Wrestling 1/25/2017 2:38:00 PM Chris Myers

Cardinals Clash Against No. 10 Mountain Cats Friday Night

WHEELING, W.Va. – The list of nationally-ranked Cardinals mat opponents continue Friday night. In the McDonough Center, the Wheeling Jesuit wrestling team clash against No. 10 Pitt-Johnstown in a dual match.

With five top 25 dual win to their credit, the Cardinals (9-4) seek their sixth victory and first in their four-year program history against the traditional-power Mountain Cats (10-2) in a 7 p.m. first bout.

"Being prepared and ready for UPJ is a top priority for us every season. They've defeated us three times and we've continued to close the gap each year," pointed out WJU head coach Sean Doyle. "Although we've finished ahead of them at the regional tournament, establishing that we can beat them in a dual setting is very important to us."

For the first time this season, the WJU home match can be seen via Live Video.

Match Notes:

Wheeling Jesuit (9-4)
• WJU tries for its second double-digit dual match win season in a row. The Cardinals finished last year at 11-6.
• WJU is 5-3 vs. ranked opponents
• Cardinals fell 21-18 to No. 7 Mercyhurst last Friday afternoon in WesBanco Arena. WJU split the 10 bouts and received a Greg Brusco (157) fall to highlight its wins. Mercyhurst's 8^th-ranked Andy Welton prevailed over Maxwell Lacey in the 285 match for the win in the final bout.
• Last Saturday, WJU won 3 individual titles and had 4 other runner-up finishes at the West Virginia Intercollegiate Invitational. Dustin Warner (133), Nic Skonieczny (165) and Lacey (285) grabbed 1^st places, while Tyler Hogue (141), Reyse Wallbrown (174), Nate Starkey (184) and Logan Bowman (285) were second in their weight classes.
• Jake Donahue (125) is 6-1 in his January matches with his lone loss coming to Mercyhurst's No. 1 ranked Willie Bohince
• Daniel Romero (141) and Dominick Nania (149) are the first two Cardinals with 20 wins this season. Romero is 21-7 and Nania 20-7.
• Three Cardinals can reach the 20-win mark Friday with victories – 133-Nolan Whitely (19-9), 157-Greg Brusco (19-7) and 285-Lacey (19-9)

vs. No. 10 Pitt-Johnstown (10-2) – Friday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.
• Mark 4th year in a row for the two teams meeting in dual action
• UPJ has all three meetings
     2013-14 at UPJ: UPJ 41, WJU 3
     2014-15 at WJU: UPJ 28, WJU 6
     2015-16 at UPJ: UPJ 32, WJU 9
• Ranked in Super Region I: Pitt-Johnstown 2nd, WJU 3rd
• UPJ last competition was a 24-9 win at Gannon on Jan. 21^st
     -Mtn. Cats won 7 of 10 bouts…1^st 3 to build a 12-0 lead and 4 of first 5 matches for a 15-3 score…posted 6 decision wins and received 1 forfeit
• Probable Wrestlers Ranked Within Super Region I (Nationally)
125 – UPJ: Zeke Beatty 7th
133 – UPJ: Tanner Cahill 7^th vs. WJU: Nolan Whitely 3^rd
141 – UPJ: Chris Eddins 5^th vs. WJU: Daniel Romero 8th
149 – UPJ: Cole Landowski 6^th vs. WJU: Dominick Nania 1st (5^th)
157 – UPJ: Cody Law 1^st (1^st) vs. WJU: Greg Brusco 4th
165 – WJU: Nic Skonieczny 7th
174 – UPJ: John Blankenship 2^nd (11^th) vs. WJU: Reyse Wallbrown 6^th
184 – UPJ: Levi Niebauer 7^th vs. WJU: Nate Starkey (5^th)
197 – WJU: Terrance Fanning 4^th
285 – UPJ: D.J. Sims 3^rd (11^th) vs. WJU: Maxwell Lacey 5^th

• Probable Lineups (Season Records)
Wheeling Jesuit
125 - Jake Donahue (11-5)
133 - Nolan Whitely (19-9) or Dustin Warner (11-1)
141 - Daniel Romero (21-7)
149 - Dominick Nania (20-7)
157 - Greg Brusco (19-7)
165 - Nic Skonieczny (12-8) or TJ Smith (10-9)
174 - Reyse Wallbrown (16-12) or Keegan Driscoll (5-6)
184 - Nate Starkey (11-11)
197 - Terrance Fanning (11-7)
285 - Maxwell Lacey (19-9)

Pitt-Johnstown
125 – Zeke Beatty (7-9)
133 – Tanner Cahill (4-6) or Joe Davis (4-6)
141 – Chris Eddins (18-9)
149 – Cole Landowski (8-5)
157 – Cody Law (19-0)
165 – Steve Edwards (3-6)
174 – John Blankenship (17-7)
184 – Levi Niebauer (11-11)
197 – Nico Pecora (3-4)
285 – D.J. Sims (11-3)

-GoCards-

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