West Virginia grappler seeks revenge against Lions

The last time the Penn State wrestling team took on West Virginia, the Nittany Lions' Clint Musser beat the Mountaineers' Mike Mason 6-0.

Then Musser talked about it. And that made Mason mad.

Mason, the nation's No. 4 150-pounder, leads No. 11 West Virginia (5-3-1) into its home dual meet tonight against No. 4 Penn State (12-2) dead set on exacting revenge against the No. 3-ranked Musser, a redshirt junior.

Mason, a senior, said he used both his big loss to Musser and the team's subsequent 24-13 defeat to Penn State at the National Duals on Jan. 18 to inspire him for the rematch this week in practice.

That, he said, and a certain newspaper article sent to him from the Penn State area.

"I have an article that says Musser said he was surprised at the way I wrestled him at Nationals," Mason said. "That in particular fired me up for this match. I am promising that a different Mike Mason will step out on the mat this time around."

Mason's promise, teammates say, is for real.

"Mike wants revenge. I can see it in his eyes," West Virginia senior 142-pounder and No. 12-ranked Dorian Hager said. "Somebody sent him a little article from Penn State where Musser said he dominated that match. Mike hung it up on his wall. He's hungry."

Mason isn't the only Mountaineer looking to make a turnaround tonight.

Hager dropped a tough 8-6 decision to Penn State freshman sensation Jamarr Billman at the National Duals and has worked hard in practice to ensure the same doesn't happen again.

Hager said he can beat Billman, ranked No. 7, if he wrestles his own game.

"I'm going to be taking a lot more shots this time around," Hager said. "I have to create things. If I can just keep moving, I can wrestle with anybody."

Hager said his performance, combined with that of Mason, is imperative for the team's success.

"Me and Mike Mason, we realize we need to win for the team to do well," Hager said. "If you take the six points that (Billman and Musser) got them last time and give it to us, it's a whole different match."

Though key, the 142- and 150-pound matches are not the only ones that need to go in West Virginia's favor.

The Mountaineers' No. 10-ranked 134-pounder, junior Whitey Chlebove, and No. 6-ranked 158-pounder, sophomore Sam Kline, are key components for coach Craig Turnbull.

So are Turnbull's two upperweights, sophomores Sean Hage at 190 and Vince Pellis at heavyweight. Neither competed in West Virginia's earlier loss to Penn State and could prove important against the Lions.

But then again, Turnbull said, every wrestler is important in every dual meet.

"Part of our success this year is because we've gotten different contributions from different weight classes," said Turnbull, who is in his 20th season as West Virginia's coach. "From 134 to 158, we've been very consistent. But different people on the team have contributed all year long."

Penn State coach John Fritz said he's aware of the danger of wrestling the same team twice in two weeks. The Lions experienced the ever-present revenge factor firsthand earlier in the month.

After dropping a 25-17 bombshell victory on Iowa at the Hawkeyes' home arena on Jan. 3, Penn State was avenged in a big way at the National Duals. Iowa beat Penn State 23-9 on Jan. 17, rudely booting the Lions from the Duals' front draw.

"Revenge? Yeah, that's always something, getting back at somebody," Fritz said. "It's definitely motivation for them to come back at us. We're old EWL (Eastern Wrestling League) rivals anyway, so they'll be extra fired up.

"We're very concerned about West Virginia," Fritz added. "For us to win, we have to get in their face. We have to say, 'Hey, we want to go out there and be better than the last time we took the mat.' "