Jan. 14, 2012

Contact: Tim Ertle

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FAIRFAX, Va. - Historically, Jan. 14th has been good to the Cleveland State wrestling program. The Vikings entered Saturday with a 14-3 all-time record on Jan. 14th, and the biggest win in school history - a 54-0 win over Ohio Northern - came on Jan. 14, 1996.

That trend continued this year as the Vikings snapped a five-match losing skid and swept their three opponents at the George Mason Patriot Duals on Saturday. CSU beat VMI 22-15 and Davidson 31-6 before finishing off the host Patriots 25-12.

Cleveland State now sits at 6-9 overall.

Nine different Vikings won at least two matches, highlighted by Corey Carlo's unblemished 3-0 mark at 165 pounds.

He won his match against VMI on a 9-3 count then narrowly edged out Davidson's Tyler Mullen 6-5. A 5-1 decision against George Mason's Ty Knepp in the finale improved Carlo to 7-4 in dual meets this season.

Aric Thurn was impressive at 174, bouncing back from a defeat in his first match to score bonus points in his final two bouts. He won on a 16-0 technical fall against Davidson's Christopher Cirenza in 4:55 and then beat George Mason's Seth Robertson 16-4 to pick up four points.

Ben Willeford (125) won on a forfeit against VMI and later a 13-4 major decision against Davidson's Matt Zarth.

Nick Flannery (133) won two matches each by a two-point margin, winning a 8-6 decision against VMI and on a 6-4 count against George Mason to pick up his team-best 19th victory of the season.

Mike Mencini won his only two matches of the day at 149 pounds, taking a 10-8 decision from VMI's David Yost and defeating Donald Takagi from George Mason by a score of 7-1. Lawrence Cavello wrested at 149 against Davidson and defeated William Ray 3-0 to make Cleveland State three-for-three at the 149 pound spot.

Brandon Sommers (157) picked up his first two wins of the season before giving way to Tanner Lemon. He won a 6-5 decision against VMI in his first match and then dominated Davidson's Christopher Talevi 14-4 to earn a major decision.

Robert Blankenship (184), Nick Anthony (197) and Garry Yarborogh (285) all went 2-1.

Blankenship lost his first match of the day on a 3-0 decision, but won on 5-2 and 6-2 counts in his final two matches to improve to 2-1 in dual meets.

Anthony started strong with a 12-3 major decision win against VMI and a 9-2 win against Davidson before dropping his final bout.

Yarborogh lost his opening match and then won via forfeit before posting a 10-4 win over Alex Stanley from George Mason.

The Vikings will only face league opponents for the remainder of the season. CSU will have its first home dual since Dec. 11 when No. 23 Edinboro visits Woodling Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28 to start the run which concludes with a home meet against West Virginia on Feb. 18. Sandwiched in between are road trips to Lock Haven (Feb. 3), Bloomsburg (Feb. 4) and Clarion (Feb. 11).

Cleveland State 22 - VMI 15
125 - Ben Willeford (CSU) wins by forfeit
133 - Nick Flannery (CSU) def. Goodsell (VMI) via 8-6 Decision
141 - Stewart (VMI) def. Josh Palivoda (CSU) 8-6 Decision
149 - Mike Mencini (CSU) def. Yost (VMI) via 10-8 Decision
157 - Brandon Sommers (CSU) def. Burnett (VMI) via 6-5 Decision
165 - Corey Carlo (CSU) def. Joseph (VMI) via 9-3 Decision
174 - Brock (VMI) def. Aric Thurn (CSU) via Fall (4:35)
184 - Dommert (VMI) def. Robert Blankenship (CSU) via 3-0 Decision
197 - Nick Anthony (CSU) def. Garcia (VMI) via 12-3 Major Decision
285 - Embree (VMI) def. Garry Yarborogh (CSU) via 8-1 Decision

Cleveland State 31 - Davidson 6
125 - Ben Willeford (CSU) def. Zarth (DC) via 13-4 Major Decision
133 - Elias (DC) def. Nick Flannery (CSU) via 9-7 Decision
141 - Birmingham (DC) def. Josh Palivoda (CSU) via 9-7 Decision
149 - Lawrence Cavello (CSU) def. Ray (DC) via 3-0 Decision
157 - Brandon Sommers (CSU) def. Talevi (DC) via 14-4 Major Decision
165 - Corey Carlo (CSU) def. Mullen (DC) via 6-5 Decision
174 - Aric Thurn (CSU) def. Cirenza (DC) via 16-0 Tech. Fall (4:55)
184 - Robert Blankenship (CSU) def. Solcz (DC) via 5-2 Decision
197 - Nick Anthony (CSU) def. Isola (DC) via 9-2 Decision
285 - Garry Yarborogh (CSU) wins by forfeit

Cleveland State 25 - George Mason 12
125 - V. Rodriguez (GMU) def. Ben Willeford (CSU) via 8-4 Decision
133 - Nick Flannery (CSU) def. Isenhour (GMU) 6-4 Decision
141 - Josh Palivoda (CSU) win by injury over Herndon (GMU) (2:33)
149 - Mike Mencini (CSU) def. Takagi (GMU) via 7-1 Decision
157 - Bethea (GMU) def. Tanner Lemon (CSU) via 4-1 Decision
165 - Corey Carlo (CSU) def. Knepp (GMU) via 5-1 Decision
174 - Aric Thurn (CSU) def. Robertson (GMU) via 16-4 Major Decision
184 - Robert Blankenship (CSU) def. Hembury (GMU) via 6-2 Decision
197 - Tovuujav (GMU) def. Nick Anthony (CSU) via Fall (0:25)
285 - Garry Yarborogh (CSU) def. Stanley (GMU) via 10-4 Decision