Feb. 22, 2004
CLEVELAND - Two of the five seniors on the Cleveland State wrestling team ended their home careers with a win, but the Vikings fell, 27-12, to West Virginia at Woodling Gym on Sunday. Russ Davie and Derek Pace, in their final dual meet of their collegiate careers, each scored a win to lead the Vikings on the day. With the loss, the Vikings finish the dual meet season at 9-9 and 3-4 in the Eastern Wrestling League, while West Virginia finishes the season at 9-5, 6-1 in the EWL.
Davie pinned Lanfer Simpson in 1:13 in the heavyweight bout, getting a measure of revenge for an earlier loss this season to Simpson in the consolation match of the National Duals. Pace, meanwhile, threw his opponent, Eric Mullen, around for the full seven minutes, tallying a 12-6 win in the match's final bout at 174.
The lone other win on the day for the Vikings came at 125, where DeAngelo Penn scored a 13-6 win over Casey Brewster. Penn nearly had a fall in the early seconds of the match, and held on to get a decision victory.
"It's been a frustrating season for us, we haven't been able to catch a break," head coach Jack Effner said. "It seems like Murphy's law has been alive and well with us all season. It's numbing, and it's been like that all season."
Today's match marked the final home appearance for Davie, Pace, Anthony Coleman, Matt DePolo and Jason Effner. Together, the five have accounted for a total of 304 wins over the course of their careers.
"It was good to see Russ and Derek go out like that," Effner said. "The other guys all wrestled hard, and had a couple of tough losses in overtime and on riding time. Those are five good kids that are going to be leaving our program."
Up next for the Vikings will be the Eastern Wrestling League championships, which will be held on March 6 and 7 in Bloomsburg, Pa.
"We've got a good team and some really good kids," Effner said. "We can go with all the teams in this league, and it's funny how some things can change in the conference tournament."
