Contact: Jeff Sattora

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CLEVELAND- The Cleveland State Vikings used a stretch of three consecutive victories to help take down Chattanooga 21-17 in wrestling action in Woodling Gymnasium Sunday afternoon.

The victory for the Vikings was a bit of revenge after this CSU group fell to Chattanooga last season 37-3 on the road.

For Head Coach Ben Stehura, the win today, especially after last year's result and a tough loss just two days ago to Lock Haven, really shows what kind of group he has this season.

"The guys wrestled really well and really hard even to the last second, I was really happy," Stehura said following the match. "These guys are ready to compete and they're in every match, it was nice to be able to pull this one out."

"With the two day turnaround (following the Lock Haven loss), they were able to get their heads right and it shows what good kids they are and how hard they work," he added.

Xavier Dye started the match off strong for the home team, taking home a 6-5 victory at 174 pounds. With the 174 pound matched tied at 5-5 in the final minute, Dye was able to score one final point to take the win.

After falling behind 10-3, the Vikings were able to pick up three consecutive huge wins to jump to a 15-10 lead. Ben Willeford(125), Mike Carlone (133), and Nick Flannery (141) all took home victories for CSU. 

Willeford started the streak for CSU with a clutch 5-4 decision win over Nick Soto for Chattanooga. Soto was coming into the match with an impressive 17-5 record and was ranked 19th nationally before the loss to Willeford. With the win the CSU junior improved his team-leading record to 17-12 on the year.

A Carlone win by forfeit brought the score to 12-10 for CSU, and Flannery completed the three straight wins for the Vikings with a 5-3 decision win over Dean Pavlou to push the lead to five.

The lead was trimmed to one following the 149 pound match-up, but Matt Donohoe sealed the CSU victory with a huge pin at the 1:10 mark at 157 pounds. The pin gave the Vikings a 21-14 lead, which they held on to for the 21-17 win.

CSU will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to Edinboro for Eastern Wrestling League action at 7:00 p.m.

Match began at 174 pounds
174- Xavier Dye (CSU) Dec. over Jake Young (UTC), 7-5. CSU leads 3-0
184- Robert Prigmore (UTC) Dec. over Corbin Boone,4-1. Tied 3-3
197- Niko Brown (UTC) Major Dec. over Nick Anthony, 13-3, UTC leads 7-3
285- Kevin Malone (UTC) Dec. over Amon Willis (CSU), 6-1. UTC leads 10-3
125- Ben Willeford (CSU) Dec. over Nick Soto (UTC), 5-4. UTC leads 10-6
133- Mike Carlone (CSU) wins by forfeit. CSU leads 12-10
141-Nick Flannery (CSU) Dec. over Dean Pavlou (UTC), 5-3. CSU leads 15-10
149-Alex Hudson (UTC) Major Dec. over Mike Mencini (CSU), 10-2. CSU leads 15-14.
157- Matt Donohoe (CSU) wins by pin over Trey Stavrum (UTC) at 1:10 . CSU leads 21-14
165- Josh Condon (UTC) Dec. over Corey Carlo (CSU), 10-6. CSU wins 21-17