Feb. 12, 2011

Contact: Dan Carr

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Three Vikings pulled out victories over Clarion on Saturday (Feb. 12), but the Golden Eagles pulled out a 30-10 win over Cleveland State in the wrestling team's final home meet of the season.

"We wrestled very hard tonight," head coach Ben Stehura said. "We had several guys win, and a couple of the guys who lost wrestled hard right to the finish."

Aric Thurn got the Vikings on the board in thrilling fashion with an 8-6 decision in the 174 bout. Clarion's Steven Cressley struck first with a takedown, but an escape and a takedown of his own allowed Thurn to end the first period with a 3-2 lead. For the next two rounds the wrestlers exchanged points, with Thurn earning three points on escapes and Cressley recording two takedowns.

At the end of three Thurn was two seconds short of the riding time bonus, sending the match into overtime tied at six. Cressley grabbed Thurn by the leg 10 seconds into the sudden victory period, but before he could bring Thurn down, Thurn manuevered around Cressley, grabbed around the waist and pulled him to the ground inches from the mat's boundary to earn the takedown and the victory.

CSU's next win came in the 133, with Nick Flannery earning a 9-0 major decision. Flannery took a 5-0 lead on a takedown and a three-point near fall in the first round, then earned points on an escape and another takedown to take an 8-0 advantage. He also earned a point for having over three-and-a-half minutes of riding time.

The Vikings also took the 141 bout, with Josh Palivoda earning a 7-4 decision. Clarion's Hunter McGraw took an early lead on a takedown, but Palivoda earned a point with a quick escape. Beginning the second round on top, McGraw maintained control of Palivoda for over a minute, but Palivoda managed a reversal followed by a two-point near fall to take a 5-2 lead. In the final round Palivoda and McGraw exchanged two-point moves with a takedown and a reversal, respectively, and Palivoda took the win.

"We had some very close matches," Stehura said. "We wrestled very hard, and there were some exciting matches that just went in Clarion's favor tonight."

The 125 bout came down to the final seconds. Cleveland State's Ben Willeford owned a 1:36 riding time advantage but was down 8-4 halfway through the third period. Willeford cut the lead to one on a near fall, but gave up a reversal late in the match. With five seconds left and the riding time point assured, Willeford needed a reversal of his own to force overtime. He almost got the reversal, but couldn't position himself enough in control to earn the points and lost in a 10-8 decision.

The heavyweight match was also very close. With CSU's Chris Weber nursing a 3-2 lead with 15 seconds left in the match, Clarion's Quintas McCorkle managed a takedown, followed by an escape by Weber that made the score 4-4. McCorkle won with a 1:50 riding time advantage.

The Vikings have one meet remaining in their regular season, a contest with West Virginia next Saturday (Feb. 19) at 7:00 p.m.

Clarion 30, Cleveland State 10
125 - Thomas Gowing (CU) 10-8 dec. Ben Willeford (CSU)
133 - Nick Flannery (CSU) 9-0 maj. dec. Ronald Hicks (CU)
141 - Josh Palivoda (CSU) 7-4 dec. Hunter McGraw (CU)
149 - Anthony White (CU) 5-1 dec. Lawrence Cavello (CSU)
157 - James Fleming (CU) 2:00 fall Matt Donohoe (CSU)
165 - Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (CU) 7-2 dec. Robbie Michaels (CSU)
174 - Aric Thurn (CSU) 8-6 dec. OT Steven Cressley (CU)
184 - Scott Joseph (CU) 6:50 fall Corbin Boone (CSU)
197 - Alex Thomas (CU) 1:07 fall Nick Anthony (CSU)
HWT - Quintas McCorkle (CU) 5-4 dec. Chris Weber (CSU)