After the Ohio wrestling team's last matches yesterday in The Convo, Bobcats coach Joel Greenlee admitted that his squad was unprepared for its triangular meet, which saw them lose two non-conference matches to Cumberland College 23-18 and Virginia Tech 24-12.
The bottom line is we just weren't ready to wrestle and that's my fault
Greenlee said. There's no ifs ands or buts about it -we wrestled poorly as a team. I take responsibility for that and it isn't going to happen again.
With neither 197-starter Joel Weimer nor 174-pounder Ed Willis entirely healthy, the Bobcats were forced to play a bit of musical wrestlers with their line-up.
I should have done what I knew was right Greenlee said. Earlier in the week I should have weighed in other guys and went from there
but I didn't and that's my fault. You've got to be prepared to wrestle the match.
However, there were a few glimmering moments of hope as the Bobcats dropped below the .500-mark to 9-10 overall this season.
In their first match of the day against Cumberland, both 157-pound wrestler Jake Percival and heavyweight wrestler Jeremiah Beltran managed to pin their opponents, Percival with 31 seconds remaining in the third period and Beltran having come from behind to pin the Patriots' Renwick Richardson.
The only other Bobcats to win their matches against Cumberland were 141-pound wrestler Jim Fowler and 165-pound wrestler Tony DeAnna with narrow 7-6 and 6-5 decisions, respectively.
Four Bobcats also won against the 11-4 Hokies in Ohio's second match Sunday. The only wrestler to win both matches was Percival, who defeated No. 19 Reed Carpenter 7-3. At 125 pounds, Caleb Metcalf won a 5-2 decision and 149-pounder Mike Allen also managed a 5-3 decision.
You can't always think about how everyone else is wrestling
Allen said. You have to go out there and wrestle for yourself. We've been busting our butts in practice so I knew I was in shape.
The Bobcats' final victory against Virginia Tech came from 184-pound wrestler Adam Faires, his second match of the day and as a starter. The freshman's 5-4 decision against Tomas Ovalle created a ruckus in the Ohio crowd.
(Faires) wrestled a hell of a match
Greenlee said. It's the first time he's been in a varsity singlet in a dual meet situation. I think that sometimes brings a little bit of pressure with it.
Faires did feel some pressure that came with his first match in the starting line-up.
(Against Cumberland) I was just thinking
'Oh
crap
I don't want to lose
' Faires said. I wasn't really wrestling to win but just wrestling not to lose. Against Virginia Tech the pressure was off of me because I wrestled up at (197). I had nothing to lose.
The Bobcats look to get back on track as they head to Morgantown this Friday to take on the No. 20 West Virginia Mountaineers.
