Jan. 14, 2009
Contact: Ryan Mulford
Complete Release in PDF Format 
SETTING THE SCENE: Cleveland State (4-6) will face off against 14th-ranked Kent State on Saturday night January 17 in the Woodling Gymnasium. The dual meet is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.
PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Several Cleveland State wrestlers are coming in to their own as the Vikings gear up for the bulk of their schedule. Lawrence Cavello has stepped up to become a quiet leader, winning three of his last four dual matches. Rashard Goff continues his impressive season, after his two wins on Sunday (1/11), the senior has a perfect 10-0 record in dual meets.
RECAPPING ASHLAND: The Vikings won seven of the nine contested matches against Ashland on Sunday (1/11) in a 24-15 route over the Eagles. Jordan Keller cruised to an easy 16-1 tech fall. The middle of the line-up gave the Vikings four straight wins, including a trio of decisions from Lawrence Cavello, Antonio Nicholson and Corey Carlo, while Rob Michaels scored a 13-2 major decision. Cleveland State also won their final two matches with decisions from JT Miller and Rashard Goff.
RECAPPING EASTERN MICHIGAN: The Vikings were able to scratch across three victories in a 31-10 dual meet loss to Eastern Michigan on Sunday (1/11). Keller once again got the Vikings out to a 4-0 lead, with his team high eighth major decision. Michaels collected his 14th win of the season, while Goff tallied his team high 24th win of the season in a 6-2 decision over Wes Schroeder.
VS: KENT STATE: The Vikings have an overall record of 8-13-1 against the Golden Flashes. Cleveland State's last victory against Kent State dates back to 2004, when the Vikings won 22-13.
GOFF RAPIDLY APPROACHING 100 WINS: Rashard Goff, who is currently ranked ninth by USA Today/NWCA/Intermat Report, has totaled 96 victories in a Viking singlet. This season, Goff has won some big matches including a 3-1 victory over then fourth ranked Kyle Massey of Wisconsin. The senior heavyweight also strung together two quality matches against second ranked Mark Ellis and eight ranked Dan Erekson at the Midlands Invitational. Goff began his Viking career by being named to the 2005-06 Amateur Wrestling News All-Rookie Third Team. The senior has remained a consistent wrestler winning at least 20 matches each season and reaching the NCAA tournament three consecutive seasons.
GOFF NAMED EWL WRESTLER OF WEEK: After hammering out a perfect 2-0 record at the Eastern Michigan Duals, Rashard Goff was awarded with EWL Wrestler of the Week honors for the week of January 11, 2009. Goff becomes the first Viking wrestler since Ryan Hurley to win the award in January 2007.
... AND ON PACE FOR ANOTHER RECORD: After posting a 2-0 record on Sunday (1/11), Rashard Goff now has a team high 24 victories and is a perfect 10-0 in dual meets. Goff is currently five wins from breaking the record of 15-0 set by 2009 CSU Hall-of-Fame inductee Albert DiGiovanni during the 1978-79 season.
KELLER CONTINUES TO DOMINATE: Jordan Keller, a freshman from Wichita, Kansas, continues an impressive freshman season. Keller went a perfect 2-0 at the Eastern Michigan Duals on Sunday (1/11), imropving his season record to 21-11. He added his first tech fall of the season, taking down Ashland's Brandon Davis, 16-1 and then went on to grab his team leading 10th major decision over Eastern Michigan's Jordan McGuire by a score of 9-1. Keller is currently ranked fifth in the EWL individual standings.
MICHAELS KEEPS ON WINNING: Rob Michaels has 14 wins this season, five of which have come by pin fall. He continued his dominate season this past weekend, posting a 2-0 record at the Eastern Michigan Duals. Michaels has been making a habit this season of pinning his opponents with his fastest pin of the season coming against Wagner's Joe Vitucci at 41 seconds. Michaels is currently nine pins shy of the Cleveland State single season all-time pin record of 14 set by Matt Ghaffari during the 1983-84 season.
CAVELLO EMERGING AS QUIET LEADER: Lawrence Cavello has played an important role for head coach Ben Stehura and the Vikings this season. After red shirting last sesaon, he has stepped up and taken charge of the 141 pound weight class posting five dual meet wins. Cavello is a tough wrestler who does his best work with a close score. Of his 10 wins, nine have been within six points or less.
FRESHMAN SUCCESS: Jordan Keller and Corey Carlo (fourth ranked 157lb in EWL) have been performing like seasoned veterans in their first collegiate season. The two have combined for 32 victories and 14 major decisions.
PARTNERSHIP WITH BECKY'S: Viking wrestling has teamed up with Becky's to provide fans an opportunity to meet the staff and talk Viking wrestling after each home dual meet. For just $10, each fan will receive a ticket to the home dual meet, as well as a wristband to be handed out at the conclusion of the meet, which is good for light appetizers and three beverage tickets immediately following the wrestling match. Becky's is located at 1762 E. 18th Street (across from Krenzler Field on the CSU Campus), for more information call 216-687-2094.
THE HEAD COACH: Ben Stehura (Lock Haven, 2000) Overall: 30-56-1
Former Viking graduate assistant coach Ben Stehura is in his first season as head coach. Stehura is only the third head coach for the Viking wrestling program after serving the last five years as the head coach at Division II Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C. The only head coach in Limestone history, Stehura quickly built the program and has already coached one NCAA National Champion, three NCAA All-Americans, five NCAA National qualifiers and eight NCAA All-Academic team members. A 2000 graduate of Lock Haven University with a Bachelor's of Science in Secondary Education, Stehura was a three-year starter, earning fourth and fifth place finishes in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament.
Up Next: The Vikings will return home on Saturday, January 24 when they take on Lock Haven in Woodling Gymnasium. The dual meet is slated to begin at 5:00 p.m.
