestlers and OVAC wrestling teams.

WJU's match against Notre Dame will be the squad's sixth dual match against fellow Top 20 ranked teams. The Cardinals seek their first win in one of these matches after facing No. 8 Upper Iowa, No. 13 Tiffin, No. 14 Findlay, No. 7 Mercyhurst and No. 3 Pitt-Johnstown.

"We talked early on about evolving our schedule to that of a highly competitive state and it's happened quickly. This will be our sixth match of the last seven against a program inside of the Top 15," pointed out Doyle. "Our guys have handled it well and I believe it's because built within our culture is the understanding of learning at all times. Wrestling six Top 15 programs will magnify your weaknesses instantly, and it's better that we're learning that now, and not in the post season."

In common opponents, both WJU and Notre Dame have defeated West Liberty this season – Cardinals (32-6) and Falcons (41-6) over the Hilltoppers. Notre Dame defeated Mercyhurst, 24-15, at the NWCA National Duals, while WJU fell on the road (30-10).

Friday's match will feature eight nationally-ranked and 14 regionally-ranked wrestlers of the 20 projected lineup probables. WJU has the No. 5 ranked Dustin Warner (125) as its lone nationally-ranked wrestler and three others – Nolan Whitely (133), Dominick Nania (149) and Terrance Fanning (197) – joining him within the Super Region I ratings.

Top-ranked Notre Dame brings a potent lineup with regionally-ranked wrestlers dotting each weight class and seven of those individuals be rated within the nation's Top 8. The Falcons are led by 184-pound Joey Davis, who is the No. 1 ranked in his weight.

Weight Class Previews:

125 lbs: Dustin Warner (19-4) - WJU vs. Jacob Goodwin (9-5) or Ivan McClay (3-3) - NDC

Warner against either Goodwin or McClay will start the night's match with an intriguing matchup. Goodwin recently defeated the No. 1 ranked wrestler in the country, Tim Prescott of St. Cloud State. Warner and McClay met three times in last year's postseason – Warner captured two of the three matches. Both Warner (5^th) and McClay (7^th) earned All-American status.

Warner is ranked No. 5 nationally and No. 2 in Super Region I. Goodwin is No. 8 nationally and No. 4 Super Region I

133 lbs: Nolan Whitely (21-4) – WJU vs. David Bavery (23-6) – NDC

Whitely and Bavery met earlier this season at the Findlay Open. Bavery took away an overtime decision (5-3).

Whitely is No. 3 in Super Region I and Bavery No. 6 nationally and No. 1 Super Region I

141 lbs: Damon Outward (13-10) or Kollin Clark (2-6) – WJU vs. Cobey Fehr (10-1) – NDC

Fehr will head into the 141-pound weight as the favorite against either Outward or Clark. Fehr is the top-rated wrestler in Super Region I and No. 4 in the nation. Outward has six falls of his 13 victories this season.

149 lbs: Dominick Nania (21-5) – WJU vs. Isaac Dulgarian (19-2) – NDC

At 149, fans will see the No. 3 (Dulgarian) and No. 4 (Nania) Super Region I wrestlers face each other. Both wrestlers are wrestling very well recently.

Nania, the current WJU Men's Athlete of the Week, captured a fall against Super Region I's No. 6 ranked Travis Shaffer of UPJ and added a tech fall over his East Stroudsburg opponent. The junior also fell by only two points against the nation's No. 1 Nick Goebel of Findlay and No. 3 Jeremy Landowski of Mercyhurst.

157 lbs: Reyse Wallbrown (13-11) or Peyton Geary (12-8) – WJU vs. Jonatan Rivera (16-2) – NDC

The No. 3 rated nationally and No. 1 in Super Region I Rivera will hold an distinct advantage in his meeting against either Wallbrown or Geary.

165 lbs: Keegan Driscoll (11-8) – WJU vs. Juwan Edmond (20-5) – NDC

Driscoll has been wrestling solidly since taking over the Cardinals 165 spot, including a 12-7 decision last Sunday against East Stroudsburg.

Edmond sits at No. 6 nationally and No. 2 in Super Region I in a season he already has 20 victories.

174 lbs: Dean Meyer (1-1) – WJU vs. Justan Rivera (9-8) – NDC

Rivera is one win over .500, but he is ranked No. 2 at 174 in Super Region I.

Meyer saw his first action of the year last week and had an impressive pair of bouts. The sophomore fell by a 2-0 decision to Super Region I's No. 3 John Blankenship of UPJ. Meyer added a 13-4 major decision in his bout against East Stroudsburg.

184 lbs: Sawyer Leppla (3-5) – WJU vs. Joey Davis (9-0) – NDC

Davis goes into Friday night as the most heralded of all 20 wrestlers projected to wrestle. He is not only rated No. 1 nationally and in Super Region I, but he has not lost a collegiate match in his career and he is looking to become the first ever four-time Division II undefeated wrestler.

After placing in the top six of Super Region I, Leppla has seen only eight bouts this season. The junior has a tall order against Davis as his opponent.

197 lbs: Terrance Fanning (17-4) – WJU vs. Garrett Lineberger (17-3) – NDC

Projected to be one of the top matches of the night, NDC's Lineberger, Super Region I's No. 1, faces WJU's hottest and the Region's No. 4, Fanning.

Lineberger is also No. 4 nationally and wrestling very well. Fanning is 9-0 in dual matches this season and he defeated No. 6 Jacob Hart of UPJ, 4-2, a week ago, before an 11-1 major decision over Brandon Steele of East Stroudsburg.

285 lbs: Logan Bowman (7-10) or Corey Siegfried (8-7) – WJU vs. Almonte Patrick (4-6) – NDC

In the final bout, NDC, again, will have an edge, but not a large one. Patrick is the No. 5 Super Region I rated wrestler, but holds only a 4-6 mark on the year.

Bowman handled both dual matches for WJU last weekend. The sophomore had a strong Sunday match against No. 7 nationally and No. 2 regionally Tyson Searer of East Stroudsburg where he fell by a single point, 4-3.

-GoCards-

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