Wrestling Gears Up for Vegas

By Brian Kuppelweiser for WVUsports.com
November 29, 2012 11:48 AM

Craig Turnbull

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Fresh off of a two-week break from competition, the West Virginia University wrestling team will return to action this Friday and Saturday, Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, as it competes in the Cliff Keen Las Vegas Invitational being held at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Mountaineers expected to take part in the two-day tournament include Shane Young, Colin Johnston, Nathan Pennesi, Brutus Scheffel, Jason Luster, Dominic Prezzia, Ross Renzi, Lance Bryson and Phil Mandzik.

“We are interested to see what will happen in Las Vegas,” says coach Craig Turnbull. “The meat of our season is going to be coming up, so this gives our guys an opportunity to get some matches. These tournament gives us an opportunity to get very valuable experience against top-notch opponents.”

Among those who will get match experience in Las Vegas is Luster, who is a highly-touted freshman from Pittsburgh, Pa. Luster received his first match experience last week, after he stepped into the lineup at 157 pounds against the Penn State.

“There are a couple weight classes that we would like to see a jump in intensity,” Turnbull says. “Jason did not wrestle last season because he had shoulder surgery. If we were to redshirt him this season, it would have been a two-year stretch out of competition. This is going to be really beneficial to him.”

Also looking get matches under his belt will be Johnston, who received word from the NCAA less than two weeks ago that he received a sixth year of eligibility after missing the previous two seasons due to two separate shoulder injuries. In WVU’s dual against Nittany Lions, Johnston recorded the team’s lone victory and moved his record to 3-3 this season.

“It is an incremental progression for Colin,” Turnbull says. “He is slowly getting there. We are willing to have the right kind of patience with him because we know what he is capable of doing. He is such a competitor and is so committed to his goals that I have a good feeling that he will be fine.”

Live results from the tournament will be available on Flowrestling.com.

A recap of the Mountaineers’ matches from each day will be available on WVUsports.com

Tags
WVU Wrestling, NCAA Wrestling, Big 12 Wrestling

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