PDF Release: EWL Championships
CLEVELAND, OH - Founded in 1976, the Eastern Wrestling League has been one of the premier conferences in collegiate wrestling. It boasts 27 top ten team finishes in Division 1, 25 individual national championships, two most outstanding wrestler awards of the NCAA, and 6 Olympians.
This season has been no different. Edinboro, Rider, George Mason, and Cleveland State each earned victories over Big Ten teams. Rider and Edinboro knocked off #9 Lehigh. Edinboro finished #13 in the country in the final USA Today duals standings and won the EWL regular season crown. Cleveland State upset Rider on the road to finish runner up to Edinboro for the first time since 2003. CSU will look to finish 2nd in the EWL tournament for the first time since 1987. Its last title came in 1979. Other challengers to Edinboro will be Rider (4-2 in EWL), Lock Haven (3-3) and George Mason (3-3).
On the individual side, three Edinboro wrestlers- AJ Schopp (133), Mitch Port (141) and David Habat (149)- have been ranked #1 in the country at one time or another. The other conference wrestlers in the top 20 of the NCAA Coaches Rankings are Edinboro's Kory Mines (125) and Vic Avery (184), CSU's Ben Willeford (125) and Riley Shaw (285), and Rider's Rob Deutsch (133) and BJ Clagon (149).
The NCAA released the total qualifier allocation for each conference. The EWL will receive 17 automatic bids. The breakdown per weight is 125 (2), 133 (2), 141 (1), 149 (3), 157 (2), 165 (1), 174 (1), 184 (2), 197 (1), 285 (2). Wrestlers that do not finish in those positions may still be eligible to receive a national wild card into the NCAA tournament.
The Vikings travel to Lawrenceville, N.J. to compete in the EWL Championships. Wrestling will begin at 10 a.m.
Meet Our Competing Wrestlers:
Ben Willeford, 125
Ben Willeford is a redshirt senior who will finalize his career as a Cleveland State Viking. Willeford has an outstanding resume at CSU since he was a freshman in 2010-11. He placed fourth at the Eastern Wrestling League Championship and was the only Viking to start a dual meet in his weight class as a freshman. As a sophomore, Willeford placed fifth at the EWL Championships. He also went 4-0 and won the title at the Cleveland State Open. Ben also earned his first EWL Wrestler of the Week and finished with 18 duals victories. As a junior, Ben was the EWL Champion in his 125 pound weight class as a three seed. He posted 23 wins which tied for the teams best. Willeford also competed in the NCAA Tournament where he wrestled in two matches. As a redshirt senior Ben has posted a 24-7 record and ranked as high as #13 by the Asics FloRankings. He has also been ranked as high as #15 by the Coaches Poll which is one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. His 24 wins is the second best on the team. Ben placed 8th at the Southern Scuffle while knocking off former NCAA top 12 finisher Dominic Parisi of Appalachian State. He placed first at the Clarion Open, runner-up at the Binghamton Open, and fourth at the Navy Classic. Willeford only lost one EWL match throughout the year while finishing with a record of 5-1 in the EWL. His one loss came from Kory Mines but beat Mines in semis at Clarion. He has been named the #1 seed at 125. Ben looks to prove his status in the EWL and earn a spot in the NCAA Championships.
Alfredo Gray, 133
Alfredo Gray is a redshirt junior who was a big part in Cleveland State's success this season. Gray began his collegiate wrestling career at Kent State where he was runner-up at the Navy Classic at 125. Gray transferred to Cleveland State and competed in his first season as a Viking. Alfredo posted a 14-11 record, made it to the second day of the Southern Scuffle, and won his final three EWL matches. Gray earned his first EWL Athlete of the Week award after defeating #21 and former EWL Champion Rob Deutsch of Rider in a 6-3 decision that helped the Vikings defeat the Broncs, 21-16. He has been named the #4 seed at 133. Alfredo Gray looks to earn an EWL title his first year in the league.
Michael Carlone, 141
Mike Carlone is finishing up his redshirt junior season at Cleveland State University. As a freshman, Carlone had three pins, two major decisions, and 10 decisions for CSU. Mike placed sixth at the Eastern Michigan Open at 133 and finished with a 3-2 record. He also placed third at the Navy Classic with a record of 4-1. Carlone had an impressive sophomore season that included wins against top wrestlers in the nation. He took down Xavi Ramos of Duke, Tyson Dippery of Rutgers, and Midlands Placers Tyler Argue of Northern Illinois. Carlone placed third at the Lake Erie Open and went 2-2 at the Southern Scuffle. This past season, Mike has been a part of the starting lineup for most of the season. He finished the season with a 9-9 record and won his final dual matches against Bloomsburg and Ohio University. Carlone also made it to the second day of the Southern Scuffle while upsetting seeded wrestler in first round.
