Glenville State 197-pounder Nick Johnson bumped up a class to take on Fairmont State heavyweight Tyler Wise during Friday's triangular inside Parkersburg's Memorial Fieldhouse. Johnson secured a 17-6 major decision. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

PARKERSBURG — It was a clean sweep here Friday inside Memorial Fieldhouse for head coach Dylan Cottrell’s No. 10 Glenville State wrestling program as the Pioneers collected a pair of dual meet triumphs versus No. 6 Tiffin (38-5) and rival Fairmont State (38-9).

Tiffin, which wasn’t competing with its full lineup, received 2-0 efforts thanks to 165-pounder Gavin Owens and heavyweight Jake Powell.

The G-men, who return to action next Friday at home versus Davis & Elkins, had a successful welcome back party for former Big Red state champion Nick Johnson.

Wrestling at his normal 197, Johnson registered a 19-3 technical fall versus Dragon Max Millin and finished the night bumping up to heavyweight and securing a 17-6 major decision against Fighting Falcon Tyler Wise.

“It’s kind of an ongoing thing, me being the grandpa of the team,” admitted Johnson, who said the last time he competed at PHS was during his senior year at the regional in late February of 2016. “This is something we did a couple of years ago over at South with Gavin (Quiocho) and we’ve had West Virginia and Virginia Tech in here with Jared Haught. It was something I always thought about being able to do.

Glenville State 133-pounder Zach Parker secured a win by fall in the second period versus Tiffin's Cael Woods during Friday's triangular inside Parkersburg's Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

“It was definitely cool at the beginning of the year talking with Dylan and getting everything set up and kind of seeing all the pieces come together. Honestly, growing up in Parkersburg, wrestling in here, coaching the wrestling team here for a couple years, so I’ve kind of been on all sides of it. Definitely kind of a cool and nostalgic experience being able to come back in here and wrestle again, and kind of see all the old faces and going through the whole process.”

Former Ripley state champion Parker Durst suffered a tough 4-2 setback to David Davis of Tiffin before earning a win by forfeit versus the Pioneers at 184 when Johnson and teammate Max Borton were bumped up.

Borton handed Davis a 9-2 setback and also secured a pin in 5:51 versus Fighting Falcon 197-pounder Jake Stephenson.

“I was wanting to give those guys a little bit of a challenge,” admitted coach Cottrell. “They both wanted to over there when I asked them. They were pretty excited about it. I think it’s good for their lungs. For Nick, the guy is 30 pounds heavier than him and Max the guy is probably 20 pounds heavier than him.

“In that dual we’re in a position where we know we are going to win, so it’s let’s give these guys a little bit of a challenge here. Having a little fun with it. I felt like our team had a lot of fun on the bench today and I think that helped the way we wrestled.”

Glenville State 174-pounder Ethan Lopez controls Tiffin's Isaac Lacinski during his 14-2 major decision during Friday's triangular inside Parkersburg's Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Tiffin opened the tri with a 41-4 victory versus Fairmont State, which got its lone triumph from 125-pounder Jorden Williams, who major decisioned Candio Deluna, 16-6.

Aside from Borton and Johnson, the only other Pioneer to register a pair of wins was 174-pounder Ethan Lopez as coach Cottrell made numerous changes in the lineup. Lopez handed Tiffin’s Isaac Lacinski a 14-2 setback and pinned FSU’s Brock Evans in 3:32.

A pair of matches coach Cottrell had his eye on versus Tiffin was at 133 where Zach Parker pinned Cael Woods in 3:56 and at 184 with Borton.

“They were a little banged up and 133 was one we wanted to see and we worked on some new techniques and a new style for our 133-pounder and I thought he did a really good job of implementing the plan, and sticking to it even though he got a stall in the first period,” added coach Cottrell. “Our 184-pounder actually lost to him last time, 9-1, and he wrestled really well.

“He’s gaining confidence right now through the year so that was a good one. We would’ve liked to have got heavyweight. That was one the opposite side of it that we lost, but just a small mistake at the end. Didn’t need to go for that takedown late and they were tired. He needed to continue hand fighting.”

Glenville State 125-pounder Colton Drousias secured a win by fall in the third period versus Tiffin's Candio Deluna during Friday's triangular inside Parkersburg's Memorial Fieldhouse. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

The coach was referencing heavyweight Colby Whitehill, who suffered a 4-1 overtime setback to Powell. The Dragon caused his squad to lose a team point after his victory because of unsportsmanlike conduct.

Fairmont State’s Ryan Martin, a former state champ at Parkersburg South, came up short in both of his 141-pound matches. The ex-Patriot was pinned in 5:25 by GSU’s Ethan Mitchell and lost 14-2 to Tiffin’s Bret Minnick.

“He put on a show tonight and we’re really proud of him,” coach Cottrell added Johnson, who watched fellow All-American Colton Drousias win his lone match at 125 when he got a mat slapper on Deluna in 5:51.

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

Fairmont State 184-pounder Cooper Durst attempts a takedown of Tiffin's David Davis during Friday's triangular inside Parkersburg's Memorial Fieldhouse. Davis picked up a 4-2 decision. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Fairmont State 141-pounder Ryan Martin attempts to escape the grasp of Tiffin's Bret Minnick during Friday's triangular inside Parkersburg's Memorial Fieldhouse. Minnick secured a 14-1 major decision. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)