KUTZTOWN, Pa. (January 15, 2011) – The Kutztown University wrestling team received the ultimate reward for all of the early morning running, mid-afternoon swimming and the grueling late afternoon weight sessions. (COMPLETE RESULTS)
Getting victories early, Kutztown defeated 15th-ranked West Liberty University, 29-11, Saturday morning at Keystone Field House. For the Golden Bears, this was easily their most memorable triumph of the 2010-11 season. However, there was no huge celebration or students storming the floor following the win.
“This is a huge win for us,” Kutztown University head wrestling coach Rob Fisher said. “We've been getting better and better as a team and its beginning to show. I am really happy with how the team is performing. I kind of saw a win of this magnitude coming because we had been consistently improving.”
Kutztown (4-8 overall), which began the season nationally ranked, had a difficult start to its season as Fisher was trying a perfect chemistry like a mad scientist. Now, the Golden Bears are rolling. They took strides during the tough Grand Canyon Duals as they went toe-to-toe with several nationally-ranked teams. The progress continued last week with a close setback to sixth-ranked University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown.
Fueled by a fast start, the Golden Bears got victories in the first four matches from Desmond Moore (Easton, PA/Easton) (125 pounds), Austin Williams (Pen Argyl, PA/Pen Argyl) (133), Mitch Voelker (Shoemakersville, PA/Schuylkill Valley) (141), and JuJu Drummond (Easton, PA/Easton) (149). Moore, a Millersville transfer, set the tone with a fall at 4 minutes, 30 seconds. That gave the Golden Bears a 6-0 lead they would not relinquish.
Williams and Voelker followed with solid victories to help the Golden Bears extend to a 13-0 lead. Drummond brought the house down and shook it to its core with a fall at 1:58. Tim Darling (Nazareth, PA/Nazareth) slammed the door shut and ended any thoughts of a Hilltopper comeback with a dominating, 11-2 triumph at 174.
“It was real important for us to come out and set the tone early and get some bonus points,” Moore said. “We knew how crucial it was for us to get out to an early lead. We were confident coming into the match because we knew we had been getting better as a team. This is a great win for us because we beat a very tough team.”
While many of their peers were home chilling or enjoying the snow, the KU wrestling team spent time sweating, and working hard. The practice sessions tested the Golden Bears mentally and physically. The team figured that if they survived practices, the matches would be easy.
“They were long, extreme, hard-core and demanding,” Moore said of the practice sessions. “A win like this should help us and give us confidence heading into the rest of the season.”
--KU--
