MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Redshirt junior Noah Adams extended his win streak to 37 at 197 pounds, as the West Virginia wrestling team competed against Bucknell and No. 19 Oklahoma on Sunday afternoon, at the WVU Coliseum.
The Mountaineers (3-2) posted a 29-3 win over the Bison (0-2) before dropping a hard-fought match to the No. 19-ranked Sooners (2-1), 21-9, in the squad’s final dual of the day.
“I thought we wrestled a little bit better in the first dual,” third-year coach Tim Flynn said. “While Bucknell didn’t have a lot of ranked guys, they had some solid kids in there. We got in some good scraps. We are winning some close matches. It was good for us. We came out a lot better than last week.”
Wrestling at 197 pounds, No. 1 Adams claimed victories over Bucknell’s Luke Niemeyer and Oklahoma’s Jake Woodley, who is ranked as high as No. 12 by Intermat, to improve to 5-0 on the year and extend his win streak to 37, which dates back to Nov. 3, 2019.
Adams secured his first bonus victory of the season, earning a 17-1 win over Niemeyer to start the day. Adams then walked away with a 3-2 victory over Woodley. With the score tied at 2-2 heading into the final frame, Adams elected to start on bottom. He managed to escape and rode Woodley through the period to put the score in his favor at 3-2.
Redshirt freshman Anthony Carman also notched a 2-0 record on the day, topping Sam Barnes of Bucknell and No. 31 Darrien Roberts of Oklahoma. With the wins, Carman topped a ranked opponent for the first time in his collegiate career.
Trailing 4-2 after one, Carman scored a reversal and a takedown for the 6-5 lead heading into the third period. Roberts started on bottom and earned an escape to even the match at 6-6, but the riding time point was awarded to Carman at the end of regulation, handing the Glen Dale native the 7-6 decision.
Additionally, No. 24 Peyton Hall took down his second ranked opponent of the year, defeating No. 26 Jake Stiles of Oklahoma in a 2-1 decision. The Chester native started the third period on bottom and quickly earned an escape to tie the bout at one-all. Hall kept the pressure through the period and forced two stalling calls on Stiles to capture the 2-1 win.
“They (Oklahoma) were a touch better, but if we were a touch better than we are right now, we would’ve seized that match,” Flynn said. “We lost a close one at 125, 133 and 149. We were in the match at heavyweight. I thought Scott Joll, even though he got beat pretty soundly, he just fell behind. I thought they were ripe for the picking there.
“We are getting better, and I know it doesn’t show in the box score, but I think the people who are watching can see that the matches are more competitive. Our guys are the one’s attacking, and our guys are the one’s in better shape. We are getting there, so we are just going to keep doing the same thing for the next two weeks.”
Redshirt juniors Killian Cardinale (125) and Joey Thomas (133), sophomore Scott Joll (174), redshirt freshmen Michael Wolfgram (HWT) and Jeffrey Body (141) and freshmen Brayden Roberts (149) and Caleb Dowling (157) each tallied a victory in their respective weight classes against Bucknell.
Several Mountaineers also participated in extra matches throughout the day, including juniors Jackson Moomau (184) and Caleb Rea (141), sophomore Liam Lusher (149), redshirt freshman Walker Heard (157) and freshman Colton Drousias (125).
Of note, Dowling and Heard competed in dual action for the first time in their collegiate careers at 157 pounds.
Looking ahead, West Virginia will take a week off before competing against Big 12 affiliate Northern Colorado at noon Jan. 31 at the Coliseum.
