WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – At the inaugural Mountain East Conference Wrestling Tournament, No. 5 Notre Dame College totaled 106 team points and finished in third place. The Falcons had five wrestlers who won their respective weight classes, including
Hunter Bray who was named Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Overall, NDC had eight wrestlers place in the top three, earning a spot on an All-MEC Team.
At 133, No. 1
Hunter Bray went up against Logan Seliga, from the University of North Carolina-Pembroke, in the Semifinal. In that matchup, Bray led 8-2 after two periods and then put the pedal down in the third, winning by major decision, 17-5. In the First-Place Match, the No. 1 seed finished with six takedowns in a 12-4 major decision over Davis & Elkins' Craig Cook.
After the tournament, Bray was named All-MEC First Team and was given the Most Outstanding Wrestler Award.
"Hunter had a great tournament and got to his attacks," said head coach
Sonny Marchette. "The improvements showed today."
In the Semifinal at 141, No. 7
Kelan McKenna went ahead with a takedown, almost immediately. The Falcons' grappler beat Urbana's Jacob Edwards by decision (8-4) to reach the First-Place Match. The championship match was very hard-fought and physical, but McKenna stayed on his feet and beat Jonathan Miller (UNC-Pembroke) with a 5-1 decision. He brought home a First Team All-MEC award.
No. 7
Taylor Misuna did not have much difficulty getting through the Semifinal at 157. He led 12-3 after the first period, and beat Blake Miller (West Liberty) by major decision. His championship matchup, against Cole Houser (Urbana), was one of the most exciting third periods of the day. Misuna was down 5-2, but then had an escape and a takedown to tie the match at five. With two seconds left, a nearfall gave Misuna a 7-5 win and a spot on the First Team All-MEC.
Both of No. 6
Tony Vezzetti's matchups were close, at 184. In the Semifinal, he was down 2-1 after one period, but came back to beat D&E's Kyle Wojtazsek by 8-5 decision. In the First-Place Match, Vezzetti grabbed the lead with a takedown at the end of the second period. He held onto that 3-1 lead over Brandon Sloop (UNC-Pembroke) for the win and First Team All-MEC honors.
No. 2
Jared Campbell grabbed two more wins at 285. He won 12-0 over Chase Logan (West Liberty) in the Semifinal. He then finished with a dominant 11-1 major decision in the championship match against Ryan Monk, of UNC-Pembroke, and earned First Team All-MEC honors.
Michael Viramontes has been impressive this season and was given the second seed in the tournament. He defeated Ronnie D'Amico (West Liberty) in a nail biter Semifinal. Two, third period takedowns tied the match at six, before Viramontes won in Sudden Victory. He would be defeated in the First-Place Match, but took second place and All-MEC Second Team.
Two NDC wrestlers grabbed third place and were All-MEC Honorable Mentions.
Jordon Tague went 3-1 at 165, including a major decision in the Third-Place Match. No. 2 seed
Emilio Fowler lost in the Semifinal, but bounced back with two wins in the consolation round to take third place.
Jesse Jaime Jr. took fifth place after he defeated Digger Dennison (Faimont State) by decision. Jaime led the entire Fifth-Place Match.
"As a whole, we have to eliminate some of the mistakes that keep reoccurring and keep building on the things we're doing right," Marchette said. "It was a good tournament we just need to keep improving week to week."
The Falcons will celebrate Senior Day on February 7, against the University of Findlay. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Hunter Bray, 133 lbs. -- Received a bye in the quarterfinal… Defeated Logan Seliga (UNC-Pembroke) by major decision (17-5) in the semifinal… Defeated Craig Cook (Davis & Elkins) by major decision (12-4) in the first-place match.
Kelan McKenna, 141 – Received a bye in the quarterfinal… Defeated Jacob Edwards (Urbana) by decision (8-4) in the semifinal… Defeated Jonathan Miller (UNC-Pembroke) by decision (5-1) in the first-place match.
Jesse Jaime Jr., 149 – Lost to C.J. Thompson (Davis & Elkins) by fall (4:48) in the quarterfinal… Received a bye in consolation round one… Lost to Jared Ford (Urbana) by fall (1:57) in the consolation semifinal… Defeated Digger Dennison (Fairmont State) by decision (9-3) in the fifth-place match.
Taylor Misuna, 157 – Received a bye in the quarterfinal… Defeated Blake Miller (West Liberty) by major decision (18-4) in the semifinal… Defeated Cole Houser (Urbana) by decision (7-5) in the first-place match.
Jordon Tague, 165 – Defeated Cade Moisey (Fairmont State) by fall (1:22) in the quarterfinal… Lost to Kaleb Warner (UNC-Pembroke) by decision (6-4) in the semifinal… Advanced past Jacob Lees (Urbana) by medical forfeit in the consolation semifinal… Defeated Cade Moisey (Fairmont State) by major decision (17-8) in the third-place match.
Emilio Fowler, 174 – Received a bye in the quarterfinal… Lost to Chance Morgan (West Liberty) by decision (4-3) in the semifinal… Defeated Dylan Knotts (Urbana) by fall (1:06) in the consolation semifinal… Defeated Chad Tracy (Davis & Elkins) by decision (4-1) in the third-place match.
Tony Vezzetti, 184 – Received a bye in the quarterfinal… Defeated Kyle Wojtazsek (Davis & Elkins) by decision (8-5) in the semifinal… Defeated Brandon Sloop (UNC-Pembroke) by decision (3-1) in the first-place match.
Michael Viramontes, 197 – Received a bye in the quarterfinal… Defeated Ronnie D'Amico (West Liberty) in Sudden Victory (8-6) in the semifinal… Lost to Nick Kee (UNC-Pembroke) by major decision (16-2) in the first-place match.
Jared Campbell, 285 – Received a bye in the quarterfinal… Defeated Chase Logan (West Liberty) by major decision (12-0) in the semifinal… Defeated Ryan Monk (UNC-Pembroke) by major decision (11-1) in the first-place match.
