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(Lock
Haven, Pa.) - The Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania Bald Eagle wrestling squad will compete at the 2002 Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals this upcoming weekend being hosted by Ohio State University at the St. John Arena.
The first year for the new 3-Division format, the Duals will feature three separate 16 team dual meet championships run simultaneously from Saturday, Jan. 19 through Sunday, Jan. 20.
Preliminary dual meet pairings were drawn last Sunday, offering the Bald Eagles another look at #7 Ohio State University in a match set for Sat. at 11 a.m.
Lock Haven is 11-1 in dual meets and 2-0 in the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) after last week’s 25-13 win over Clarion University. The Bald Eagles continue to be ranked among the nation’s top teams, this week listed at
#11 by NWCA and #13 by InterMat with a total of four wrestlers among the nation’s elite. The Bald Eagles are 1-1 in dual meets against ranked teams, defeating Lehigh, 18-15, in their opening contest of the season before suffering a 28-11 loss to Ohio State at the Clarion Duals.
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#5 Mike Maney (141 lbs) against #10 Robert Sessley in the
dual meet versus OSU earlier this season.
Maney captured a 5-5 rideout victory in the tiebreaker over Sessley.
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#7 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES: The Buckeyes have an unblemished 12-0 record, and are ranked #7
in both InterMat and NWCA team polls. Nine of OSU’s ten starters are ranked among the top-20 at their respective weight classes, including four in the top-10. The highest ranking Buckeye wrestlers include heavyweight Tommy Rowlands who is seated second in the nation, and 197-pounder Nick Preston, who holds down the #4 spot. Jeff Ratliff is ranked #9 at 133 pounds, and Robert Sessley (141 lbs.) and John Clark (165 lbs.) are both #10 in their respective weight classes.
Ohio State has outscored its dual meet opponents by an average of 23.7 points per match and its three ranked opponents (Lehigh, Lock Haven, West Virginia) by a 12.0-point margin.
The Buckeyes took a 3-2 advantage in the Lock Haven-Ohio State series with December’s 28-11 victory.
Below is an LHU weight-by-weight preview:
125: Trap McCormack (Loganton/Bald Eagle Nittany) upped his overall record to 11-2 on the season after pocketing a 4-1 win over Clarion’s Peter Derstine last weekend. The Bald Eagles’ Dave Predko (Ridgway/Ridgway) (4-5) is also making the trip, and could help out here if needed. The LHU pair is likely to face Ohio State’s Jesse Lang. McCormack holds the slight edge in that series, defeating the Buckeye 6-4 in the previous dual meet between the two teams.
133: For the win at 133 pounds LHU will choose between two of the following three wrestlers -- Chris Spealler (Paoli/Great Valley), Victor Jackson (Hampton, Va./Poquoson), and Blair Tugman (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown South). Spealler is 10-4 overall, but an ankle injury sustained against George Mason could keep him out of action this weekend. Jackson is now 11-6 for the season following a close 3-2 loss to #8 Rad Martinez of Clarion, while Tugman owns a 4-3 overall mark. #9 Jeff Ratliff is the likely candidate for the Buckeyes here. Spealler and Ratliff met up earlier in the season, with Ratliff earning an 8-0 major decision.
141: Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) recorded his third fall of the season with a first-period working over of Clarion’s Stephen Stremple last Friday. Retaining his #5 national ranking, Maney is now 13-1 overall. Ohio State’s #10 Robert Sessley is the probable starter here. In their earlier meeting, Maney defeated Sessley with a 5-5 victory in overtime, riding out the Buckeye in the tie-breaker for the win.
149: The Bald Eagle duo of #2 JaMarr Billman (Easton/Easton Area) and James LaValle (East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park) will both travel to the Duals. Billman needs just one win to reach the career 100-wins milestone after securing his 99th victory with a 4:03 fall over Clarion’s Dominic Surra last weekend. He is now 18-0 on the season, and is LHU’s falls leader with a half dozen six-pointers. LaValle owns an overall mark of 9-4. The probable Ohio State starter is #11 Keaton Anderson. In the earlier dual meet, Billman faced OSU’s Josh Daugherty and came away with a technical fall in 3:34.
157: Jason Gilligan (Brookville/Brookville) will be looking to edge his overall mark back above .500 and score team points here after a 3-1 loss to Clarion’s Jeremy Reitz put the Bald Eagle at 7-7 on the season. Ohio State’s Josh Janson is currently ranked #12 in the nation. Janson defeated Gilligan in a close match, 5-3, in the previous meeting.
165: Coach Poff and staff will travel with 165-pounders Charlie Brenneman (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg) and Chris Haines (Gettysburg/Gettysburg). Brenneman is 8-8 overall after scoring a 6-2 decision over Clarion’s Jamie Durkin. Haines is 12-6 overall and has a 2-0 mark in dual meet action. The probable Ohio State starter is #10 John Clark. In previous dual meet competition, Clark won by injury default over
Brenneman.
174: Ed Pawlak (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern) is 6-6 overall following last Friday’s 10-6 decision over Todd Schuchert of Clarion. The Buckeye’s #20 Ryan Hieber is a probable starter for the dual against the Bald Eagles after posting a 22-8 major decision over LHU’s Eric O’Connor at the Clarion Duals.
184: Lock Haven’s Josh Millard (Mill Hall/Bald Eagle Area) and Mike Greenberg (Canton/Canton) could possibly share duties at 184 pounds again this weekend. Millard remains at 8-5 and is ranked #19 in the nation after taking the week off from competition to rehabilitate an injury. Greenberg is now 5-5 overall, last scoring a 13-2 major decision over Clarion’s Marcus Surin. #17 Anton Talamantes of Ohio State will look to go 2-0 against the Bald Eagles, taking a 13-7 decision over Millard in the prior match-up.
197: The Bald Eagles will have use of both Avery Zerkle (Urbana, Ohio/Graham) and Jarred Dressler (Mifflin/Juniata) for the bout at 197 pounds. Zerkle is 5-3 overall, while Dressler is also 5-3 after losing an 8-0 match-up to Clarion’s Eric Mausser. Neither wrestler took the mat against Ohio State the first time around, as #4 Nick Preston defeated LHU’s Mike Greenberg in a close 12-8 battle.
HWT: Tim Boetsch (Lincolnville, Maine/Camden Rockport), along with the winner of a wrestle-off to occur later this week between Brett Kleckner (Beech Creek/Central Mountain) or Steve Itterly (Bethlehem/Nazareth), will make the trip out to Ohio. Boetsch is 3-8 overall, last giving up a 9-3 decision to Clarion’s #8 John Testa. Kleckner is 2-5 overall, and should Itterly win the wrestle-off, it will be his first appearance on the mat. Ohio State’s top-ranked grappler resides at heavyweight, #2 Tommy Rowlands. Rowlands scored a technical fall over Kleckner in the first dual meet match-up.
UP NEXT: The Bald Eagles gear up to defend their title at the 2002 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship being held at Kutztown University from Jan. 25 through 26.
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