Feb. 9, 2006

CLEVELAND - No. 17 Edinboro proved to be too much for the Vikings on Thursday (Feb. 9) night, as Fighting Scots upended Cleveland State, 29-6, in Eastern Wrestling League action.

The Vikings fall to 5-7 overall and 1-3 in the EWL, while Edinboro remains undefeated at 9-0 and 3-0 in conference.

"It's very disappointing," head coach Jack Effner said. "We're expected to compete with [Edinboro] since we're in the same league, but they are on a roll right now."

Senior Ron Howard put the Vikings up in the first bout, working a 10-7 decision over Alex Clemson at 184. Trailing 6-4 after the second period, Howard escaped from the down position to begin the third and scored a takedown and back points with a minute left to give CSU an early 3-0 advantage.

Howard's victory gives him a team-best 23 wins, including eight wins in his last nine bouts.

Edinboro followed Howard's bout with a decision at 197, but the Vikings responded with a win at heavyweight. After an uneventful first period, freshman Rashard Goff began the second on top and rode Jeremy Mosley for the entire two minutes. An escape to start the third coupled with a late takedown gave Goff a 4-0 shut-out and put the Vikings back on top at 6-3.

The lead would end there, however, as the Fighting Scots won the next seven bouts, including two major decisions and a forfeit.

After getting down, 9-2, through two periods to No. 7 Gregor Gillespie, sophomore Ryan Hurley put up a strong showing in the third period of the 149 bout with a pair of takedowns, but the effort was too little to late as the Viking fell 12-8.

"I'm always disappointed with a loss," Effner continued. "But we looked conditioned tonight. We are definitely improving, and we are working towards the EWL Tournament."

CSU continues the EWL slate this weekend as the Vikings head to Clarion on Sunday (Feb. 12) for a 2:00 p.m. match.

Edinboro 29, Cleveland State 6

184 - Ron Howard (CSU) DEC Alex Clemson (EUP), 10-7 [3-0]
197 - Joe Fendone (EUP) DEC Ishmal Williams (CSU), 6-1 [3-3]
285 - Rashard Goff (CSU) DEC Jeremy Mosley (EUP), 4-0 [6-3]
125 - No. 20 Ricky Deubel (EUP) FOR [6-9]
133 - No. 1 Shawn Bunch (EUP) MD David Armstrong (CSU), 11-3 [6-13]
141 - Rick McLaughlin (EUP) DEC Mike Hurley (CSU), 6-2 [6-16]
149 - No. 7 Gregor Gillespie (EUP) DEC Ryan Hurley (CSU), 12-8 [6-19]
157 - Matt Hill (EUP) DEC Victer Crenshaw (CSU), 8-3 [6-22]
165 - Deonte Penn (EUP) MD Tim Scarl (CSU), 10-2 [6-26]
174 - Eric Ring (EUP) DEC David Gilkey (CSU), 5-0 [6-29]