Jan. 23, 2011
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Contact: Dan Carr
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Cleveland State's wrestling team overcame an early deficit with an impressive rally, but fell short in the final match to lose to Lock Haven, 21-18, in the team's first Eastern Wrestling League meet of the year on Sunday (Jan. 23).
The meet came down to the final round. With the Vikings trailing, 18-0, after the first six matches, Cleveland State recorded three straight falls to tie things up going into the 174 match.
CSU's Aric Thurn and Lock Haven's Michael Khoury entered the second round of their bout with a scoreless draw. Khoury earned the first point of the match on an escape, taking a 1-0 lead into the third round, where Thurn tied it back up with an escape of his own. The score remained tied entering the final minute of the match, but Khoury took Thurn down and the CSU wrestler wasn't able to recover those points, giving Lock Haven the win at 174 and the victory on the day.
"Our guys wrestled hard all day," head coach Ben Stehura said. "Every match was exciting, and they all seemed to come down to the final seconds. Our guys kept battling, and I am very happy with the effort."
The two teams wrestled pretty evenly for most of the day. All of Lock Haven's wins came by decision, with only one having a point differential of more than three. Four matches were tied at 1-1 in the third round, and nearly all of the matches were decided in the last minute.
Lawrence Cavello got the Vikings on the board with a quick pin in the second round of his 149 match. Cavello scored first with a takedown halfway through the first round. After deferring, Cavello began the second round on top. While Lock Haven's Bill Randt struggled to escape, Cavello threw him to the ground and was able to secure the fall at 3:24.
The next match also went Cleveland State's way, as Matt Donohoe won the 157 bout by fall at 3:59. The first round went to Lock Haven's Seth Creasy, 2-1. Creasy started out on top, and Donohoe was unable to escape. What he was able to do was gain control by rolling Creasy onto his back, and Donohoe maintained control to earn the pin.
Robbie Michaels completed the comeback for CSU with his win in the 165. Michaels controlled the match from the start and finished it off with a pin at 3:48.
"Those three guys (Michaels, Donohoe and Cavello) battled so hard in their matches," Stehura said. "They refused to give up and they gave us a chance at the end."
The meet started off with an exciting bout at 184. After a scoreless first period, Lock Haven's Jacob Bachman earned a point on an escape that CSU's Corbin Boone matched with an escape of his own in the third. The stalemate couldn't be decided in the first overtime period, taking the match into two 30 second periods to determine a winner. Bachman started off on bottom and quickly got another escape point, followed by a two-point takedown. Boone wasn't able to match in the final session, and Bachman got Lock Haven on the board with a 4-1 decision.
A similar pattern followed in the heavyweight match. Henry Turner of Lock Haven owned a 1-0 lead entering the third period, but the Vikings' Chris Weber tied it up with an escape. It was anyone's match going into the final minute. Turner struck first with a takedown. Weber was able to cut the defecit to one on an escape with 13 seconds remaining, but couldn't do anything more and fell, 3-2.
Ben Willeford took the first lead of the day for the Vikings in the second round of the 125 match. His opponent, Nick Hyatt, started off in the top position but was called for a locking-hands violation, giving Willeford the point. In the third round Hyatt earned an escape for the third, third-period 1-1 tie of the day. Hyatt broke the stalemate with a takedown and then secured a point for riding time, winning the match, 4-1.
Also wrestling for the Vikings were Nick Flannery (133 pounds), Josh Palivoda (141) and Nick Anthony (197).
"Willeford and Flannery were wrestling against ranked opponents, and they took them to the last few seconds," Stehura said. "All our guys wrestled well. It's tough not to get the win, but I'm very happy with the effort."
The Vikings (3-8, 0-1 EWL) will continue league competition next Saturday (Jan. 29) with a 7:00 p.m. meet at Edinboro.
Lock Haven 21, Cleveland State 18
125 - Nick Hyatt (LHU) 4-1 dec. Ben Willeford (CSU)
133 - John Trumbetti (LHU) 9-6 dec. Nick Flannery (CSU)
141 - Matthew Bonson (LHU) 7-3 dec. Josh Palivoda (CSU)
149 - Lawrence Cavello (CSU) 3:24 fall Bill Randt (LHU)
157 - Matt Donohoe (CSU) 3:59 fall Seth Creasy (LHU)
165 - Robbie Michaels (CSU) 3:48 fall Dylan Caprio (LHU)
174 - Michael Khoury (LHU) 3-1 dec. Aric Thurn (CSU)
184 - Jacob Bachman (LHU) 4-1 dec. OT Corbin Boone (CSU)
197 - Derek Caldwell (LHU) 6-2 dec. Nick Anthony (CSU)
HWT - Henry Turner (LHU) 3-2 dec. Chris Weber (CSU)
