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Vikings Host No. 18 Pittsburgh In First EWL Contest

Vikings Host No. 18 Pittsburgh In First EWL Contest
Posted: Jan 19, 2010

Jan. 19, 2010

Contact: Renee Adam

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SETTING THE SCENE: The Vikings will begin Eastern Wrestling League action when they host the No. 18 Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday (Jan. 21). The first match is set to begin at 7:00 p.m. in Woodling Gymnasium.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings participated in the Indiana Duals, facing the American Eagles and the Indiana Hooseirs. Below are recaps of the action:

American 37, Cleveland State 10: Rob Michaels (165), Marcus Effner (174) and Jeff Schuller (197) each recorded victories in their respective weight classes against the Eagles. Michaels had a convincing 15-2 major decision victory over Tanner Shaffer, while Effner recorded an 8-4 decision over Phillip Barreiro and Schuller had a 10-3 win over Kenneth Clessas.

Indiana 44, Cleveland State 4: Mike Mencini was the lone Viking to record a victory against the Hoosiers, putting four points on the scoreboard after recording a 15-4 major decision over Max Ortega in the 141 pound weight class.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: CSU is led by senior Marcus Effner and junior Rob Michaels who have combined for 21 victories this season. Also coming on strong for the Vikings this season are sophomores Corey Carlo with six wins and Mike Mencini who has recorded four 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).

MENCINI MAKES HIS MARK: Sophomore Mike Mencini is starting to make an impact on the Vikings, ranking fourth on the team with four wins this year after redshirting last season. All of Mencini's victories have come during dual meets, with the latest coming as the lone CSU victory against Indiana (1/16). He currently has the third fastest pin on the team, pinning Chris Collura in four minutes flat in CSU's 28-20 victory over Appalachian State (12/4).

EFFNER CLOSES IN ON 100 MARK: Marcus Effner is closing in on 100 career victories, needing just 16 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 10 dual meets and three opens, Effner has recorded nine victories including two major decisions. He has eight more meets to go during the 2009-10 season including the EWL Championships.

DOUBLE DIGITS: Through 10 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 one win shy, posting nine wins through 11 dual meets and three opens. Corey Carlo is four wins away from the 10 win mark, with three of his wins coming during dual meet action. The duo would join Rob Michaels who leads the team with 12 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, including 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. PITTSBURGH ALL-TIME: The Panthers have the slight advantage in the all-time series, holding a 16-14-1 record against CSU. The Panther-Viking rivalry started during the 1977-78 season when Cleveland State joined the Eastern Wrestling League. The Vikings started the series on a high note, going 8-1-1 during the first 10 meets, but are trying to get back on the winning track in recent years, going into Thursday's meet with a 4-6 record over the past 10 years. Last season CSU fell at Pittsburgh, 38-3 with Corey Carlo the lone Viking to record a victory in the meet. Marcus Effner, Josh Palivoda and Carlo are the only current Vikings to record wins against Pittsburgh in their careers.

NEXT UP: The Vikings continue EWL action when they travel to Pennsylvania to face Lock Haven on Saturday (Jan. 30) and Bloomsburg on Sunday (Jan. 31). Both meets are scheduled to begin at 1:00 p.m.

THE HEAD COACH
Ben Stehura (Lockhaven '00)
AT CSU: 6-23 (2nd year)
OVERALL: 32-72-1 (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.