March 9, 2003

Morgantown, W. Va. - Six Viking wrestlers won their opening matches Saturday night, putting Cleveland State in fourth place after the first round of the Eastern Wrestling League Championships at the WVU Coliseum

The Vikings, who finished second in the EWL during the regular season, tallied 32 points, trailing third-place Pittsburgh by just a half of a point. Host West Virginia, the EWL regular season champion and defending tournament champion, is first with 47 points while Edinboro is second with 41 points.

Rocco Mansueto (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown) at 125, Phil Mansueto (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown) at 133, Anthony Coleman (Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue) at 149, Gerald Harris (Tulsa, Okla./East Central) at 184, Stipe Miocic (Willowick, Ohio/Eastlake North) at 197 and heavyweight Russ Davie (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) all advanced in the championship bracket.

At 125, Rocco Mansueto held off Clarion's late-charging Peter Derstine to open up the evening for the Vikings with a 7-4 win. Phil Mansueto, the #1 seed and defending EWL champion at 133, then tallied a 9-3 decision over Bloomsburg's Justin Haupt.

Coleman, a junior, went to the wire to beat Ron Doppelheuer of Edinboro at 149. The two were tied 3-all after the first period before Coleman took a 5-4 lead at the end of the second stanza. Starting the third period down, Coleman escaped to push his lead to 6-4. Doppelheuer tied the match with a takedown with 26 seconds left at 6-all but Coleman escaped in the waning seconds for the 7-6 victory.

Harris and Miocic were denied much of a workout in their wins. At 184, Pittsburgh's Greg Osbeck was forced into a medical default midway through the first period after a Harris takedown. Meanwhile, Miocic received a bye at 197.

At heavyweight, Davie manhandled Virginia Tech's Pete Pool, scoring a technical fall at 5:52.

EWL Tournament action continues Sunday beginning at 10 a.m. with consolation matches. The championship finals are slated to begin at 8 p.m.

CSU Results

125 - Rocco Mansueto (CSU) d. Peter Derstine (Clarion), 7-4

133 - Phil Mansueto (CSU) d. Justin Haupt (Bloomsburg), 9-3

141 - Mike Maney (Lock Haven) maj. dec. Paul Theodore (CSU), 14-3

149 - Anthony Coleman (CSU) d. Ron Doppelheuer (Edinboro), 7-6

157 - George C arter (Bloomsburg) maj. dec. Josh Ging (CSU), 19-5

165 - Jason Gilligan (Lock Haven) d. Jason Effner (CSU), 3-2

174 - Carl Fronhofer (Pittsburgh) maj. dec. Matt Klinger (CSU), 14-1

184 - Gerald Harris (CSU) med. def. Greg Osbeck (Pittsburgh), 1:48

197 - Stipe Miocic (CSU), bye

HWT - Russ Davie (CSU) tech. fall Pete Pool (Va. Tech), 5:52

TEAM STANDINGS -- 1. West Virginia, 47; 2. Edinboro, 41; 3. Pittsburgh, 33; 4. CLEVELAND STATE, 32 1/2 ; 5. Lock Haven, 23; 6. Virginia Tech, 20; 7. Clarion, 18; 8. Bloomsburg, 11.