Feb. 9, 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 - Lawrence Cavello (Sr. - Willard, Ohio) OR Mike Mencini (Jr. - Twinsburg, Ohio)
157 - Tanner Lemon (Fr. - Canton, Ohio) OR Brandon Sommers (So. - Macedonia, Ohio)
165 - Corey Carlo (Jr. - Fairview Park, Ohio)
174 - Aric Thurn (Jr. - Clyde, Ohio) OR Koort Leyrer (So. - Holt, Mich.)
184 - Corbin Boone (So. - Holt, Mich.) OR Robert Blankenship (Fr. - Plain City, Ohio)
197 - Nick Anthony (Jr. - Fairborn, Ohio)
285 - Rock Davis (Fr. - San Diego, Calif.)
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State (6-12, 0-4 EWL) will go on the road for the final time this season when they visit Clarion (2-6, 1-3 EWL) at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 11). Despite their record, the Golden Eagles are ranked No. 21 in the latest NWMA Division I Mid-Major poll. Four of CU's losses have come to ranked opponents: No. 7 Illinois (Nov. 20), No. 15 Lehigh (Nov. 20), T-No. 20 Edinboro (Dec. 19) and No. 9 Pittsburgh (Jan. 20). Last Friday (Feb. 3), Clarion beat Bloomsburg 22-18 to end a three-match losing skid.
WHERE TO FIND IT: Fans can follow the action live with free audio available through RedZoneMedia.com.
THE SERIES: Saturday will be the 39th meeting between Clarion and Cleveland State with the Golden Eagles leading the all-time series, 24-14. Clarion has won four consecutive meetings, but prior to that CSU won five straight from 2002-03 through the 2006-07 season.
LAST TIME ON THE MAT: CSU dropped both of its Eastern Wrestling League matches in Pennsylvania last weekend, falling 28-9 at Lock Haven on Friday (Feb. 3) night and losing 34-7 to Bloomsburg on Saturday (Feb. 4). In the match with Lock Haven, Nick Flannery tied a school record with his sixth dual meet pin of the season and Corbin Boone jumped up a weight class and won at 197 pounds. Ben Willeford (125) and Josh Palivoda (141) were victorious on Saturday.
CLARION PROBABLES:
Former Penn State assistant coach Matt Dernlan is in his first year at the helm of the Golden Eagle program. His projected lineup for Saturday is as follows:
125: Trey Hicks (Jr.) - 5-15
133: Joe Waltko (Jr.) - 11-13
141: Tyler Bedelyon (So.) - 12-13
149: Cameron Moran (Sr.) - 11-12
157: James Fleming (Jr.) - 19-2
165: Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Sr.) - 23-4
174: Ryan Darch (R-Fr.) - 8-11 OR Nick Milano (So.) - 5-12
184: Steven Cressley (Jr.) - 12-10
197: Alex Thomas (Jr.) - 18-13
285: Quintas McCorkle (Sr.) - 19-10
TOUGH TESTS: The 12 teams that have defeated CSU have a combined record of 126-69 (.646) in duals, and the Vikings have only lost to three teams that aren't ranked in the top-25 or the Mid-Major poll. Included in that group are No. 9 Pitt (12-1), No. 14 Kent State (12-4), T-No. 20 Edinboro (8-2) and T-No. 23 Old Dominion (12-8).
FLANNERY TIES SCHOOL RECORD: With his pin of Lock Haven's John Trumbetti at the 1:35 mark on Friday (Feb. 3) night, Cleveland State 133-pound sophomore Nick Flannery etched his name in the school record book alongside Tony DiGiovanni (1973-74, 1975-76) and Tim Payne (1978-79) for the most dual meet pins in a season with six.
GOING OUT OF LEAGUE: The CSU/Clarion match is the only contest of the week that features two teams from the EWL. On Thursday (Feb. 9), Bloomsburg is at No. 19 Binghamton. T-No. 20 Edinboro hosts Michigan State on Saturday while Lock Haven hosts Bucknell and No. 9 Pitt is home against Hofstra. West Virginia is the lone EWL team to go on the road on Saturday when they visit Ohio. After the Edinboro Open on Saturday, the week concludes with Clarion taking on Princeton and Franklin and Marshall in New Jersey on Sunday.
UP NEXT: The Vikings will conclude the regular season with a home match against West Virginia on Sunday (Feb. 19) at 2:00 p.m. The match was originally scheduled to be held on Feb. 18 but has since been changed. Seniors Lawrence Cavello and Josh Palivoda will be honored on Senior Day.
The head coach: Ben Stehura (Lock Haven '00)
At Cleveland State: 15-55 (four years) ... Overall: 41-105-1 (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.
