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Vikings Take Part In Indiana Duals

Vikings Take Part In Indiana Duals
Posted: Jan 12, 2010

Jan. 12, 2010

Contact: Renee Adam

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SETTING THE SCENE: The Vikings will continue the 2009-10 season when they travel to Bloomington, Ind. to take part in the Indiana Duals on Saturday, January 16. CSU will face off against the American Eagles at 12:00 noon and the Indiana Hoosiers beginning at 2:00 p.m.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings traveled to No. 13 Kent State last week for their first dual of 2010. Below is a recap of the action:

Kent State 40, Cleveland State 3:
Marcus Effner posted the only CSU victory of the meet when he recorded a 3-1 decision over KSU's Obie Simpson in the 174 pound weight class. Rob Michaels and Jeff Schuller had hard fought matches against the Flashes, Michaels dropping a 13-9 decision in the 165 pound weight class and Schuller falling in the 197 pound weight class in a 10-3 decision.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: CSU is led by senior Marcus Effner and junior Rob Michaels who have combined for 19 victories this season. Also coming on strong for the Vikings this season is sophomore Corey Carlo with six wins and junior Dan Castillo who has recorded three victories. The highlights of the season are the 31-13 victory over John Carroll on Nov. 24, the 28-20 victory over Appalachian State on Dec. 4, Rob Michaels' victory at the Midlands Invitational (Dec. 29-30) and Marcus Effner's victory at No. 13 Kent State (Jan. 5).

EFFNER BACK ON TRACK: With his 3-1 victory at Kent State (Jan. 5) senior Marcus Effner is finally getting back on track after losing three straight dual meet matches. Effner won five straight dual matches to open the 2009-10 season before his first loss against The Citadel (Dec. 4). The five straight victories is a career best for him, bettering his four match win streaks in both the 2004-05 and 2007-08 seasons.

...AND CLOSES IN ON 100 MARK: Marcus Effner is closing in on 100 career victories, needing just 17 more wins to accomplish the feat. Effner has recorded 18 or more victories in each of his previous three seasons, making the goal easily attainable. Through nine dual meets and three opens Effner has recorded eight victories including two major decisions and has 10 more meets to go during the 2009-10 season including the EWL Championships.

DOUBLE DIGITS: Through nine weeks of action, two Vikings are within four victories of recording double digit wins for the 2009-10 season. Marcus Effner is the closest, just two wins shy, posting eight wins through nine dual meets and three opens. Corey Carlo is four wins away from the 10 win mark, with all of his wins coming as decisions. The duo would join Rob Michaels who leads the team with 11 wins this season.

DUAL LINE UPS: Head coach Ben Stehura has put four different line ups on the mat during dual meets this season, with both victories coming with the same line up; Zachary Zupancic, Zech Huff, Mike Mencini, Dan Castillo, Corey Carlo, Rob Michaels, Marcus Effner, Nick Anthony, Jeff Schuller and Chris Weber. Huff, Castillo, Carlo and Anthony are the only four Vikings to appear in all 10 starting line ups this season, one more than last year when only three Vikings were in the starting line up through the whole season (sophomore Lawrence Cavello, and seniors Antonio Nicholson and Rashard Goff).

VIKINGS IN THE EWL RANKINGS: In the latest Eastern Wrestling League rankings, released January 7, three wreslters represent the Vikings, Corey Carlo (157), Rob Michaels (165) and Marcus Effner (174). Effner is the highest ranked Viking coming in third, while Carlo and Michaels are fourth.

VS. INDIANA ALL-TIME: Cleveland State holds a 7-3 all-time record against the Hoosiers, winning three out of the last five duals between the two teams. The last time the squads faced off was during the 2002-03 season, when the Vikings were victorious, 21-15. The series started in the 1973-74 season with the Vikings taking home a 30-5 win. The Vikings won six straight duals, before losing, 44-6 during 1998-99.

VS. AMERICAN ALL-TIME: The Vikings are tied 1-1 against the Eagles, winning the last meeting 44-19, which came during the 2001-02 season. The first meeting between the two schools was during the 1997-98 season when CSU dropped a 33-15 decision to American.

NEXT UP: The Vikings will begin Eastern Wrestling League action when the Pittsburgh Panthers come to Cleveland on Thursday (Jan. 21) for a 7:00 p.m. dual.

THE HEAD COACH
Ben Stehura (Lockhaven '00)
AT CSU: 6-21 (2nd year)
OVERALL: 32-70-1 (6th year)

THE STEHURA FILE: Ben Stehura is in his second season as the head coach of the Cleveland State wrestling program. Stehura returns after leading a young Viking team to a 4-13 record during his first season at the helm. Stehura continued the trend of coaching a wrestler to the NCAA Championships last season, and for the 48th straight year a Viking wrestler advanced to the NCAA Championship with Rashard Goff representing CSU in 2009. Stehura also coached Goff to an EWL Heavyweight championship, the first league champion for CSU since the 2006 season. Stehura will use his experience with coaching a young program and lead the Vikings during the 2009-10 season, working to improve in the EWL and continuing the history and tradition of CSU wrestling.