pete very successfully, and he started to feel that last year as it went along. The thing that we don’t know with him is how he will respond to the grind of the season.”
174 Probable Starter: Bubba Scheffel Scheffel, who joins the Mountaineers after a redshirt year with Virginia Tech, looks to be the starter at 174 pounds. In high school, Scheffel was a highly-sought recruit that was named the 2010 Maryland Wrestler of the Year, was a three-time Maryland state champion and recorded the most wins in Maryland history, including an 83-0 mark during his sophomore and junior seasons. In addition, Scheffel was a three-time Mount Mat Madness champ, won the 160-pound class at the NHSCA Junior
Nationals and was rated No. 56 nationally by InterMat. “We’ve got the two Scheffels back together. He definitely has that type of swagger that is needed to accomplish your goals. He has impressed us with his athleticism. He impresses us with his maturity, and he has an inner arrogance that is needed to be successful. He has shown the work ethic that shows that he wants to be successful now and not later.”
184 Probable Starter: Lance Bryson Following two seasons spent on the sidelines after two separate shoulder surgeries, Bryson completed last season with a 25-16 record, including four wins over ranked opponents and his first-ever trip to the NCAA Championships.
“We really thought that Lance was exceptional last season after he basically didn’t practice for two seasons. He absolutely competed at a national level, and he was selected to compete at the NCAA Championships because of that. Lance is such an achiever in his life, and we expect he will be at a new level this season. With that year of experience, we are going to see that more offensive, aggressive and complete type of wrestling out of Lance that could put him on an elite level.”
197 Probable Starter: A.J. Vizcarrondo In a lineup that will be filled with talented underclassmen, Vizcarrondo looks to make an impact in his first season with WVU. During his prep career, Vizcarrondo was ranked as the 89thbest wrestler overall and fifth-best wrestler in the country in his weight class by WRESTLING USA MAGAZINE. Vizcarrondo placed second in consecutive years at the national preps, was the NHSCA national champion as a sophomore, finished third at the 2010 Beast of the East tournament and sixth at the 2010 ASICS Junior Nationals. “We have a very talented freshman in A.J. Vizcarrondo, who competed at a prep school that went where all the top competition was. He comes in with more seasoning than many of our top freshmen. As a true freshman, there are many unknowns, but he shows great work ethic and great desire to be good. We’ve been pleased with what we have seen thus far from him.”
HWT Probable Starter: Phil Mandzik or Dink Purnell With highly successful heavyweight Brandon Williamson having finished his career, the Mountaineers need to fill a large void in the lineup with either experienced senior Phil Mandzik or true freshman Dink Purnell. During the 2010-11 season, Mandzik tallied 10 wins. Purnell comes to WVU as a standout prep wrestler that compiled a 110-10 career record, was a two-time Delaware state champion, placed third at the 2010 Super 32 Challenge and was a two-time placer at the renowned Beast of the East tournament. At the 2012 FloNationals, Purnell was the champion of the 285-pound weight class. “Nobody is going to outwork Phil. He is going to put more effort out than most people that we have. He has shown in open tournaments in the last year that he can compete at this level. Dink, on the other hand, is a very young freshman that just recently turned 18. He is very confident. He is very talented and very athletic. We know that he has a chance to be very successful. Who wins this spot will be interesting.”
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