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Rashard Goff Set To Compete At Nationals

Rashard Goff Set To Compete At Nationals
Posted: Mar 13, 2009

March 13, 2009

Contact: Ryan Mulford

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SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State (4-13) concludes its 50th season of intercollegiate competition at the NCAA Tournament beginning Thursday, March 19 in St. Louis, MO.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: The Vikings are led by senior captains, Rashard Goff and Antonio Nicholson, along with highly talented freshman Jordan Keller. Both Goff and Keller have won over 20 matches this season while Nicholson has hammered out 17 victories. CSU has a slew of young grapplers who have notched double-digit victories this season, including Keller (22), Rob Michaels (16), Corey Carlo (12) and Lawrence Cavello (11). The Vikings tallied four dual meet wins this season highlighted by a 46-3 victory over Wagner on Dec. 19.

RECAPPING THE EWL TOURNAMENT: The Vikings scored 62 points and notched a sixth place finish at the 34th annual EWL Tournament on March 7, which was held in the Thomas Fieldhouse on the campus of Lock Haven University. At the end of a long day of wrestling, eight of the nine Viking wrestlers stood on the podium as placewinners. Rob Michaels and Antonio Nicholson each tallied fourth place finishes, while Jordan Keller, Josh Palivoda and Corey Carlo each earned fifth place finishes, and Lawrence Cavello along with JT Miller received sixth place honors.

GOFF MAKES IT FOUR STRAIGHT NCAA'S: With a dominating 3-0 performance, including wins over the first and second seeds, Rashard Goff captured a first place title at the EWL Tournament (3/7), and qualified for his fourth straight NCAA tournament. The senior heavyweight was the fourth seed in the heavily competitive EWL heavyweight division. His first match was a rematch with Roman Husman, when he defeated Husman 12-3 on Senior Night (2/14). Goff jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead and never looked back as he cruised to a 10-2 major decision. In his semi-final, he faced Dustin Rogers, who beat Goff 4-1 on Feb. 20. Three periods were not enough, as the two wrestlers battled to a 1-1 tie after the first seven minutes. Within the opening seconds of sudden victory, Goff shot in and scored a 3-1 win with a double-leg takedown. The finals were a rematch from Feb. 6th with Edinboro's Joe Fendone, who edged out Goff 3-1. Goff took the lead with an escape point and didn't look back as he went onto a 5-4 victory.

... AND HIS 100TH VICTORY: With a 10-2 major decision in the opening round of the 34th EWL tournament, Rashard Goff collected his 100th career victory. Gerald Harris holds the all-time record for wins with 118, Goff currently sits at 102 victories.

GOFF NO STRANGER TO THE BIG STAGE: In his three previous, NCAA tournament appearances, Rashard Goff has an overall 4-6 record. This season has been no different for Goff as he faced off against eight of the top 20 heavyweights in the country. The senior also has beaten then 14th-ranked Christian Brantley by a 4-1 decision on Jan. 3 and followed that up with a 6-2 victory over Wes Schroeder of Eastern Michigan on Jan. 11. He has had several notable wins this season in open tournaments, including a 3-1 overtime thrilling win over then fourth-ranked Kyle Massey of Wisconsin at the Midlands Invitational.

VIKINGS AT NATIONALS: CSU has been well represented at the NCAA tournament. The Vikings have sent at least one wrestler to the national tournament every year since 1965. Rashard Goff is in good hands, as assistant coach Anthony Coleman was a two-time qualifier for the national tournament in 2003 and 2004. Dan Carcelli was the last Viking All-American, with a fourth place finish in 1995.

NICHOLSON FINISHES STRONG: In his final collegiate wresting appearance, co-captain Antonio Nicholson finished on a high note. After suffering a first round loss, Nicholson came back with a vengeance, pinning Mark Powell of Pittsburgh, who he had lost two earlier this season, in 1:19. Nicholson finished the tournament with a 2-2 record and fourth place. This season, he hammered out a career high 19 wins and finished his collegiate career with 31 total victories.

MICHAELS POISED FOR NEXT SEASON: It is hard to follow up a 23-win freshman season, but Rob Michaels did so. Michaels finished the season with 18 wins and a team high five pins. He collected two victories at the EWL tournament, highlighted by a 3-2 victory in a rematch against Ethan Headlee of Pittsburgh.

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: 30-63-1 At CSU: 4-13

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, six 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.