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	December 12, 2001 LHU Wrestling on the Road at Clarion Duals Bald Eagles Face Tough Lineup Against Pitt-Johnstown, Kent State, and Ohio State

	(Lock Haven, Pa.) - The #11 Bald Eagle wrestling team of Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania will head west on I-80 to Clarion University for the Clarion Duals on Sunday, December 16. Lock Haven’s opponents include #6 (Division II) Pitt-Johnstown (1 p.m.), Kent State University (3 p.m.), and #7 Ohio State University (5 p.m.). The University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown is 2-0 in dual meets, most recently blanking Shippensburg University, 44-0, in action last week. The Mountain Cats are ranked #6 in the latest NCAA Division II Coaches poll, and have five ranked grapplers, including two top-rated individuals. Joe Lloyd (149 lbs.) and Shad Benton (157 lbs.) are both ranked #1 in Division II, and are joined among the nation’s best by teammates #3 Brandon Newill (125 lbs.), #7 Rob English (141 lbs.), and #7 Howard Bell (197 lbs.).	Bald Eagle senior Chris Spealler went 2-0 last weekend at the Sheridan Duals
	The Mid-American Conference’s (MAC) Kent State University is 6-0 in dual meets, last winning three matches at the Kent State Duals with victories coming over Baldwin-Wallace (47-0), Mercyhurst College (41-3), and American University (45-6). Kent’s 157-pounder Mike Tolar is ranked 13th in the nation. Ohio State University is ranked #7 in the latest national team poll and is 3-0 overall after a successful stint at the Sheridan Duals. The Buckeyes defeated Rider (24-13), Rutgers (33-4), and Lehigh (25-19) at the duals. Nine of OSU’s starting 10 are among the nation’s top 20, headlined by 2001 national runner-up and #3-ranked Tommy Rowlands at heavyweight. ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDS: The overall series between LHU and Pitt-Johnstown rests in favor of the Bald Eagles, 2-0, after wins the past two seasons. LHU and Ohio State are tied at 2-2 overall, with the Buckeyes taking the most recent match-up, a 37-0 routing in 1991. LHU leads the Kent State series, 4-1, most recently winning the dual in 2000-01 season, 28-9. Below is a weight-by-weight preview: 125: Lock Haven’s #17 Trap McCormack (Loganton/Bald Eagle Nittany) and Dave Predko (Ridgway/Ridgway) are both set for action this weekend. McCormack (5-1) went 2-0 this weekend, scoring a 6-2 decision over Ohio’s Mike Caruso before posting the quickest fall of the weekend with a 51-second pinning of Rutgers’ Andrew Uhrlass. Predko dropped a major decision to Rider’s #20 Jerold Limongelli, bringing his overall mark to 4-5. LHU’s competition will be Pitt-Johnstown’s #3 Brandon Newill, Kent’s Jared Opfar (15-2), who was just named the MAC Wrestler of the Week after registering three falls in the previous week’s action , and Ohio State’s Jesse Lang (4-4). 133: The Bald Eagles will use senior #20 Chris Spealler (Paoli/Great Valley) or sophomore Victor Jackson (Hampton, Va./Poquoson) for the bout at 133 pounds. Spealler improved to 7-2 overall after going 2-0 at the Sheridan Duals including a 6:06 fall over Rider’s Dave Santamaria. Jackson is 11-4 overall, and also scored a win at the Sheridan Duals with a 9-2 decision over Rutgers’ Andrew Tillis. Brad Yoder of Pitt-Johnstown will challenge the Bald Eagle duo, as will Kent’s Joe DiMichele (6-1) and #7 Jeff Ratliff (6-2) of Ohio State. 141: LHU’s #5 Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) and Keith Ferraro (Brookville/Brookville Area) will assume the duties at 141 pounds. Maney is now 7-0 after going 3-0 at the Sheridan Duals, scoring two major decisions and one six-pointer, a 2:24 fall over Rider’s John Robinson. Ferraro stands at 2-5 on the season. They will face one of three Pitt-Johnstown wrestlers, either Dustin Ziegler, Jason Nestor, or #7 Rob English. Kent State’s Mark Wentz (12-3) will take the mat for the Golden Flash, and Ohio State will put forward #9 Robert Sessley (3-2). 