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Vikings Host West Virginia On Senior Night

Vikings Host West Virginia On Senior Night
Posted: Feb 18, 2010

Feb. 18, 2010

Contact: Renee Adam

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SETTING THE SCENE: The Vikings will host West Virginia in their final dual meet of the 2009-10 regular season on Friday, February 19 in Woodling Gymnasium. The meet will begin at 7:00 p.m. and will also be Senior Night for Dan Castillo, Dustin Doty, Marcus Effner and Jeff Schuller.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK: The Vikings traveled to Clarion, Pennsylvania last Saturday (Feb. 13) for matches against EWL opponent Clarion and North Carolina. CSU dropped both matches, falling to Clarion, 49-0 and to North Carolina, 40-0. With the losses, Marcus Effner ended his three-match win streak that he recorded against Lock Haven, Bloomsburg and Edinboro.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: CSU is led by senior Marcus Effner and junior Rob Michaels who have combined for 26 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 five 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).

SENIOR NIGHT: Four Vikings will take to the mat for their final dual meet at CSU this Friday (Feb. 19), when Dan Castillo, Dustin Doty, Marcus Effner and Jeff Schuller compete in their final regular season dual meet in a Viking uniform. Castillo currently has a career record of 14-61 and ended his junior season tied for fourth on the team with three major decisions. Dustin Doty is 2-19 as a Viking, earning both victories at the Michigan State Open last season. Marcus Effner leads CSU with a career record of 87-58, becoming the 60th Viking to make a trip to the NCAA tournament as a freshman. He finished his junior season leading the team with a career high 27 victories and his second trip to the NCAA tournament. Jeff Schuller has posted a record of 10-20 during his years as a Viking, recording a season high five victories as a sophomore.

THE OTHER MICHAELS: When freshman Danny Michaels stepped on the mat at Clarion last Saturday (2/13), he made his first dual meet appearance as a Viking. Michaels redshirted last season, and had yet to take on a dual meet opponent this season. He made the most of his time on the mat, being one of just five Vikings to post decision losses, dropping an 8-6 decision to North Carolina and a 10-3 decision to Clarion.

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. WEST VIRGINIA ALL-TIME: The Mountaineers hold a 21-10 all-time record against Cleveland State, with the Vikings' last win coming during the 2000-01 season when they barely escaped with a 22-19 victory. Marcus Effner is the only current Viking to record a victory against West Virginia, posting a 6-4 decision during the 2006-07 season as a sophomore.

...SCOUTING WEST VIRGINIA: The Mountaineers are led by Colin Johnston at 133 pounds, Donnie Jones at 165 pounds and heavyweight Brandon Williamson. Johnston leads the team with a 19-3 record this season, while Jones and Williamson have 16 and 13 victories respectively. Four WVU wrestlers are nationally ranked, Johnston being the highest at No. 17, Jones at No. 22 and Williamson and Shane Young (125) both ranked 30th.

NEXT UP: The Vikings will have two weeks of preparation before they travel to Morgantown, W. Va. for the Eastern Wrestling League Championships, taking place on Sunday, March 7 with action beginning at 8:00 a.m.

THE HEAD COACH
Ben Stehura (Lockhaven '00)
AT CSU: 6-29 (2nd year)
OVERALL: 32-78-1 (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.