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Vikings Set To Face Clarion & North Carolina

Vikings Set To Face Clarion & North Carolina
Posted: Feb 09, 2010

Feb. 9, 2010

Contact: Renee Adam

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SETTING THE SCENE: The Vikings hit the road for their final road duals of the season, when they travel to Clarion, Pa. this Saturday (Feb. 13) for duals against North Carolina and EWL opponent Clarion. CSU will take on the Tar Heels at 3:00 p.m. and the Golden Eagles at 5:00 p.m.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings were in action once last weekend, facing Edinboro in their fourth EWL match of the season. Below is a recap of the meet.

Edinboro 39, Cleveland State 6:
Marcus Effner won his third dual meet in a row, defeating Paul Paddock in a 6-1 decision at 174 pounds, while Rob Michaels won his 14th match of the season with a 5-0 decision over Chris Hrunka in the 165 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 seven 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).

EFFNER RETURNING TO FORM: Senior Marcus Effner has won five out of his last seven dual match-ups and three in a row over the past two weeks to improve his career victory total to 87. Effner how has a 12-8 record this season, trailing Rob Michaels (14-8). He has posted double digit victories in every season as a Viking, except for his redshirt seasons, and also leads the team in career victories by more than 30.

VIKINGS IN THE EWL RANKINGS: In the latest Eastern Wrestling League rankings, released February 8, three wreslters represent the Vikings, including Mike Mencini (141), Rob Michaels (165) and Marcus Effner (174). Effner is the highest ranked Viking coming in fourth, while Mencini and Michaels are fifth.

VS. NORTH CAROLINA ALL-TIME: Saturday's meet will mark the first time that the Tar Heels and the Vikings will face off in the history of the program. CSU has faced just three ACC teams over the years, holding an 8-1 combined record against Duke, Virginia and Virginia Tech, with the only loss coming at Virginia Tech during the 2000-01 season.

...SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA: The Tar Heels are led by junior Thomas Scotton who is 10th nationally at 157 pounds, and has a 23-5 record this season. Dennis Drury leads North Carolina with seven pins, his fastest coming in 1:06 against Columbia (11/28). In their four wins this season the Tar Heels have won by an average of 24 points, shutting out Gardner-Webb (11/15), 43-0 in the first dual of the season.

VS. CLARION ALL-TIME: Clarion holds a 22-14 overall record against CSU, but the Vikings have come on strong lately, winning five out of the last seven meets by an average of 39.6 points. Rob Michaels and Marcus Effner are the only current Vikings to post victories against Clarion, Michaels winning his match last season as a sophomore and Effner winning as a sophomore in 2006-07 and as a junior during 2007-08.

...SCOUTING CLARION: The Golden Eagles are led by the trio of senior Hadley Harrison (157), sophomore Quintas McCorkle (HWT) and freshman James Fleming (149) who have each posted 20-win seasons. Harrison leads the way with 28 victories, while Fleming (22) and McCorkle (20) are close behind. In five dual meet victories this season, Clarion has won by an average of 10.2 points with the largest margin coming at Princeton (1/30), 38-6.

CATCH THE ACTION LIVE! Saturday's 5:00 p.m. match between Clarion and Cleveland State will be available live on Internet Radio. The radio link can be found on CSU's homepage at www.csuvikings.com.

NEXT UP: The Vikings will host West Virginia in the final dual meet of the 2009-10 season on Friday, February 19 beginning at 7:00 p.m. The meet will also be Senior Night for Dan Castillo, Marcus Effner and Jeff Schuller.

THE HEAD COACH
Ben Stehura (Lockhaven '00)
AT CSU: 6-27 (2nd year)
OVERALL: 32-76-1 (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.