March 9, 2003
MORGANTOWN, W. Va. - With Gerald Harris (Tulsa, Okla./East Central) and Rocco Mansueto (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown) winning titles, the Cleveland State wrestling team finished third at the Eastern Wrestling League Championships Sunday night at the WVU Coliseum.
For the Vikings, third is the best finish since the 1986-87 squad placed second behind then-league member Penn State.
The two individual titles marked the first time since 1993 that CSU had recorded multiple champions and just the seventh time since joining the league in 1978.
Edinboro, who had five wrestlers in the finals and crowned four champions, slipped past the EWL regular-season champ West Virginia, 129.5-123.5 for the team title.
By virtue of a top three finish, Harris, Rocco Mansueto, Phil Mansueto (Middletown, N.Y./Middletown), Anthony Coleman (Bellevue, Ohio/Bellevue) and Russ Davie (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) all qualified for the NCAA Championships to be held March 20-22 in Kansas City, Missouri.
At 184, Harris ran his season record to 38-3 by beating Scott Justus of Virginia Tech 8-6. Harris recorded a takedown early in the first period and never trailed, leading 4-2 after the first period and 4-3 at the end of the second.
Rocco Mansueto (20-7) had to go to overtime at 125 to earn his first EWL title. The fifth-year senior was tied with Edinboro's Jason Gray at 1-all at the end of regulation but pulled off the winning takedown just 10 seconds into the extra period. The win avenged Mansueto's 3-0 regular-season loss to Gray.
At 133, defending champion Phil Mansueto (25-6) was stunned by Edinboro sophomore Shawn Bunch who caught him and recorded a pin at just 1:54. In an earlier meeting, Manseuto had handled Bunch in a major decision, 14-6, on Dec. 6.
In his third-place match at 149, Coleman (28-10) beat Ron Doppelheuer of Edinboro for the second time in the tournament. The two went to the wire in Saturday's opening match and the medal match looked to mirror that after Coleman led just 2-1 after the second period. However, the junior scored an escape and a takedown and added a point for riding time to take a decisive 6-1 victory.
Heavyweight Davie (26-8) needed his riding time to beat Edinboro's Joe Hennis. After a scoreless first period, Davie started down in the second stanza and escaped for the only point in that round. The CSU junior then racked up 1:09 in riding time in the third period before Hennis escaped. With neither scoring the rest of the way, Davie notched a 2-1 victory.
Championship matches
125 - Rocco Mansueto (CSU) d. Jacob Gray (Edinboro), 3-1 OT
133 - Shawn Bunch (Edinboro) fall Phil Mansueto (CSU), 1:54
141 - Cory Ace (Edinboro) inj. def. Mike Maney (Lock Haven), 2:37
149 - Billy Smith (WVU) dec. Justin Giovinco (Pitt), 3-1 OT
157 - George Carter (Bloomsburg) dec. Matt Lebe (WVU), 11-5
165 - Matt King (Edinboro) dec. Tom McMath (WVU), 6-2
174 - Greg Jones (WVU) dec. Carl Fronhofer (Pitt), 6-4
184 - Gerald Harris (CSU) dec. Scott Justus (Va. Tech), 8-6
197 - David Shunamon (Edinboro) dec. Morgan Horner (Lock Haven), 5-2
HWT - John Testa (Clarion) dec. Brent Miller (WVU), 3-1
3rd place
149 - Anthony Coleman (CSU) d. Ron Doppelheuer (Edinboro), 6-1
197 - Eric Mausser (Clarion) d. Stipe Miocic (CSU), 5-2
HWT - Russ Davie (CSU) d. Joe Hennis (Edinboro), 2-1
5th place
174 - Matt Klinger (CSU) d. Steve Borja (Va. Tech)
TEAM SCORES 1. Edinboro-129.5; 2. West Virginia-123.5; 3. CLEVELAND STATE-80.5; 4. Lock Haven-75.5; 5. Pittsburgh-75.0; 6. Clarion-63.5; 7. Virginia Tech-44.5; 8. Bloomsburg-44.0
