2009 NCAA Division II Softball Tournament

December 11, 2002
Bald Eagle Wrestlers Gear Up For Trio of Matches at Clarion Duals
The Haven Will Face Findley, American, and Kent State

On University of Findlay: Under the guidance of fourth-year head coach Shawn Nelson, the Findlay Roughnecks were ranked sixth in the NCAA Division II Wrestling Coaches Association pre-season poll and returned two All-Americans and one national champion to the mats. Currently, Findlay owns a 1-4 dual meet record competing against all Division I opponents. Their lone win came in a 25-11 victory over Princeton. Returning national titlist Waylon Lowe leads Findlay from his spot at 149 pounds. Lowe placed fourth at both Eastern Michigan and Michigan State Opens. All-American Joe Simcoe was third at the EMU Open, while another All-American in 165 pound Lucas Mackesy was second at the same tournament. Both Simcoe and Mackesy had suffered early season injuries, and while Simcoe bounced back and competed at the Avalon Duals, Mackesy has yet to return. Other strong competitors for the Roughnecks include freshmen 197-pounder Clint Salisbury, a first-place finisher at the Wisconsin Open, and 184-pounder Kris Klepacz, who placed at the EMU (4th), Michigan State (8th), and Wisconsin Open (2nd) tournaments.

Chris Haines (165 lbs.); Steve Itterly (HWT)

On American University: The American University Eagles, under the helm of first year head coach Mark Cody, bring an 0-4 dual meet ledger into the Clarion Duals on Sunday. On the season, the Eagles finished ninth at the Cornell Invitational, then dropped dual meets to Sacred Heart (27-14), The Citadel (37-12), Franklin & Marshall (36-9), and Army (45-6). Leading the way is junior heavyweight Jared Hyman, who is 3-1 in dual meet action and placed fourth at the Bearcat Open. Freshman Tom Kniezewski has held his own at 141 pounds, also entering the weekend with a 3-1 dual meet record. Others to watch for include Kyle Mason (184 lbs.), Aaron Baker (165 lbs.), and Aviv Bercovicz (149 lbs.).

On Kent State University: Sixth-year head coach Frank Romano has led his Golden Flash wrestlers to a 3-0 start along with a second-place finish at the Navy Classic. Senior 165-pounder and No. 9-ranked Nick Nemeth (13-1) went 3-0 in dual meets and also captured first-place finishes at the Ashland Open and Navy Classic. Red-shirt freshman Drew Opfer (13-3) has made a noticable impact in his first season of competition, posting three dual meet wins at 133 pounds, the individual crown at the Ashland Open, and a second-place finish at the Navy Classic. His older brother and 125-pounder Jared Opfer (12-3) went 3-0 as well, as did sophomore 197-pounder Ben Rings (9-4) and senior 141-pounder Ryan Simmons (11-3). At 184 pounds, red-shirt frosh Alex Camargo (10-5) went 1-1 in the duals and also added a runner-up finish at the Navy tournament. Senior 174-pounder Ken Clark (9-4) and junior 157-pounder Mike Tolar (8-2) have also been key in the success of the Golden Flash. Clark captured first place at the Ashland Open and was 2-0 in the dual meets, while Tolar is ranked 19th in the nation after placing second at the Michigan State Open and going 2-0 in the duals.


Below is the LHU weight-by-weight preview:

125: The Haven’s pair of red-shirt freshmen, Leslie Morrow (Canton, Ga./Sequoyah) and Jim Collins (Jonestown/Northern Lebanon), will both be set in action again this weekend. Morrow is 3-4 overall, winning two matches last weekend versus his Rutgers and Drexel opponents. Collins fell to 3-5 overall after an 11-7 decision to Rider’s Jim DiCicco. 

133: Senior Justin Owens (Morrisdale/West Branch) boosted his overall mark to 6-4 with two wins last weekend. Owens scored a 14-7 decision against Rider’s Bobby Stinson before notching the 22-7 technical fall over Drexel’s Joe Cristaldi. Blair Tugman (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown South) saw action versus Rutgers’ Justin Smigelsky, improving to 4-3 on the season with a 16-5 major decision.

141: Junior Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) remains a solid force for the Bald Eagles, going 3-0 at the Sheridan Duals with two major decisions and one fall. Now at 10-1 on the season with a team-best four major decisions, Maney is ranked third in the latest InterMat poll. 

149: James LaValle (East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park) improved on a lukewarm Mat-Town performance by going 2-1 in last week’s duals, upping his overall ledger to 3-4. LaValle scored an 18-13 decision over Rider’s P.J. Sargent and a 7-2 win over Drexel’s Mark Cartella. His only loss on the day came against Rutgers’ Greg Austin, a slim 4-3 decision. 

157: Junior Charlie Brenneman (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg) is 7-3 overall following a 2-1 outing last Saturday. Brenneman lost by one, 4-3, to No. 11-ranked Derek Jenkins of Rider in his first bout. He rebounded from the tight loss strongly, however, pinning Rutgers’ Amir Khan in 2:52 and Drexel’s Steve Beard in 3:34.

165: Jason Gilligan (Brookville/Brookville) and Chris Haines (Gettysburg/Gettysburg) will compete at 165 pounds for the Bald Eagles. Gilligan is now 6-3 on the season, going 1-1 last weekend with a 6-1 win over Drexel’s Nick Kozar and a 2-0 loss to No. 20-ranked Nick Harrington of Rider. Haines, who makes his first appearance in the national rankings this week at 19th, was forced to take the injury default in his only match last weekend, but is healthy and ready for action on Sunday. He is currently 4-3 on the season.

174: The Haven’s lineup at 174 pounds consists of junior Mike Greenberg (Canton/Canton) and senior Eric O’Connor (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown). Greenberg is 3-5 overall after losing two bouts last weekend, including a 6-4 sudden victory decision against Rider’s Bob Pizzuto. O’Connor stepped in at 174 against Drexel, scoring the 12-9 decision against Josh Fisk to improve to 7-4 on the season.

184: The Bald Eagles have a young but quickly progressing duo available at 184 pounds in red-shirt freshman Morgan Horner (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J./Hasbrouck Heights) and sophomore Dan Riggs (Hanover/Delone Catholic). Horner is now 3-4 after tallying two major decisions, winning 16-5 against Rider’s Greg Sawyer and 13-3 over Drexel’s Carl Schmidt. Riggs wrestled in the Rutgers match, easily handling Rudy Medini for the 12-4 major decision. Riggs is currently 6-5 overall.

197: Junior Tim Boetsch (Lincolnville, Maine/Camden Rockport) enters the weekend with a 4-6 overall ledger. Boetsch went 0-3 last Saturday, facing two top-20 ranked wrestlers. He lost by just one point, 5-4, to Rider’s Jared Terrell, and by two, 5-3, to No. 13-ranked Chris Jones of Drexel. His other loss came against No. 19-ranked Ryan McGrath of Rutgers, 5-0.

HWT: Bald Eagle junior Steve Itterly (Bethlehem/Nazareth) went 1-2 on the weekend, but made his one win count as a fall over No. 19-ranked Vinny D’Agustino of Rider gave LHU the points it needed for the match victory. Itterly is currently 4-6 on the season.

UP NEXT: The Bald Eagles will take a rest from competition until Saturday, January 4, when they will be out at Arizona State University for the Sun Devil Duals. Matches are slated against Arizona State University, Embry-Riddle University, and last year’s national champions, the University of Minnesota.

###LHU###