No. 5 Wrestling Wins Pioneer Open as Hardy, Pummel and Whitehill Dominate

GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The nationally ranked Glenville State Wrestling team opened the 2025-26 season with a 14-team tournament win at home in the Pioneer Open presented by GoMart yesterday (Nov. 1). The No. 5 Pioneers had three first-place finishers and recorded 177.5 points as 22 grapplers saw action in the season-opener.

FINAL TEAM SCORES

1. Glenville State – 177.5
2. Belmont Abbey – 142.5
3. Frostburg State – 133.5
4. University of Indianapolis – 121.0
5. Ashland – 115.0
6. UNC Pembroke – 110.0
7. Millersville – 100.5
8. Findlay – 77.5
9. Emmanuel (Ga.) – 57.0
10. Fairmont State – 46.5
11. Kentucky Wesleyan – 26.0
12. Emory & Henry – 19.0
13. Davis & Elkins – 15.5
14. Salem – 7.0

HOW THE PIONEERS FINISHED INDIVIDUALLY
133 lbs
Hunter Ross – 2^nd
Matthew McAfee – 6^th

141 lbs
Ethan Hardy – 1^st
Ethan Mitchell – 2^nd
Zachary Parker – 6^th

149 lbs
Gabe Onorato – 2^nd

157 lbs
Jimmie Bailes – 2^nd
Moses Eads – 6^th

165 lbs
David Pento – 6^th

174 lbs
Hayden Pummel – 1^st

184 lbs
Max Borton – 2^nd

285 lbs
Colby Whitehill – 1^st

Three Pioneers were able to dominate their win to first-place finishes in their respective weight classes, as Ethan Hardy, who won an MEC Championship in 2022 and redshirted last season, notched three pinfalls and a tech fall in his 1^st place match (141 lbs) to cruise to an impressive welcome back party.

Hayden Pummel, who was one of the nation’s best at 174 pounds and won a Super Region III championship last year before an injury knocked him out of the national tournament, looked healthy and efficient in his 2025-26 debut. The top 10 wrestler won four of his five matches by tech fall and did not have a single point scored against him en route to a 1^st place nod at 174.

After missing much of last season with an injury, former Pitt / Lock Haven transfer Colby Whitehillrecorded an undefeated day and scored the Pioneers a team-high 28.0 points. Whitehill pinned three of his opponents and had a decision (2-0) and major (13-1) on his way to a first-place finish at 285 pounds.

Up Next For The Pioneers
Glenville State heads to Ohio for another big tournament in the Ohio Collegiate Open at Case Western Reserve next Sunday (Nov. 9).