Wheeling, W. Va. - The dual meet schedule continued for the Wheeling University Wrestling team (1-1) as they headed up the road to take on Washington & Jefferson. The Cardinals would pick up a milestone victory, taking down Washington & Jefferson 35-11, and winning eight of the 10 bouts on the day. For the Cardinals, it was their first dual meet win since February 10th, 2022, when they beat Bluefield State 25-24.
The night would begin with a bang for the Cardinals as Brent Bosley took the mat in the 125lb weight class. After battling through the first round, Bosley would make his move two minutes into the match. He picked up his first pinfall victory of the season, pinning Holden DuBois (W&J) in 2:01. It got Wheeling out to a 6-0 advantage before Washington & Jefferson would pick up wins in each of the next two bouts. Josh Smith (W&J) would pick up a tech fall over Christian Osborne (WHL) and the Cardinals would have to take a forfeit in the 141lb weight class that gave the President's an 11-6 lead. With the early lead erased, the Cardinals would be forced to battle back through the final eight matches of the night.
They would turn to their veteran leader Caden Canning, and he would get the job done to get Wheeling back into the lead. He made quick work of his opponent, taking down Peyton Carter (W&J) in a tech fall in just 1:29, picking up an 18-1 win. It would tie the team score at 11-11 and it would be Ethan Aguniga who would give the Cardinals the lead in the 157lb weight class. Aguiniga would also win by tech fall, needing 2:52 to bring the score to 17-1 and earn six more points to give the Cardinals the lead at 16-11. Brian Crevar would be up next in the 167Lb weight class and he would pick up the Cardinal's third straight win. He would take down Colin Feeney (W&J) in a 10-2 Major Decision and the Cardinals were out to a 20-11 lead.
As the night turned to the heavyweights, it was Isaac Valdez who took the mat in the 174lb weight class. Valdez would pick up his fifth decision victory of the year, beating Joshua Searle (W&J) 7-3 to move his record to 5-5. Hunter Bittinger would take on the 184lb weight class, and got back to the Major Decision wins, taking down John Starusko (W&J) 10-0 to put Wheeling up 27-11. After missing the Collegiate Open on Sunday, Austin Hinzman returned to the lineup in the 197lb weight class. Hinzman would pick up his third win of the season, beating Jaden Fields (W&J) 13-4). The Cardinals would wrap up the night in the 285lb weight class, where Gavin Harper kept his success going. He would take on Christian McChesney (W&J) and picked up the team's fourth Major Decision of the day, winning 11-1, to bring the final score to 35-11.
With the win, the Cardinals picked up their first dual meet win since February 10th, 2022, when the Cardinals defeated Bluefield State on the final match of the night. The full list of results is listed below:
125: Brent Bosley (WHL) over Holden DuBois (W&J) by pinfall (2:01) - WHL 6, W&J 0
133: Josh Smith (W&J) over Christian Osborne (WHL) by tech fall (19-3 5:15) - WHL 6, W&J 5
141: Hunter Swedish (W&J) wins by forfeit – W&J 11, WHL 6
149: Caden Canning (WHL) over Peyton Carter (W&J) by tech fall (18-1 1:29) - WHL 11, W&J 11
157: Ethan Aguniga (WHL) over Nathan Thomas (W&J) by tech fall (16-1 2:52) - WHL 16, W&J 11
165: Brian Crevar (WHL) over Colin Feeney (W&J) by Major Decision (10-2) - WHL 20, W&J 11
174: Isaac Valdez (WHL) over Joshua Serle (W&J) by Decision (7-3) - WHL 23, W&J 11
184: Hunter Bittinger (WHL) over John Starusko (W&J) by Major Decision (10-0) - WHL 27, W&J 11
197: Austin Hunzman (WHL) over Jaden Fields (W&J) by Major Decision (13-4) - WHL 31, W&J 11
285: Gavin Harper (WHL) over Christian McChesney (W&J) by Major Decision (11-1) - WHL 35, W&J 11
The Wheeling University Wrestling team returns to action on Saturday, November 16th, when they compete in the Findlay Open.
