March 1, 2012
Contact: Tim Ertle
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Cleveland State Participants
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)
157: Brandon Sommers (So. - Macedonia, Ohio)
165: Corey Carlo (Jr. - Fairview Park, Ohio)
174: Aric Thurn (Jr. - Clyde, Ohio)
184: Corbin Boone (So. - Holt, Mich.)
197: Nick Anthony (Jr. - Fairborn, Ohio)
285: Garry Yarborogh (Fr. - Garfield Heights, Ohio)
SETTING THE SCENE: On Sunday (March 4), the Cleveland State wrestling team (6-14, 0-6 EWL) will head to the 37th edition of the Eastern Wrestling League Championships, set to begin at 10:00 a.m. in Clarion, Pa. The Vikings will battle the six other teams that make up the EWL in addition to Millersville, a program that was assigned by the NCAA to compete at the EWL Championships after the NCAA East Regional was eliminated due to the lack of teams.
TICKET INFO: The 2012 EWLs - held in Clarion's Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium - get started with the first session at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday. That round will feature quarterfinal action, followed by semifinals and first round consolations. The second session will start at 5:00 p.m. and will have the consolation semifinals before the championship final and third and fifth place matches begin at 7:00 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door with all session adult passes available for $30 while all session senior and student passes are $15. Individual session tickets will also be available.
WHAT IS AT STAKE: A total of 24 wrestlers (three from 133, 174, 184, 197 and 285; two from 125, 141, 149 and 157 and one from 165) will qualify for the NCAA Tournament from the Eastern Wrestling League via the new selection system. After all of the qualifying events have concluded, the NCAA Division I Wrestling Committee will meet in-person to select the remaining 40 at-large qualifiers, which will be announced on March 7.
LAST TIME ON THE MAT: The Vikings dropped the first four bouts in the final home match of the year, a 36-6 loss to West Virginia on Feb. 19. Included in the slow start were losses suffered by Josh Palivoda (141) and Lawrence Cavello (149), the lone seniors who were honored on Senior Day prior to the match. CSU 157-pounder Brandon Sommers won on a 1-0 count thanks to his 4:00 of riding time and Corey Carlo (165) won on a 2-1 decision. He had a second period reversal that gave him a 2-0 lead. WVU's Kyle Eason had an escape in the third period but didn't score again.
EWL RANKINGS: WrestlingReport.com issued their annual NCAA tournament scoring rankings on Feb. 20 and three teams from the Eastern Wrestling League were included. Edinboro was ranked 14th, eight spots ahead of No. 22 Clarion. Pittsburgh, who won the dual meet title, was slotted 26th.
EWL TOURNAMENT FACTS: Edinboro has won or tied for first place in 12 of the last 14 EWL Tournaments including titles in 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, the tie in 2004, a win in 2003, and a string of four straight from 1998-2001. West Virginia tied for first in 2004 and won the title in 2002, while Lock Haven won in 1997, West Virginia in 1996 and Clarion won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995. Pitt won its first team title in 2011.
TOUGH TESTS: The 14 teams that have defeated CSU have a combined record of 160-99 (.618) in duals, and the Vikings lost to four teams who are currently ranked in the top-25: No. 9 Pittsburgh (14-2), No. 13 Kent State (14-5), No. 21 Edinboro (9-4) and No. 24 Old Dominion (13-10).
FLANNERY TIED SCHOOL RECORD: With his pin of Lock Haven's John Trumbetti at the 1:35 mark on February 3rd, 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.
THE LAST TIME CLEVELAND STATE ...
WAS THE EWL TEAM DUAL MEET CHAMPION: 1979
WAS THE EWL TOURNAMENT CHAMPION: 1979
HAD AN EWL TOURNAMENT CHAMPION: Rashard Goff (285) in 2009
HAD THE LEAGUE FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Joe Dennis (285) in 2005
HAD A THREE-TIME EWL CHAMPION: Dan Carcelli in 1993 (134), 1994 (142) and 1995 (142)
MEMBERS OF THE EWL HALL OF FAME FROM CSU:
Albert DiGiovanni
Dan Foldesy
Toby Matney
Ron Varga
Dick Bonacci (coach)
Mike Mercer (contributor)
2011 Eastern Wrestling League Championships
March 6, 2011 - Bloomsburg University - Nelson Field House
Final Team Standings
1. Pittsburgh (132.50)
2. West Virginia (116.50)
3. Bloomsburg (102.50)
4. Clarion (95.50)
5. Edinboro (91.50)
6. Lock Haven (70.50)
7. Cleveland State (26.50)
125
1. Anthony Zanetta, Pittsburgh
2. Shane Young, West Virginia
3. Sean Boylan, Bloomsburg
4. Ben Willeford, Cleveland State
5. Nick Hyatt, Lock Haven
6. Thomas Gowing, Clarion
133
1. Eric Morrill, Edinboro
2. Nate Pennesi, West Virginia
3. Shelton Mack, Pittsburgh
4. Devin Cook, Clarion
5. John Trumbetti, Lock Haven
6. Nick Wilcox, Bloomsburg
141
1. Tyler Nauman, Pittsburgh
2. Matt Bonson, Lock Haven
3. Mike Moralesr, West Virginia
4. Derek Shingara, Bloomsburg
5. Kasey Davis, Edinboro
6. Hunter McGraw, Clarion
149
1. Dane Johnson, Pittsburgh
2. Brandon Rader, West Virginia
3. Owen Wilkinson, Lock Haven
4. Torsten Gillespie, Edinboro
5. Josh Roosa, Bloomsburg
6. Anthony White, Clarion
157
1. James Fleming, Clarion
2. Frank Hickman, Bloomsburg
3. John Greisheimer, Edinboro
4. Donnie Tasser, Pittsburgh
5. Ryan Goodman, West Virginia
6. Matt Donohoe, Cleveland State
165
1. Ethan Headlee, Pittsburgh
2. Donnie Jones, West Virginia
3. Bekzod Abdurakhmanov, Clarion
4. Dylan Caprio, Lock Haven
5. Josh Veltre, Bloomsburg
6. Rob Michaels, Cleveland State
174
1. Mike Dessino, Bloomsburg
2. Alex Meade, West Virginia
3. Mike Khoury, Lock Haven
4. Chris Hrunka, Edinboro
5. Steven Cressley, Clarion
6. Karl DeCiantis, Pittsburgh
184
1. Chris Honeycutt, Edinboro
2. Max Thomusseit, Pittsburgh
3. Matt Ryan, West Virginia
4. Nate Graham, Bloomsburg
5. Scott Joseph, Clarion
6. Corbin Boone, Cleveland State
197
1. Zac Thomusseit, Pittsburgh
2. Shawn Fendone, Edinboro
3. Kyle Rooney, West Virginia
4. Alex Thomas, Clarion
5. Richard Perry, Bloomsburg
6. Nick Anthony, Cleveland State
HWT
1. Ryan Tomei, Pittsburgh
2. Zac Walsh, Bloomsburg
3. Quintas McCorkle, Clarion
4. Ernest James, Edinboro
5. Harry Turner, Lock Haven
6. Phil Mandzik, West Virginia
