Jan. 13, 2012
Contact: Tim Ertle
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CLEVELAND STATE PROBABLES:
125 - Ben Willeford (So. - Baton Rouge, La.)
133 - Nick Flannery (So. - Framingham, Mass.)
141 - Josh Palivoda (Sr. - Raymond, Ohio)
149 - Mike Mencini (Jr. - Twinsburg, Ohio)
157 - Tanner Lemon (Fr. - Canton, Ohio) OR Brandon Sommers (So. - Macedonia, Ohio)
165 - Corey Carlo (Jr. - Fairview Park, Ohio) OR Koort Leyrer (So. - Holt, Mich.)
174 - Aric Thurn (Jr. - Clyde, Ohio)
184 - Robert Blankenship (Fr. - Plain City, Ohio)
197 - Nick Anthony (Jr. - Fairborn, Ohio)
285 - Garry Yarborogh (Fr. - Garfield Heights, Ohio)
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State (3-9, 0-1 EWL) will look to snap a five-match losing skid on Saturday (Jan. 14) when the Vikings participate in the George Mason Patriot Duals in Fairfax, Va. The day will start with a 9:00 a.m. match against VMI before a 10:30 a.m. bout with Davidson and will close with George Mason at 12:00 p.m. Only the match with George Mason will be broadcast on PatriotVison, available through GoMason.com, for an $8.95 fee.
UNFAMILIAR FOES: The Vikings have defeated both Davidson and VMI in their only prior meetings. CSU and George Mason have never met on the mat. CSU beat VMI 34-12 in 1998 while the Vikings edged Davidson 27-15 in 2006.
THE OPPONENTS: None of the Vikings three opponents this weekend have a winning record: George Mason enters Saturday at 4-6 while Davidson and VMI, each of the Southern Conference, are 0-6 and 1-5, respectively.
GOING BACK: Cleveland State graduate assistant Joe Coughlin is a graduate of George Mason. He wrestled for the Patriots from 2004-2008, amassing a 74-48 record, including a 21-10 record in Colonial Athletic Association matches. Coughlin, who wrestled at both 125 and 133 pounds, graduated with a degree in communication.
LAST TIME ON THE MAT: The Vikings finished their southern swing earlier this week, competing Jan. 8-9 in Tennessee and North Carolina. CSU fell to Chattanooga on Jan. 8 and then lost to Appalachian State and Campbell of the Southern Conference in Campbell, N.C. on Monday (Jan. 9). Ben Willeford (125) picked up a win on a 4-2 decision against Chattanooga. He was also one of five Vikings to win on Monday when he earned a major decision win against Campbell. Aric Thurn (174) and Nick Anthony (197) were winners in the match against Appalachian State while Nick Flannery (133) and Josh Palivoda (141) came away victorious against Campbell.
TOUGH TESTS: The nine teams that have defeated CSU have a combined record of 51-27 in duals, and the Vikings have only lost to one team with a record below .500: 8-9 Campbell.
PIN IT TO WIN IT: With five dual meet pins, 133-pounder Nick Flannery is one off the current school record shared by Tony DiGiovanni (1973-74, 1975-76) and Tim Payne (1978-79). The CSU sophomore has eight pins on the season, six shy of Matt Ghaffari's school record of 14 in 1983-84.
OUTSTANDING OPPONENTS: Of Nick Flannery's eight losses so far this season, four have come against wrestlers ranked in the top-20 of the WrestlingReport.com's Jan. 9th national rankings. He lost to No. 9 Nick Soto from UT-Chattanooga, suffered two losses to No. 18 Aaron Kalil of Navy at the Southern Scuffle and lost to No. 20 Shelton Mack of Pitt in the EWL opener.
LUCKY DAY: Historically, Jan. 14th has been good to the Cleveland State wrestling program. The Vikings are 14-3 on Jan. 14th, and the biggest win in school history - a 54-0 win over Ohio Northern - came on Jan. 14, 1996.
UP NEXT - ONLY EWL COMPETITION: After this weekend, 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).
The head coach: Ben Stehura (Lock Haven '00)
At Cleveland State: 12-52 (four years) ... Overall: 38-102-1 (eight years)
THE STEHURA FILE: Ben Stehura is in his fourth season as the head coach of the Viking wrestling program, and has recruited a talented group of young wrestlers that expect to make noise in the Eastern Wrestling League this year. Stehura has a history of developing young talent, as he has coached seven NCAA qualifiers, three NCAA All-Americans and two Olympic alternates over the past seven years. Stehura joined CSU in 2008 after building a successful program at Limestone in Gaffney, S.C. The first head coach in Limestone's history, Stehura took the team from three wins his first year to 13 in 2007-2008. Stehura will use his experience with coaching a young program to lead the Vikings during the 2011-12 season, working to improve in EWL competition and continuing the history and tradition of CSU wrestling.
