Feb. 2, 2008

Contact: Gene Natale, Jr.

BLOOMSBURG, Pennsylvania - Cleveland State received wins from Marcus Effner, JT Miller, Ryan Hurley, and Benny Balogh, but it was not enough to defeat Bloomsburg as the Vikings lost by a 23-12 score in EWL dual meet action at Nelson Field House in Bloomsburg, PA.

The loss drops the Vikings to 4-8 (0-3 EWL) while Bloomsburg improves to 5-6 (2-1 EWL).

"Today was a hard-fought competition," head coach Jack Effner said, "I thought we did better than yesterday. We are working hard and representing the school well, but we are just not getting the wins to show for it."

165-pounder Marcus Effner (23-7) won for the fifth time in his last six matches and improved his dual meet record to 9-2. He is also now tied for the team lead in overall victories with 23. JT Miller won for the second day in a row to score his 20th victory of the season at 174 pounds.

"Our guys at 165 and 174 were our anchors this weekend," Coach Effner said, "They did a really nice job going 2-0 for the weekend."

Ryan Hurley (12-9, 149 pounds) got his 70th career win, a 4-3 decision in sudden victory. Prior to today, Hurley had lost seven straight matches after starting the season 5-0 in dual meets.

Benny Balogh was given his first start of the season at 197 pounds and picked up a win in place of injured starter Alek Hughes. Balogh's 4-2 win by decision in the first bout of the afternoon gave the Vikings a 3-0 lead to start the meet.

Rashard Goff had a difficult time with Bloomsburg's All-American heavyweight Mike Spaid and lost his bout by a 5-0 decision, setting off the first of four straight defeats by the Vikings.

"Goff was back in there for us today and fought hard, but came up just short," Coach Effner said.

Bloomsburg's 125-pound All-American Mike Sees was the next challenge for the Vikings, and would prove daunting. Cleveland State's Ryan Riggs was unable to gain any advantages on his opponent as he fell by a score of 18-3, a technical fall.

Josh Palivoda followed at 133 pounds and wrestled a very close match but came up just short, losing a 10-8 decision to Bloomsburg's Jason Guffey.

"Palivoda is peaking at the right time," Coach Effner said, "He is starting to establish himself."

After Mike Hurley lost a close 3-1 decision to Bloomsburg's Darren Kern at 141 pounds, Ryan Hurley was next to wrestle at 149. Against Bloomsburg's George Hickman, Ryan Hurley gutted out a long match through three periods and one overtime period, eventually getting the win in the second overtime period, 4-3.

Robbie Michaels made the start at 157 pounds in his second meet since returning from illness. The team win leader could not get anything going against Matt Moley as he was pinned within the first minute of the first period. The loss was key to Bloomsburg's victory as it ran the Huskies' lead to 20-6.

"Robbie is just out of sync right now after being out for a while, hopefully we can get him back on track next week," Coach Effner said.

Marcus Effner followed at 165 pounds and picked up his 71st career win against Rickey Schmelyun in a 3-1 decision. The win was typical of Effner's victories this season as 18 of his 23 wins are by decision.

JT Miller followed at 174 pounds and won an 8-3 decision over Bloomsburg's Brian Shaw. With the win, Miller became the third Viking this season to reach the 20-win plateau. Derek Cummins followed at 184 and dropped an 8-2 decision to Bloomsburg's Jesse Hasseman.

"Today was a disappointing loss, and it always hurts to lose. We are going good things despite the losses, and we just need a real good week of practice to get better. We are getting better, just not as fast as we would like. We need to just keep working, and good things will happen," Coach Effner said.

The Vikings are back home on Saturday, Feb. 9 for a dual meet against EWL rival Edinboro. The match will be contested at Woodling Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Bloomsburg 23, Cleveland State 12

197: Benny Balogh dec. Eric Shaw (BU), 4-2                     3-0
HWY: Mike Spaid (BU) dec. Rashard Goff, 5-0                    3-3
125: Mike Sees (BU) tech. fall Ryan Riggs, 18-3, 5:00          3-8
133: Jason Guffey (BU) dec. Josh Palivoda, 10-8                3-11
141: Darren Kern (BU) dec. Mike Hurley, 3-1                    3-14
149: Ryan Hurley dec. George Hickman (BU) 4-3, SV              6-14
157: Matt Moley (BU) pinned Rob Michaels, 0:52                 6-20
165: Marcus Effner dec. Rickey Schmelyun (BU) 3-1              9-20
174: JT Miller dec. Brian Shaw (BU), 8-3                      12-20
184: Jesse Hasseman (BU) dec. Derek Cummins, 8-2              12-23 BU