OPEN MEET #1
at Binghamton Open
November 10, 2013
9:00 a.m.
Location: Events Center- Binghamton, N.Y.
SETTING THE SCENE:
Cleveland State will open the 2013-14 regular season beginning this week on Sunday (Nov. 10), as CSU will wrestle in the Bighamton Open in New York.
EXPECTATIONS IN 2013-14:
With 13 returners heading into the season, the Vikings will begin the year with depth on their roster and are a young squad for head coach Ben Stehura. The Vikings finished sixth at the EWL tournament last season. CSU is 390-345-12 all-time in dual meets through 55 years of competition.
WILLEFORD AND SHAW LEAD CSU:
Senior Ben Willeford who wrestles at 125, had an excellent season for the Green and White ending the season with a record of 23-18. Willeford had four pins, two tech falls, three major decisions, and 14 decisions on the year. He will look to return to form in 2013 on the mats for Coach Stehura. In the heavy weight division, sophomore Riley Shaw matched Willeford's record going 23-18 on the campaign. Shaw had three takedowns, two major decisions, and 17 decisions.
EWL CHAMPIONS:
Shaw and Willeford represented Cleveland State at the NCAA Wrestling Championships last year where they wrestled in Des Moines, Iowa. Willeford upset the field at the Championships, becoming the EWL Champion at 125 pounds as the bracket's third seed. Willeford became the first Viking to take home the EWL Championship crown since Rashard Goff won at heavyweight in 2009.
Shaw in the EWL Wrestling tournament took home third place in the heavyweight division, who moved on to the NCAA tournanment with Willeford. Shaw punched his ticket to Iowa when he upset third seeded Earnest James from Edinboro, in a 4-3 decision thriller, and also took down Clarion's Phil Cartrucco in a 6-1 decision to seal a third place finish.
YOUNG TALENT POSTING DOUBLE DIGIT WINS:
In the 133 weight class Michael Carlone had a quick impact on the mats his first year wrestling for the Vikings. He had a productive 16 win record, posting three pins, two major decisions, and 10 decisions as a freshman. Another grappler who will look to give Cleveland State some depth in dual meets and Open tournaments is sophomore Matt Donohoe. Donohoe had a 14 win season who tallied one pin and 12 decisions. Sophomore Xavier Dye at 174 pounds had 10 wins last year, who will continue to build his 10 win season in 2013-14.
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS:
Cleveland State will face two teams on their dual meet schedule that are currently ranked in the Top 25 USA Today/NWCA/AWM Coaches Poll. The Vikings will be wrestling 9th ranked Edinboro at home on Friday (Jan. 24) at 7:00 p.m. and on the following Friday (Jan. 31) the Vikings will travel to wrestle 17th ranked Bloomsburg at 7:00 p.m.
THE STEHURA FILE:
Ben Stehura is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Vikings' wrestling program, and has recruited a talented group of young wrestlers that expect to make noise in the Eastern Wrestling League this year. Stehura has a history of developing young talent, as he has coached seven NCAA qualifiers, three NCAA All-Americans and two Olympic alternates over the past seven years. Stehura joined CSU in 2008 after building a successful program at Limestone in Gaffney, S.C. The first head coach in Limestone's history, Stehura took the team from three wins his first year to 13 in 2007-2008. Stehura will use his experience with coaching a young program to lead the Vikings during the 2013-14 season.
UP NEXT:
The Vikings will be back on the mats on Sunday (Nov. 17) as CSU will travel to Bloomington, Indiana to wrestle Indiana and Duke. Wrestling will begin at 11:00 a.m.
