Alliance, OH. – After a long off-season, the Wheeling University Wrestling team kicked off the 2022 season at the Mount Union Invitational. They started out the day 5-0 through their first five matches of the day and finished eighth among the nine teams in attendance with three wrestlers on the ballot throughout the night.
The day kicked off with the 141-pound weight class as Caden Canning made his collegiate debut on the match. He would face off with Mount Union's Logan Miller and started his career with a bang, picking up a pinfall in 2:35 as he moved on to the round of 16. His next opponent was Johnathan Ward from Ferrum College and he would pick up a technical fall (17-0) and made it to the top eight of the bracket. His run in the championship bracket would come to an end as he fell in an 11-8 decision as he moved to the consolation bracket. His day would come to an end in his first match as he lost a tight 4-0 decision to bring him to 2-2 to start his collegiate career.
Up next was Joshua Sharron, who was wrestling in the 157-pound class for the first time in his Collegiate career. Like his teammate, Sharron also picked up a first round win with a pinfall just 26 seconds into the match. Ferrum College's Perry Roller was up next for Sharron in the round of 16. Sharron picked up a Major Decision (11-0) and moved to the top eight. There, he would meet up with West Liberty's Blake Miller and dropped a technical fall (20-3) to move to the consolation bracket. He would take on Ferrum College's Christian Hite in what would be his final match of the night. He fell in a 13-6 decision and finished the tournament 2-2.
Wheeling's final wrestler came in the 285-pound weight class as Zach Kuneff made his 2022 season debut. The Cardinals had a pattern in their first three matches of the night as Kuneff took on Mount Union's Max Farmer. Like his teammates, Kuneff also picked up a pinfall victory at the 4:58 mark to move to the round of 16. He would match up with Ohio Northern University's Jadon Brownlee in the round of 16 and fell in a 6-0 decision. He then moved to the consolation bracket, where he faced Ferrum's George Mitchell. Kuneff would fall in a pinfall (0:50) to end his night. Overall, the Cardinals totaled three pinfall wins on the night and starter out strong as they wrestle through tournament season.
The Wheeling University Wrestling team returns to the mat on Sunday, November 13th, at the Case Western Open.