149: #2 JaMarr Billman (Easton/Easton Area) and James LaValle (East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park) will attempt to defend the Bald Eagles’ perfect dual meet ledger by earning wins at 149 pounds. Billman, now 12-0, was selected as the PSAC Wrestler of the Week (12/11) after finishing 3-0 this past weekend including a technical fall over #15 Jake Percival of Ohio. LaValle is currently 8-4 on the season. Billman or LaValle will come up against Division II’s top-ranked wrestler at 149 pounds, Pitt-Johnstown’s Joe Lloyd. Kent will use Joe Charleton (5-5), while Ohio State’s #7 Keaton Anderson (7-1) will look to give the Buckeyes the upperhand. 157: LHU’s starting 157-pounder Jason Gilligan (Brookville/Brookville) will be looking to bounce back after hitting a rough patch last weekend, going 0-2 at the Sheridan Duals and falling to an overall 5-3 mark. The Bald Eagles’ Chris Haines (Gettysburg/Gettysburg) could also help out here, sporting a 10-6 overall ledger. Both wrestlers will have to be at the top of their form, as they will face ranked grapplers in each of the three scheduled dual meets. Pitt-Johnstown’s #1-ranked Shad Benton will offer stiff competition. Kent State’s #13 Mike Tolar (15-2) will take the mat here, as will Ohio State’s #16 Josh Janson (7-3). 165: Sophomore Charlie Brenneman (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg) is now 5-5 overall after going 2-1 last weekend. Rookie Dan Thoman (Red Lion/Dallastown), 7-5 overall, could also earn a dual meet start for the Crimson and White this weekend. Wrestling for Pitt-Johnstown will be Ted Rakar. Kent State will utilize returning NCAA qualifier Nick Nemeth (14-1), and Ohio State will wrestle #13 John Clark (7-2). 174: Ed Pawlak (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern) and Eric O’Connor (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown) remain one-two for the Bald Eagles at 174 pounds. Pawlak went 1-2 over the weekend, and is now 3-5 on the season. O’Connor is 4-3 overall. Their probable opponents will be Pitt-Johnstown’s Randy Pyle or John Burda, Kent State’s Ken Clark (8-3), and Ohio State’s #17 Ryan Hieber (3-3). 184: Lock Haven’s Josh Millard (Mill Hall/Bald Eagle Area) and Mike Greenberg (Canton/Canton) will wrestle for the Bald Eagles at 184 pounds. Millard was one of three matmen to go 3-0 last weekend, upping his overall mark to 6-3. The senior grappler also entered into the national rankings for the first time since the preseason poll, stepping in at #17. Greenberg is even at 2-2 overall on the season. Millard and Greenberg’s opponents will be UPJ’s Matt Benton, Kent State’s Ben Rings (6-3), and Ohio State’s #16 Anton Talamantes (4-2). 197: The 197-pound weight class will be contested by LHU’s Avery Zerkle (Urbana, Ohio/Graham) and Jarred Dressler (Mifflin/Juniata). Zerkle is 3-3 overall after going 1-2 last weekend. Dressler sports an overall mark of 4-2. Pitt-Johnstown’s Howard Bell is listed in the Division II rankings at #7, however junior Ben Kuntz is the only wrestler appearing on the UPJ lineup for the weekend. Kent State will use Zeb Miller (7-3), and Ohio State’s #4 Nick Preston (7-0)will try to steal away the team points for the Buckeyes. HWT: Tim Boetsch (Lincolnville, Maine/Camden Rockport) and Brett Kleckner (Beech Creek/Central Mountain) split duties at heavyweight last weekend, and could both chip in again on Sunday at Clarion. Boetsch went 1-1, improving his overall ledger to 2-4. Kleckner was 0-1, and is now 1-4 on the season. Opponents at heavyweight include UPJ’s Russ Keefe or Brent Beckstein, the top-rated MAC heavyweight in Kent State’s Jim Swetter (13-2), and Ohio State’s highest-ranked grappler, #3 Tommy Rowlands (6-1). UP NEXT: Team Lock Haven will go on a brief hiatus during the remainder of December, returning to action on January 4-5 for road matches against Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia.
	###LHU###