With his team trailing 16-15, junior heavyweight Dustin Rogers defeated No. 21-ranked Zach Schaffer in overtime to secure WVU's third dual victory of the season. The Corning, Calif., native trailed 3-2 in the bout with less than 20 seconds left in regulation.
Rogers got the takedown he needed with 13 seconds remaining, but gave up an escape to send it into sudden victory. With just nine seconds remaining in the minute-long period Rogers scored another takedown on the edge of the mat to send his teammates home with their sixth consecutive dual victory in the Backyard Brawl.
The Panthers (6-5, 1-2 EWL) jumped on the Mountaineers (3-3, 2-1 EWL) early with a major decision in the 125-pound bout and a decision at 133-pounds. The pair of losses put WVU in a difficult 7-0 hole.
West Virginia fought back with a decision and major over the next two bouts to tie the score at seven apiece.
Sophomore Brandon Rader won a hard fought match against a scrappy Joe Ciamploi in his bout, 8-6, to get WVU on the board. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native took an early 4-1 lead, but an escape and takedown by Ciampoli knotted the match at the end of the first period. Rader was able to hold on for his 15th win of the season though, as he tallied an escape and a takedown over the next two periods. He also earned a point for riding time.
David Jauregui supplied a 19-7 major decision in the 149-bout against Mark Generalovich. After taking a 2-0 lead in the first the Santa Ana, Calif., took his opponent down five times in the second to build a daunting 12-5 lead. Three more takedowns in the third would seal the deal.
Junior Mountaineer Zac Fryling lost the most heartbreaking bout of the evening as he fell to No. 8 Matt Kocher, 3-2, in overtime. Fryling scored the only offensive points of the match when he took Kocher down in the first period, but three escapes sprinkled over regulation and three overtime periods allowed Kocher to escape with the win.
Pitt wrestlers Sean Richmond and No. 3-ranked Keith Gavin claimed wins in the next two bouts to build the Panthers lead to 16-7 heading into the 184-pound bout.
In that match sophomore Chance Litton was able to slice into the Panther lead by winning a 3-0 decision over Kyle Deliere. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native has now won two consecutive EWL dual meet bouts.
Junior 197-pounder Jared Villers plowed through Pitt's Mike Heist en route to a convincing 17-0 technical fall. The Akron, Ohio, native did so on three takedowns and four near falls. The win marked the second consecutive year that Villers has scored a tech versus Heist.
The WVU win at 197-pounds set up an exciting heavyweight bout as WVU trailed by just one point in the team points in which Rogers was able to pull the upset.
The Mountaineers return to action next Friday, Feb. 9, when they host Ohio in their last non-conference dual of the season. Wrestling at the WVU Coliseum gets underway at 8 p.m.
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