Jan. 29, 2011
Contact: Dan Carr
EDINBORO, Pa. - Ben Willeford and Robbie Michaels each won matches, but the Cleveland State wrestling team fell to Edinboro, 35-7, on Saturday night (Jan. 29).
"It was a disappointing defeat, but we had some guys do well," head coach Ben Stehura said. "Ben and Robbie both had good wins, and we had a couple other guys who wrestled well."
Willeford got CSU off to a promising start, winning his match at 125 in a 15-1 major decision. Willeford was up 4-1 after the first round after recording a pair of takedowns. He later took a 7-1 lead into the third period with an escape and another takedown. Willeford finished with a flurry in the last round, recording another takedown and earning five points on a near fall.
Nick Flannery was up next for CSU. Going into the third round of his 133 match, Flannery trailed, 6-3. Starting in the down position, Flannery managed an escape and a takedown in the final minute to tie the score up, but his opponent, Eric Morrill, earned a tie-breaking point on a 1:19 riding time advantage.
Edinboro won by major decisions in each of the next three rounds, leading to Michaels' bout in the 165. Going into the final minute, Michaels was tied with Edinboro's Ethan Saylor, 4-4. The two wrestled each other evenly for most of the match, but Michaels managed to record the winning takedown with 14 seconds remaining to secure a 6-4 decision.
Aric Thurn also had a close match in the 174 bout. Thurn recorded the sole points of the first round, leading 2-0 after taking down Chris Hrunka. The score would remain that way until the third period, when Hrunka tied it with a takedown. Thurn was unable to respond, and Hrunka earned a point after maintaining riding time for 2:38, earning the Scot a 3-2 decision.
"We definitely had a few things to be happy about," Stehura said. "The guys kept wrestling hard and they didn't give up."
The Vikings (3-9, 0-2 EWL) will be back in action next Saturday (Feb. 5), when Cleveland State returns to Woodling Gym to host Bloomsburg in a 1:00 p.m. meet.
Edinboro 35, Cleveland State 7
125 Ben Willeford (CSU) 15-1 maj. dec. Bijan Banks (EU)
133 Eric Morrill (EU) 7-6 dec. Nick Flannery (CSU)
141 Kasey Davis (EU) 14-6 maj. dec. Josh Palivoda (CSU)
149 #19 Torsten Gillespie (EU) 9-1 maj. dec. Lawrence Cavello (CSU)
157 Johnny Greisheimer (EU) 9-1 maj. dec. Matt Donohoe (CSU)
165 Robbie Michaels (CSU) 6-4 dec. Ethan Saylor (EU)
174 Chris Hrunka (EU) 3-2 dec. Aric Thurn (CSU)
184 #2 Chris Honeycutt (EU) 17-1 tech. fall Corbin Boone (CSU)
197 Shawn Fendone (EU) 2:15 fall Nick Anthony (CSU)
Hwt Ernest James (EU) 2:31 fall Chris Weber (CSU)
