The Fairmont State wrestling team heads to Virginia for a weekend full of matches. On Saturday (Dec. 10), the Falcons will square off versus VMI and Shenandoah at the VMI Tri-Meet. The Falcons will travel to Danville, Va. on Sunday (Dec. 11) for a total of five matches beginning at 9 a.m. Fairmont State will meet St. Andrews, Averett, Emory & Henry and Patrick & Henry Community College before the teams in the tournament are reseeded for a fifth match at 4:30 p.m.
 
The VMI Tri-Meet will not be live-streamed. The links for Track Wrestling are provided on fightingfalcons.com for Saturday's matches. The stream and stat links for Sunday's matches at Averett are on the wrestling schedule at fightingfalcons.com.
 
Fighting Falcons Facts

• Fairmont State dropped three matches last time out at the Pitt-Johnstown Mountain Cat Quad match last Saturday (Dec. 3). The Fighting Falcons are 4-8 overall in duals this season.
• The Falcons have won all three of their Mountain East Conference matches this season, knocking off Alderson Broaddus, Notre Dame (Ohio) and Davis & Elkins. MEC play resumes on Jan. 11 when the Falcons welcome Glenville State to Joe Retton Arena.
• Aydan Edwards posted a 2-1 record at the UPJ Duals. Edwards pushed the No. 2 ranked wrestler from UPJ to the brink but collected wins versus King (Tenn.) and Lake Erie.
• Nate Pelesky captured a win by fall versus King (Tenn.) last week.
• Edwards and Pelesky were joined by Brandan Myers, Austin Brett and Austin Gibson in securing wins at the UPJ Duals.
• Gennaro Bonaventura leads the Fairmont State wrestling program as the head coach.

 
VMI, a Division I program, enters this week with a 3-0 record in duals. Last time on the mat, the Keydets swept a tri-meet between Franklin & Marshall and Duke. VMI's 3-0 start is the best start for the program in 26 years. Freshman Braxton Lewis recorded two convincing wins at 165 with a technical fall and a pin.
 
Shenandoah, a Division-III squad, has split its opening two matches. The Hornets defeated the University of Scranton and fell to Roanoke. Junior Dylan Weaver, who competes at 174 lbs., is the reigning ODAC Wrestler of the Week.
 
St. Andrew's has dropped its first five matches of the season. James Roberts (141), Tyler Godfrey (165) and Dakota Johnson (174) all turned in wins in the team's last match with Allen University.
 
Averett, Sunday's host institution, checked in at No. 23 in the country for Division III in the latest National Wrestling Coaches Association national poll. Mason Barrett (125 lbs.), Hunter Campbell (141 lbs.), Hai Siu (149 lbs) and Jesse Alvarado (157 lbs.) all received a national ranking in the NWCA poll.
 
The Falcons will meet Emory & Henry for the second time this season. Fairmont State edged the Wasps 43-12 at the Pioneer Duals on Nov. 5. The Wasps have not competed since Nov. 30, when they fell to King (Tenn.), 47-6.
 
The Patriots of Patrick & Henry Community College carry a roster of 10 freshmen. P&H fell to Lincoln Memorial on Dec. 2, 39-15. 
 
Up Next
Fairmont State will travel to Morgantown, W.Va. for a match versus West Virginia. The Falcons and Mountaineers will square off on Dec. 19 at 7 p.m.