Feb. 14, 2008
Contact: Gene Natale, Jr.
CLARION, Pa. - Cleveland State lost its sixth straight dual meet, 30-7, to Clarion Thursday night at Tippin Gym in Clarion, Pa. The team was led in defeat by Marcus Effner (165 pounds) and Rashard Goff (heavyweight) who each won matches on the night.
With the win, the Golden Eagles improve to 10-13-1 (1-3 EWL), while the Vikings drop to 4-10 (0-5 EWL).
After Marcus Effner scored a 5-3 win by decision in the night's first bout, the Vikings lost the next three matches. Rashard Goff scored a 13-2 major decision win at heavyweight, and the Vikings then proceeded to lose the remaining five matches as Clarion ran away with the victory.
"It is a very disappointing loss, and a very disappointing performance," head coach Jack Effner said, "I thought we prepared well, and had a chance to come out with a nice win, but we just didn't get it done."
The meet began at 165 pounds, as Marcus Effner defeated Clarion's Dom Ross by decision to give CSU a 3-0 lead. Effner (24-8) now moves into sole possession of the team lead in wins this season, and also became the first Viking to record at least 10 dual meet wins this year. With a 10-3 dual meet record he also leads the team in that category.
CSU has won the first bout in the last five meets, but have been unable to take advantage of the early leads, as all five of those meets have been losses.
In the next bout of the evening, JT Miller stood with a chance to extend the Vikings' lead. He was instead pinned by Clarion's Mario Morelli at the 4:39 mark, giving the Golden Eagles the lead at 6-3. The lead would not be relinquished for the remainder of the night.
"I thought we ran some very heated battles, but we just didn't get it done," Coach Effner said, "It's very disappointing. We work hard, and prepare hard, so to not get it done is very disappointing."
In the next bout, Derek Cummins (184 pounds) lost by a 21-5 technical fall to Clarion's Scott Joseph. Joseph ran out to a 6-2 lead in the first period. He continued to add to his total before a five-point takedown in the final seconds of the third period secured the technical fall.
Benny Balogh's 197-pound bout against Clarion's Jamie Luckett would prove to be very close, as the score remained tied at 1-1 as the clock ticked down to 40 seconds remaining in the first period. At that point Luckett scored a takedown to take the lead, and another takedown at the five second mark sealed the deal. With that, Clarion's lead was at 14-3.
With that, Rashard Goff was next for the Vikings at heavyweight. Goff delivered one of his most resounding wins of the season with a 13-2 major decision over Clarion's Rosam Husam. Husam, a freshman, appeared outmatched by the veteran Goff. Goff went into the match as the 18th ranked heavyweight in the country according to the InterMat/NWMA/NWCA Division I rankings. Goff improved his overall record for the season to 18-8.
"Goff looked great tonight," Coach Effner said, "This is the best he's looked all year."
Goff's win put the Vikings to within seven with the overall score at 14-7. Golden Eagle wins in the next five straight bouts would seal the team victory for Clarion.
Ryan Riggs, at 125 pounds, followed Goff but was unable to feed off the momentum created by Goff's win. He lost by a 12-3 major decision to Clarion's Jay Ivanco. Josh Palivoda then lost his match by a 6-2 decision to Clarion's Rob LaBrake.
In the 141 pound bout, Mike Hurley was able to hold his opponent (Sal Lascari) to only an escape point in the first and one riding time point in the second, but was unable to register any points in the match, losing 2-0. Ryan Hurley followed by suffering two late takedowns to Hadley Harrison in the 149 bout matchup as he was defeated by a 7-3 decision.
"I think we are fighting hard, but we are just not scoring points," Coach Effner said. "It's very disappointing, but we're gonna go back, try and get better, and try to have a strong finish."
Robbie Michaels (157 pounds) closed the evening with a 8-3 loss by decision to Clarion's Travis Uncapher. Michaels has now lost three straight matches since he returned to the lineup on Feb. 1 being sidelined for three weeks due to illness.
"Michaels just isn't the same wrestler right now, he's trying but he just can't get it going right now," Coach Effner said.
Despite the loss, Coach Effner remained optimistic. "We can't panic, or dwell on negativity," he said, "We just have to get better and do it next time. Wrestling is a hard game. Everyone is tough and works hard to get to this level, and its more about tactics than anything else - just not panicking. It's about getting tough when you need to, stubborn when you need to, not conceeding, and not giving up. We just have to get better at it."
Cleveland State's final meet of the season will be at home, as the Vikings welcome EWL rival West Virginia to Woodling Gymnasium on Senior Day. The meet will be contested on Feb. 24, 2008 at 1:00 p.m. EST.
Clarion 30, Cleveland State 7
165: Marcus Effner dec. Dom Ross (C), 5-3 3-0
174: Mario Morelli (C) pinned JT Miller, 4:39 3-6
184: Scott Joseph (C) tech. fall Derek Cummins, 21-5, 7:00 3-11
197: Jamie Luckett (C) dec. Benny Balogh, 5-2 3-14
HWY: #18 Rashard Goff maj. dec. Roman Husam (C), 13-2 7-14
125: Jay Ivanco (C) maj. dec. Ryan Riggs, 12-3 7-18
133: Rob LaBrake (C) dec. Josh Palivoda, 6-2 7-21
141: Sal Lascari (C) dec. Mike Hurley, 2-0 7-24
149: Hadley Harrison (C) dec. Ryan Hurley, 7-3 7-27
157: Travis Uncapher (C) dec. Robbie Michaels, 8-3 7-30 Clarion
