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Vikings Set To Battle West Virginia

Vikings Set To Battle West Virginia
Posted: Feb 16, 2009

Feb. 16, 2009

Contact: Ryan Mulford

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SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State (4-12) wraps up the regular season on Friday, February 20, when the Vikings travel to Morgantown, West Virginia to battle the Mountaneers (7-4-1). The dual meet is scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The Vikings are looking to get back on track in their final regular season dual of the season. CSU has had a rough stretch facing off against two nationally ranked opponents and four EWL foes. Rashard Goff continues to captain the Viking ship, he now has a team high 27 wins and sits at 99 for his career. Jordan Keller joins Goff on the 20-win plateau with 22 of his own, while five other Vikings have double-digit wins this season.

RECAPPING CLARION: The Vikings were able to earn three victories against the Golden Eagles in a 30-10 loss on Saturday (2/14). With a buzz in the air on senior night, co-captains, Rashard Goff hammered out a 12-3 major decision victory over Roman Husman, while Antonio Nicholson scored an exciting last second 7-3 victory over Greg Lewis. Rob Michaels notched his second straight victory with an 8-2 win over Dominic Ross.

FORFEITS TO MUCH TO OVERCOME: Before the first match got underway on Saturday (2/14), the Vikings were already down 12-0 thanks to forfeits at 125 pounds and 197 pounds. Cleveland State won three of the eight contested match-ups, trailing by three points at 13-10 going into the last contested match, without the 12 point swing due to forfeits.

VS. WEST VIRGINIA: CSU is 10-21 overall against the Mountaineers, with its last win coming eight years ago when the Vikings won 22-19. The rivalry between the two programs dates back to 1978-79 season. The Vikings had tremendous success early in the rivalry winning the first six match-ups. CSU was able to put another brief two match win streak together (1888-89). The Vikings have had no trouble taking care of business at West Virginia, winning six matches in the mountain state.

SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA: The Mountaineers are led by the duo of senior heavyweight Dustin Rogers and Kurt Brenner (174), who have a team high 13 wins. Rogers has a 10-2 dual meet record and is currently the 18th-ranked heavyweight in the country, while Brenner also has a 10-2 dual meet record and is ranked 11th by Intermat Rankings.

LOOKING FOR PAYBACK: Both Rashard Goff and Derek Cummins are looking for a little redemption this week when the Vikings face the Mountaineers. Goff will square off with Dustin Rogers, who beat Goff 2-1 last season and 5-2 in 2007, while Cummins will attempt to even the score with Kurt Brennar, whom he lost to twice last season.

MAKING SENIOR NIGHT ONE TO REMEMBER: Before the match on Saturday (2/14), the Vikings honored four seniors, three of which were starters. Rashard Goff and Antonio Nicholson etched their names in the annals of Viking lure. Goff hammered out a major decision, while Nicholson saved his best for last, with another last second win.

GOFF ONE WIN SHY OF 100: After scoring a 12-3 major decision over Roman Husman on senior night (2/14), Rashard Goff now sits at 99 wins for his career and has a team high 27 wins this season. Goff has had several notable wins this season, including a 3-1 overtime thrilling win over then fourth-ranked Kyle Massey of Wisconsin. Goff has a current 12-3 dual meet record, with his lone losses coming by a 6-3 decision to third-ranked Jermail Porter of Kent State(1/17) a 2-0 loss to sixth-ranked Zach Scheaffer of Pittsburgh(1/28) and a 3-1 loss to 13th-ranked Joe Fedone. In a talented heavyweight crop, this season Goff will have faced off against eight of the top 20 heavyweights in the country and will face off against 18th-ranked Dustin Rogers of West Virginia on Friday (2/20).

NICHOLSON HEATING UP AT THE RIGHT TIME: Senior co-captain Antonio Nicholson is beginning to get hot at the right time as the Vikings near the EWL and NCAA tournaments. After dropping three close matches by three points or less, Nicholson has rallied to win two last second victories, a 4-3 win over Matt Fittery of Lock Haven and a 7-3 decision over Greg Lewis of Clarion.

MICHAELS BACK ON WINNING WAYS: Don't look now, but Rob Michaels, is beginning to regain the form that helped him win five of his first six matches this season. After battling through a stretch where he faced the toughest competition the EWL had to offer, Michaels has prevailed winning his last two matches. In a hostile environment at Edinboro, Michaels came up huge for the Vikings taking down Chris Hrunka with a 17-5 major decision victory and followed that up with an 8-2 win over Dominic Ross of Clarion. This season, Michaels has a team high five pins, and has 16 wins.

KEEPING THE SCORE CLOSE: Sophomore Josh Palivoda has had some tough luck as of late. In a very competitive 133 pound weight class, Palivoda night in and night out faces the toughest competition in the country. This season, Palivoda has wrestled Reece Humphrey of Ohio State, ranked second in the nation, and has recently had to run the gauntlet of the 18th and 19th ranked 133 pounders. The sophomore has not backed down, holding his own and battling until the end. Palivoda gave the 18th-ranked Ricky Deubel of Edinboro all he could handle in a slim 9-4 loss.

LOOKING TO REWRITE HISTORY: Entering the final dual meet of the season, the Vikings will attempt to do something they have not done since 2001. The final meet of the season against West Virginia has not been favorable to the Vikings as of late, not having won since February 17, 2001 in West Virginia when they took down the Mountaineers 22-19.

GOFF NAMED EWL WRESTLER OF WEEK: After hammering out a perfect 2-0 record at the Eastern Michigan Duals, Rashard Goff was rewarded with EWL Wrestler of the Week honors for the week of January 11, 2009. Goff became the first Viking wrestler to earn the honor since Ryan Hurley won the award in January 2007.

THE HEAD COACH: Ben Stehura (Lock Haven, 2000) Overall: 30-62-1
At CSU: 4-12

Former Viking graduate assistant coach Ben Stehura is in his first season as head coach. Stehura is only the third head coach for the Viking wrestling program after serving the last five years as the head coach at Division II Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C. The only head coach in Limestone history, Stehura quickly built the program and has already coached one NCAA National Champion, three NCAA All-Americans, five NCAA National qualifiers and eight NCAA All-Academic team members. A 2000 graduate of Lock Haven University with a Bachelor's of Science in Secondary Education, Stehura was a three-year starter, earning fourth and fifth place finishes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament.

UP NEXT: The Vikings will travel to Lock Haven, Pennsylvania to take part in the season ending EWL Tournament on Saturday, March 6th. The tournament is scheduled to begin at 10:00 a.m.