Nick Montgomery, 149
Nick Montgomery is a sophomore who will be competing in the EWL Championship at 149. Nick went 17-12 as a true freshman. He placed fourth at EWL's and third at the Lake Erie Open. Also as a true freshman, he defeated NCAA top 12 Justin Arthur of Clarion and was runner up to All American Hunter Steiber of Ohio State at the Mount Union Open. As a sophomore, Nick Montgomery went 3-3 in the EWL while winning 3 of his last 4. One of those wins consisted of beating two-time EWL runner-up Dan Neff of Lock Haven who also qualified one of the automatic spots. Nick has been named the #3 seed at 149. Montgomery will look to bring that momentum into the EWL Championship.
Latrell Davis, 157
Latrell Davis is a true sophomore who has had an excellent season. He has gone 10-8 and 4-1 in the EWL in his first season in the starting lineup. He won his match against Rider that gave Cleveland State a 21-10 lead going into the final match. Latrell finished in the top 6 at the Binghamton Open with a 5-2 record for the day. His biggest margin of victory came against Clarion when he defeated Evan DeLong 17-5 in a major decision. Latrell is one of the favorites to win the weight class along with Rider's Chad Walsh and GMU's Greg Flournoy who qualified the two automatic spots. He defeated Flournoy who finished third in the EWL last year and LHU's Elias Biddle who finished fourth in the EWL last year. Davis has been named the #3 seed at 157.
Matt Donohoe, 165
Matt Donohoe is a redshirt senior that has been a familiar face of the Vikings. He started off his career as a Viking by placing sixth at EWL's as a true freshman. As a redshirt sophomore, Donohoe posted 14 wins on the year. He had 12 decision victories, one pin, and one win by forfeit. He finished runner-up at the Navy Classic going 3-1 on the day. He also picked up a decision win at the Southern Scuffle. In his junior season, he finished third at EWL's, top 8 at the Binghamton Open and top 8 at the Cleveland State Open. Matt also pinned MAC runner-up Harrison Hightower of Ohio University. As a redshirt senior, Donohoe posted a 15-16 record. He finished top six at the Clarion Open, top six at the Binghamton Open, and sixth place at the Navy Classic. Donohoe has recorded 15 match wins every season as a four year starter.
Gabe Stark, 174
Gabe Stark is had a solid sophomore season for the Vikings this year. He posted 9 wins, 3 of which came from the EWL. In Cleveland State's shutout win against Bloomsburg, Stark pinned Huskies' Auston Hummel just 1:45 into the match. He provided crucial dual wins against Eastern Michigan, Lock Haven, and Rider. Gabe looks to bring home an EWL title this weekend.
Xavier Dye, 184
Xavier Dye is a redshirt junior who has had a great season. As a freshman, Xavier had one technical fall, two major decisions, and six decisions. He tallied his technical fall by defeating John Carroll's Danny McNamara, 16-1 at 175 pounds. As a sophomore, he placed fifth at EWL's, third at the Cleveland State Open, and second at the Lake Erie Open. Xavier defeated Division II NCAA Champion Garrett Lineberger of Notre Dame College. As a redshirt junior, Xavier posted a 14-7 record. He placed top six at the Binghamton Open and lost a very close consolation semi-final match. Dye went 4-2 in EWL matches this season with those two losses coming from the top two EWL competitors EU's Vic Avery and LHU's Fred Garcia. He has won his final 4 matches heading into EWL's. Xavier has been named the #3 seed at 184.
Nick Corba, 197
Nick Corba is a sophomore at Cleveland State University. As a true freshman, Nick placed fifth at the EWL Championship, top six at the Binghamton Open, fifth at the Lake Erie Open, and third at the FILA Junior Freestyle Championships. As a sophomore, Corba finished with an 11-8 record. He placed second at the Cleveland State Open at 184 and third at the Wilkes Open at 184. He defeated former NCAA qualifier Don McNeil of Rider by major decision and won by decision against PSAC runner-up Mike Mirra of Bloomsburg. Nick went 2-2 in EWL matches after moving up from 184.
Riley Shaw, 285
Riley Shaw has been a highlight of the Viking's roster since he stepped foot on campus. Shaw went 22-13 as a freshman in the heavyweight division. He racked up two major decisions, three pins, and 17 decision wins. Also as a freshman, Riley placed third at the EWL Championship and earned a berth to the NCAA Championship. He placed top 8 at the Navy Classic and was the Lake Erie Open Champion. As a sophomore, Shaw placed third for the second straight year at the EWL Championship. Riley was second on the team with 19 wins, posting four pins, four major decisions, nine decisions, and two wins by forfeit. He earned a berth to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. As a junior, Riley has had a very impressive season. He has posted a team-high 28 wins while going undefeated in the EWL and is the highest ranked CSU wrestler. Shaw also was the Clarion Open Champion, third at the Binghamton Open, runner-up at the Navy Classic, and fifth at the Southern Scuffle. His fifth place at the Scuffle is the highest since Gerald Harris took third at in the 2002 Midlands. Shaw has beaten main EWL challenger Jake Kettler of GMU twice this season. He has been ranked as high as #15 by the Coaches Poll which is one of the tools used as part of the selection process to determine the qualifiers for the 2015 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships. Riley has been named #1 seed at heavyweight for the Vikings. Shaw looks to earn his first conference title at EWL's after taking third his past two seasons.
