After 20 years at West Chester University with no home-wrestling matches, Saturday, Nov. 21 was an emotional day for wrestling coach Joe Miller, who watched on as his team demolished visiting University of Delaware by a score of 37-9.”WCU wrestling is back and happy to be here,” Miller said excitedly on their win last Saturday.
In the team’s eleven matches of the meet, they came out victorious in eight of those.
In wrestling at the collegiate level, the team is awarded a certain number of points for each match won. If the wrestler wins by just scoring more points then the other, the team gets three points. If the wrestler records a major fall, winning by eight or more points, it is worth four points. A technical pin is when you reach 15 points more then your opponent, worth five points. Finally, a pin, which is holding the opponent to the mat with both shoulder blades for three consecutive seconds, is worth six points. A disqualification or forfeit is worth six as well.
The weights range from 125 lbs. at the lightest to the heavyweights at 285. Earning pins for the Golden Ram wrestlers were John Dickinson at 125 lbs., captain Dillon Evans at 157 lbs. and captain Brandon Banks at 197 lbs.
West Chester had five other wins in the meet, including a major fall. They were also awarded six points because of a disqualification.
“Thank you WCU for giving us this opportunity to continue wrestling at WCU which has had wrestling on campus for over 80 years and a rich tradition of winning teams over the years,” Miller said.
The Golden Ram wrestlers are ranked No. 15 in the nation after a recent NCWA coaches’ poll.
West Chester wrestling also took on Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology over the break, winning in dominating fashion 37-7 and starting the season off right, 2-0.
They started the match off rough, losing two of their first three and going down 7-3 early. The heart of the lineup took over though, as West Chester won the final seven matches of the meet to rally back over the visiting college.
Steven Armour, Banks, and newcomer Tom Cunningham all recorded falls for the Rams, as Cody Carrigan added a major fall.
Ryan Frisco is a third-year student majoring in Communication studies. He can be reached at RF648257@wcupa.edu.