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Ben Willeford and Riley Shaw Qualify for 2013 NCAA Tournament

Ben Willeford and Riley Shaw Qualify for 2013 NCAA Tournament
Posted: Mar 09, 2013

Contact: Jeff Sattora

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Edinboro, Pa- The Cleveland State Vikings' wrestling program made a statement Saturday night, and for the first time since 2009 CSU will be represented in the NCAA tournament. Junior Ben Willeford (125 lb.) and freshman Riley Shaw (285 lb.) both shined at the EWL Championships Saturday and earned their way to the 2013 tournament.

The third seeded Willeford, one of Cleveland State's top wrestlers all season long, continued that trend Saturday night, taking home the EWL 125 pound title. The junior, who led CSU with 20 wins on the year and finished fifth at last year's Championships, followed a round one bye with a 6-4 decision upset win over second seeded Tyler Fraley of Clarion to advance to the finals. Willeford took the re-match vs. Fraley, after falling 3-2 earlier this season at home in Woodling Gym. The upset win paved the way for a championship match-up with fourth-seeded Kory Mines of Edinboro. The Viking junior continued his winning ride with a pin victory at the 4:32 mark to become a champion.

With the win Willeford became the first Viking to take home a EWL Championship crown since Rashard Goff took home first place in 2009 at heavyweight for the Vikings.

Speaking of the heavyweight division, freshman Riley Shaw also made a statement Saturday, taking home a third place finish in that division to join Willeford in qualifying for the 2013 NCAA tournament. With the top three finishers from that class in the EWL advancing on to the NCAA's, Shaw, the fifth seed, knew he would need a big day and that's what he got. 

 
 
 


The freshman bounced back from a tough 3-2 decision defeat in his first match with an upset win, taking down the bracket's third seed, Earnest James from Edinboro, in a 4-3 thriller. The upset got things rolling for Shaw, who then took down Phil Cartrucco from Clarion in a 6-1 decision for the third place finish.

Willeford and Shaw become the second and third Vikings to advance to the NCAA tournament under Head Coach Ben Stehura, joining Goff's qualification from 2009.

Talking about his second and third qualifiers Stehura could not have been prouder.

"Ben and Riley are two of the hardest workers in the room, they deserved it, they looked great," Stehura said. "We're very proud of them."

The two Vikings will now move on to the 2013 NCAA Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. The championships will run from March 21st through the 23rd.

While Willeford and Shaw will be moving on, they weren't the only CSU wrestlers who showed well.

Mike Carlone (133) and Corey Carlo (165) also picked up wins on the day, as both finished in fourth in their respective brackets.

Although Carlone at 133 pounds lost his first match, a 16-8 decision to Pitt's Shelton Mack, he took down Lock Haven's fourth seeded Cody Wheeler in a 7-6 decision to advance to the third/fourth place match, eventually falling to Nick Wilcox from Bloomsburg in a 3-2 decision.

At 165 pounds Corey Carlo also fell in his first match, dropping a 7-1 decision to the top seed Josh Veltre from Bloomsburg. Like Carlone though he was also able to fight back, taking a 7-5 decision over Aaron McKinney from Lock Haven to advance to the third/fourth place match. Unfortunately for the redshirt senior that's where his run ended, dropping a 10-4 decision to Johnny Greisheimer from Edinboro.

Outside of the top four finishes, Xavier Dye also picked up one win on the day, putting him in fifth place for the tournament at 174 pounds.

Other Vikings who participated in the Championships but lost their first two matches were Nick Flannery (141), Mike Mencini (149),Matt Donohoe (157), Bobby Blankenship (184), and Nick Anthony (197).