#8 WEST VIRGINIA 23 CLARION UNIVERSITY 12
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2001
The Coliseum, Morgantown, West Virginia

**DUAL MATCH STARTED AT FIRST WEIGHT CLASS LISTED

WT. WRESTLERS SCORE
149- Dom Surra (C) dec. Billy Smith (WV) 6-5
157- Joe Carr (WV) dec. Jim Perry (C) 11-4
165- Tom McMath (WV) tech. fall Jamie Durkin (C) 29-7; 6:16
174- Greg Jones (WV) tech fall Ryan Pataky (C) 25-9; 7:00
184- Ryan Wilman (WV) dec. Marcus Surin (C) 10-3
197- Eric Mausser (C) dec. Brent Miller (WV) 3-0
HWT- John Testa (C) dec. Ryan Kehler (WV) 5-3
125- Ricky LaForge (WV) maj. dec. Starlin Jimenez (C) 9-0
133- Rad Martinez (C) dec. Brandon Lauer (WV) 10-4
141- Shane Cunanan (WV) maj. dec. Jared Moss (C) 22-9

[Surra - D9 alum, Mausser, Moss, D10 alums]

FINAL SCORE: West Virginia 23 Clarion 12
Clarion (0-1; 0-1 EWL) WVU (1-1; 1-0 EWL)
Referee: Jim Sterner
Att. 1,200

#8 West Virginia Tops Clarion 23-12

(Morgantown, W.Va.): Clarion won four matches on Friday night against the 8th ranked Mountaineers, but West Virginia's strong lineup made the difference in defeating Clarion 23-12 at the WVU Coliseum.

The opening dual of the 2001-2002 season, Clarion dips to 0-1 overall and 0-1 in the EWL, while WVU evens its overall record at 1-1 and is 1-0 in the EWL.

Clarion's four wins came with Dominic Surra at 149, Eric Mausser at 197, John Testa at heavyweight and Rad Martinez at 133.

Surra upset #10 ranked Billy Smith 6-5 in the opening bout of the night. Surra had two first period takedowns to lead 4-2. In the third Smith notched a takedown to tie the bout 5-5 with 20 seconds left, but Surra's forward roll created an escape and a big win.

Leading 3-0, the Golden Eagles lost four straight matches to fall behind 15-3 entering 197 pounds. Clarion's #16 ranked Eric Mausser posted a 3-0 victory with an escape in the second and a counter takedown in the final 10 seconds to cinch the win.

#15 ranked John Testa decisioned #16 Ryan Kehler 5-3 at heavyweight Testa had an escape and a takedown in the second period to lead 3-0. After Kehler narrowed the margin to 3-2 in the third with two escapes, Testa countered with a single leg takedown and notched a 5-3 win.

The Golden Eagles were down only 15-9 after Testa's win, but WVU's Ricky LaForge stopped Clarion's momentum with a 9-0 victory over Starlin Jimenez to push the Mountaineer lead up to 19-9.

Clarion's #5 ranked Rad Martinez continued to wrestle well as he defeated #14 Brandon Lauer 10-4. Martinez had three takedowns and a reversal to lead 8-2 in the third. Martinez pushed his season record to 10-1.

Clarion returns home to host #23 Penn State on Saturday at Waldo S. Tippin Gym Match time is set for 7pm. The match can be heard on AM 1300 in Clarion, or on the web at You can link to the match through the Clarion web site at www.clarion.edu/athletics.