Wheeling, W. Va. - Throughout the 2025-2026 season, it has been the young talent leading the way for the Wheeling University Wrestling team (3-1, 2-1). On Saturday, that success from the young wrestlers continued as the team opened the 2026 portion of the schedule at the Fairmont State Open. The Cardinals would have six wrestlers place on the day, with three of those finishing in the top two of their respective weight classes.
Leading the way for the Cardinals was freshman Jack Dinwiddie, who took home his first collegiate gold medal in the 141-pound weight class. He would get things going right from the start, battling UNA's Johnny Bainac in the first round. He would survive an 11-5 Decision that kickstarted him through the rest of the bracket. He earned his first Mountain East Conference (MEC) win with a tech fall over West Liberty's Matt Englehardt and added a 4-2 decision over UNA's Ethan Mitchell in the Quarterfinals to move to 3-0 on the day. It sent him the championship match, where he would take on Fairmont State's Colton Stoneking for the title. He would end up claiming victory thanks to an injury default, giving him his first collegiate title in his weight class. It also helped propel him to the top of the Cardinal wins leaderboard, moving his record to 15-6 on the season.
The other two Cardinals to make it to their respective championship matches were Jaxon Burcher (197) and Gavin Harper (285). First up was Burcher in the 197-pound weight class, where he received a bye to start his day. His first match would come in the quarterfinals, where he battled through three rounds before pinning Rio Grande's Ashton Simison at the 6:49 mark. He would add a 4-1 decision over UNA's Erick Brothers Jr. And would face Brother's teammate JR Reed in the championship. There, he would end up being pinned at the 2:23 mark to finish his day 2-1, earning the silver medal. Harper was returning from injury, and would also get things going in the Quarterfinals. He would take on Apprentice's Landon Michael and pinned him in 56 seconds to start his day. He would then take down Apprentice's Jalen Terry-Winston in a 14-6 Major Decision, before dropping the Championship match to Rio Grande's Bruce Wagner to end his day at 2-1.
The next top five finisher would be Mannix Wasco, who finished 4th overall in the 149LB weight class, going 2-2 across his four matches. He started his day strong, pinning Apprentice's Amari Williams in 4:20, before defeating Hunter Browning in a 16-0 tech fall to make it to the semifinals. However, in that semifinal match, he would suffer an injury against Glenville State's Gabe Ornarato, and would bring his day to an end. He would have to forfeit the third place match and finished 2-1 to start 2026. Rounding out the top five placers was Neal Krysty, who would finish 5th overall in the 133-pound weight class. Krysty would start his day with a 15-0 tech fall over Salem's Fabian Rivera. He would be pinned in the Quarterfinals before bouncing back with a 11-0 Mahor Decision over Thomas More's Christopher Ferraro. It would move him to the fifth place match, where he earned an injury default victory to finish 3-1 overall.
The final placer of the day for the Cardinals was Bradley Spencer, who took sixth in the 157-pound weight class. He would finish 2-3, with his first win coming in the opening match against Thomas More's Ethan Kuhns. He would pick up an 8-5 Decision, before falling in a Major Decision. He would come back in the consolation bracket, and earned his second decision of the day, beating Thomas More's Colin Ross 10-5. He would drop back-to-back matches to end the day and earned him the sixth place finish. While he did not place, Jake Taylor had a big day at 165-pounds, finished 3-2 including one tech fall win on the day. Xander Cartes would pick up his first collegiate win, going 1-2 in the 174-pound weight class, while Vincint Sefic went 0-2 at 184-pounds to round out the day.
The Wheeling University Wrestling team returns to action on Saturday, January 10th, when they host the Wheeling Tri-Match against Davis & Elkins and Waynesburg with first matches beginning at 6 PM.
