Feb. 15, 2004
CLARION, Pa. - As the regular season begins to wind down, the Cleveland State wrestling team is hitting its stride, picking up their second straight win on Sunday, defeating Clarion, 20-14. The Vikings won six bouts in the match to raise their record to 9-8, including a 3-3 mark in the Eastern Wrestling League. Clarion falls to 3-8, and 1-5 in the EWL.
Ron Howard got the Vikings off to a quick start, picking up a 7-2 decision at 184, before Joe Phillips recorded his second technical fall of the season, and fifth-straight win, as he led 21-5 when the match was stopped at the 6:04 mark. Russ Davie made the score 11-0 with his 13-7 decision win at 285.
After DeAngelo Penn lost a major decision at 125 to give Clarion their first points of the match, Mark Bugara, making his first appearance of the season at 133, picked up an 11-8 win. Anthony Coleman followed that up with a 5-3 overtime decision before Matt DePolo staked the Vikings to a 20-4 lead, scoring a 4-3 win at 149. Clarion would win the next three bouts, but the Vikings had done enough to claim their third win in their last four matches.
The Vikings will conclude the dual meet season on Sunday, Feb. 22, when they host West Virginia on Senior Day. That bout will also be a rematch of the consolation first-round match between the Vikings and Mountaineers at the NWCA National Duals, which were held in the CSU Convocation Center on Jan. 17.
