Feb. 19, 2006

CLEVELAND - Cleveland State was unable to muster enough to come away with a Senior Day victory over West Virginia on Sunday (Feb. 19) afternoon, as the Vikings fell in a 24-12 match to the Mountaineers at Woodling Gym.

The Vikings finish the regular season at 6-8 overall and 2-4 in the Eastern Wrestling League. The Mountaineers improved to 5-6 on the year and 5-1 in conference.

"We have some very talented wrestlers," head coach Jack Effner said. "We just have to get it out of them. We're doing all the right things, but we have wrestle better when it counts."

After not wrestling for close to a month, sophomore Joe Wornoff showed no signs of a let-down in the first bout of the day at 125, scoring seven takedowns and a near-fall to post a 20-7 major decision over Scott Stuart and give the Vikings a 4-0 edge.

Sophomore David Armstrong followed jumped to a 2-1 advantage over Seth Lisa in the first period of the 133 bout, but Lisa countered in the third with a takedown and a swift near-fall to come away with a 6-2 decision.

The Vikings came up short in the next three bouts at the hands of a trio of nationally-ranked wrestlers as the Mountaineers pushed to a 13-4 advantage.

Sophomore Tim Scarl followed with a gutsy bout at 165 pounds against Larry Hall. After both wrestlers traded escapes, Scarl scored a takedown at the edge of the mat as time expired to come away with a 3-1 win.

The Mountaineers gained seven points following the 174 bout after CSU junior David Gilkey was disqualified for disorderly conduct midway through the bout.

In his final dual meet at Woodling Gym, senior Ron Howard went out on top, registering a 9-3 decision over Chance Litton at 184 pounds. The win was his eighth in a row and 10th in his last 11 bouts, giving him a 25-7 mark on the season and a perfect 6-0 record in the EWL.

A WVU tech fall put the match away at 197 pounds, but freshman Rashard Goff worked a strong 4-1 decision over Matt Holsopple at heavyweight, recording a takedown in the first period and riding the Mountaineer out in the third period.

Prior to the match, the Vikings bid farewell to seniors Howard, Anthony Mestek and Ishmal Williams, who partook in the their final match at Woodling Gym. CSU also acknowledged former wrestler and Olympic silver medalist Matt Ghaffari, who was inducted into the Cleveland State Athletics Hall of Fame this year.

The Vikings will have nearly two weeks off before heading to Edinboro, Pa. for the Eastern Wrestling League Championships on March 4-5.

West Virginia 24, Cleveland State 12

125 Joe Wornoff (CSU) MD Scott Stuart (WVU), 20-7 [4-0]
133 Seth Lisa (WVU) DEC David Armstrong (CSU), 6-2 [4-3]
141 No. 8 Brandon Rader (WVU) DEC Mike Hurley (CSU), 9-4 [4-6]
149 No. 15 David Jauregui (WVU) DEC Ryan Hurley (CSU), 7-3 [4-9]
157 No. 2 Matt Lebe (WVU) MD Victer Crenshaw (CSU), 10-2 [4-13]
165 Tim Scarl (CSU) vs. Larry Hall (WVU), 3-1 [7-13]
174 No. 13 Kurt Brenner (WVU) DEF David Gilkey (CSU), DQ [6-19]*
184 Ron Howard (CSU) DEC Chance Litton (WVU), 9-3 [9-19]
197 Jared Villers (WVU) TF Ishmal Williams (CSU), 15-0 (4:47) [9-24]
285 Rashard Goff (CSU) DEC Matt Holsopple (WVU), 4-1 [12-24]

* One-point deduction from CSU team score for disorderly conduct.

Official: John Mulgrave