Vikings Close Road Trip This Weekend

Vikings Close Road Trip This Weekend

CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Cleveland State University wrestling team will continue Eastern Wrestling League action on the road this weekend.

CSU will conclude a four-dual road trip this Friday, Jan. 18, at Edinboro. The Vikings were scheduled to host Lock Haven Sunday, Jan. 20, but that dual has been postponed due to the expected arrival of Winter Storm Harper.

The Vikings opened EWL action last week with road setbacks to George Mason and Rider. Cleveland State had a lead against the Patriots with just two bouts remaining but was unable to finish off the match.

Eight Vikings that competed against Mason and/or Rider took part in an EWL dual for the first time in their career. Five of those eight netted their first EWL victory over the course of those two duals.

Redshirt senior Armando Torres paces CSU with 24 wins, all at 133 pounds. He owns a team-leading 12 bonus-point wins and owns a 6-2 mark in dual bouts. Redshirt sophomore Nico O'Dor has 19 wins at 157 pounds and is 4-0 in matches lasting longer than seven minutes this season.

True freshman Ben Smith had a five-match winning streak stopped at Rider with a slim, 6-4, decision. He had won the title at the Lock Haven Classic before notching dual wins over Columbia and George Mason at 197 pounds. Smith owns 13 wins in a CSU singlet this season.

Edinboro holds a 28-5 lead in the all-time series with CSU. The Fighting Scots are 1-5 on the season under first-year head coach Matt Hill. Edinboro dropped its first two EWL matches last weekend, losing a 21-19 match at Bloomsburg and a 25-11 decision at Rider. Redshirt junior Dylan Reynolds leads the team with 23 wins at 197 pounds while redshirt freshman Jacob Oliver has 21 wins at 174 pounds.

Ryan Ford won a dual match against Edinboro last season at 149 pounds while two other Vikings who are both redshirting this season, Evan Cheek and Georgio Poullas, also won bouts in that dual.

Cleveland State will continue EWL action on the final weekend of January by hosting Bloomsburg.