OPEN # 3
CSU Open
December 14, 2013
9:00 a.m.
Location: Woodling Gymnasium- Cleveland, Ohio
SETTING THE SCENE- Cleveland State will return home to host in the CSU Open on Saturday (Dec. 14) in Woodling Gym. Wrestling will begin at 9:00 a.m. This is the ninth year the Vikings have hosted the Open.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK- The Vikings (1-3) fell to Northern Illinois 25-6 on Thursday (Dec. 5). The Vikings had decision wins from Michael Carlone (141) and Nick Corba (174). Carlone tallied his fifth decision win over Nothern Illinois' Tyler Argue 6-5. Corba defeated Billy Chancey 3-1 and upped his decision win total to six. With those wins, Carlone is 8-4 on the year and Corba is 9-3 on the season.
KING IN DOUBLE FIGURES- 125-pound sophomore Daniel King leads the team in wins with 11. Overall, he has posted four pins, three major decisions, and four decisions on the year.
IMPRESSIVE WINS VS. BLUE STREAKS- Corba's eighth win of the year was an impressive 8-0 major decision over JCU's Mike Marotta. Jake Smith (165) picked up his first win of the year dominating his opponent Thomas McNulty with an 11-2 major decision win.
EXPECTATIONS IN 2013-14- With 13 returners heading into the season, the Vikings will begin the year with depth on their roster and are a young squad for head coach Ben Stehura. The Vikings finished sixth at the EWL tournament last season. CSU is 390-347-12 all-time in dual meets through 55 years of competition.
EWL CHAMPIONS- Riley Shaw and Ben Willeford represented Cleveland State at the NCAA Wrestling Championships last year where they wrestled in Des Moines, Iowa. Willeford upset the field at the EWLChampionships, becoming the EWL Champion at 125 pounds as the bracket's third seed. Willeford became the first Viking to take home the EWL Championship crown since Rashard Goff won at heavyweight in 2009.
Shaw in the EWL Wrestling tournament took home third place in the heavyweight division, and moved on to the NCAA tournanment with Willeford. Shaw punched his ticket to Iowa when he upset third seeded Earnest James from Edinboro, in a 4-3 decision thriller, and also took down Clarion's Phil Cartrucco in a 6-1 decision to seal a third place finish.
YOUNG TALENT POSTING DOUBLE DIGIT WINS- In the 133 weight class Michael Carlone had a quick impact on the mats his first year wrestling for the Vikings. He had a productive 16 win record, posting three pins, two major decisions, and 10 decisions as a freshman. Another grappler who will look to give Cleveland State some depth in dual meets and open tournaments is sophomore Matt Donohoe. Donohoe had a 14 win season, tallying one pin and 12 decisions. Sophomore Xavier Dye at 174 pounds had 10 wins last year, who will continue to build his 10 win season in 2013-14.
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS- Cleveland State will face two teams on their dual meet schedule that are currently ranked in the Top 25 USA Today/NWCA/AWM Coaches Poll. The Vikings will be wrestling 15th ranked Edinboro at home on Friday (Jan. 24) at 7:00 p.m. and on the following Friday (Jan. 31), the Vikings will travel to wrestle 25th ranked Bloomsburg at 7:00 p.m. CSU will also be wrestling 24th ranked Rider at home on Saturday (Feb. 15) at 1:00 p.m.
THE STEHURA FILE- Ben Stehura is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Vikings' wrestling program, and has recruited a talented group of young wrestlers that expect to make noise in the Eastern Wrestling League this year. Stehura has a history of developing young talent, as he has coached seven NCAA qualifiers, three NCAA All-Americans and two Olympic alternates over the past seven years. Stehura joined CSU in 2008 after building a successful program at Limestone in Gaffney, S.C. The first head coach in Limestone's history, Stehura took the team from three wins his first year to 13 in 2007-2008. Stehura will use his experience with coaching a young program to lead the Vikings during the 2013-14 season.
UP NEXT- The Vikings will travel to Boone, N.C. as CSU will wrestle against N.C. State and Appalachian State on Thursday (Dec. 19). Wrestling will begin at 3:00 p.m.
