West Virginia University Mountaineers


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Jared Villers Class: Sr. Hometown: Akron, Ohio Height: 6-2 Weight: 197 Team: Wrestling Position: Full Roster

Biography Strong wrestler with the ability to put his opponents away quickly … his ability to tilt his opposition has turned into big points … one of 21 WVU wrestlers along with teammate Zac Fryling to qualify for three NCAA tournaments … led team with 39 dual meet points as a junior (2007) … also led team with 27 wins, six EWL wins and tied David Jauregui with nine dual wins … also led team by placing in every tournament besides NCAAs in ’07 … went 2-2 at the NCAA tournament highlighted by an upset of eventual fourth-place finisher J.D. Bergman of Ohio State (8-5) … won his second consecutive EWL championship by defeating Edinboro’s Jim Gibson 4-2 … enters the NCAA tournament with a 10 bout winning streak … hasn’t lost since Jan. 13 at the NWCA National Duals … finished first at the West Virginia Open … first at the Navy Classic … seventh at the Midlands Classic and eighth at the Las Vegas Invitational … began the season on a nine-bout winning streak … named the EWL wrestler of the week on Feb. 5 after defeating Pitt’s Mike Heist and fueling and comeback for the Mountaineers … last six wins of the season came by decision … qualified for his second consecutive NCAA tournament in 2006 … of the Mountaineers’ top scorers as a sophomore (2006) … 10 of his 21 wins earned bonus points … posted a 21-12 record … won nine of his last 10 matches heading into the NCAA tournament … four of last nine wins have been by technical fall … took third-place at the Navy Classic with a 10-4 win over Campbell’s Jason Cook … recorded a pair of technical falls against Cleveland State’s Ishmal Williams in consecutive bouts … defeated the 2006 EWL tournament’s top scorer, Joe Fendone of Edinboro, 7-1, in the EWL championship … came within seconds of knocking off No. 2-seeded Kyle Cerminara of Buffalo in the NCAA tournament … finished 1-2 at the NCAA tournament … talented football transfer from Illinois State … became WVU’s sixth NCAA qualifier with a wild-card berth as a freshman (2005) … went 1-1 at the 2005 EWL Championships before injury defaulting in second round bout … won final five dual meets of the season, including three bonus point wins … scored a 5-1 record in EWL dual meets … earned 23 dual meet points for WVU … posted back-to-back technical falls over Joe Phillips of Cleveland State and Paul Burger of Edinboro (2/17-18) … won his first career EWL dual meet at Clarion with a 5-2 decision (1/16) … finished in third place in first career tournament at the Navy Classic … went 3-1 including a fall at 3:15 over Virginia Tech’s Tomas Ovalle (11/20) … sixth-place finish at 2004 FILA Junior Freestyle National Championships … went 2-2 at the Cleveland State Open (2004) … two-time Ohio state champion at St. Vincent St. Mary’s High … placed third as a sophomore … 2003 member of Team USA … Dapper Dan and ASICS Ironman team member … winner of Reno Tournament of Champions … Northeast Ohio Wrestler of the Year … third-place at Senior Nationals … all-state football selection … Personal: son of Jerry and Cathy Villers … birthday is August 28 … one of four children … majoring in business marketing.

Feature Articles Varsity Sports Report: Villers Earns Weekly Honor Senior Jared Villers defeated his Pitt opponent Dave Crowell on Feb. 8, when he scored an important technical fall to put WVU in a key position to win, only to lose in the final bout in the heavyweight division. The Mountaineers fell to Pitt 18-17 Mountain Man Ohio native Jared Villers has always thought of the Mountain State as a home away from home. Finishing the Job Jared Villers and Brandon Rader are looking to make some noise at this year's NCAA championships.

What does West Virginia have to do to win at Marshall on Friday?