January 23, 2002
Bald Eagle Wrestlers To Defend Title At 2002 PSAC Championships
LHU Lineup Features Four Returning Conference Champions

   
  (Lock Haven, Pa.) -  The Bald Eagles of the Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania wrestling team will hit the mats this weekend in an attempt to defend their Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference title as the 59th Annual PSAC Championships get underway at Kutztown University. Kutztown will host the event at Keystone Arena from Friday, Jan. 25 through Saturday, Jan. 26.

PSAC Championship Schedule:
Session 1 (1/25) - First Round (6 p.m.)
Session 2 (1/26) - Semifinals, Consolations (11 a.m.)
Session 3 (1/26) - Championship, 
                                3rd- and 5th-Place (6 p.m.)

Ticket Prices: 
All-Session - $18 per adult, $5 per student
Individual Sessions - 
 $7 for adults (first and second sessions)
$8 for adults for finals
$2 for students per session

 

Can they repeat? Head Coach Carl Poff led the Bald Eagles to the 2001 PSAC Championship, crowning five individual champions along the way -- four of whom return to action for the 2002 tournament.
  Lock Haven is 11-3 in dual meet action following two losses (Ohio State, 37-3 and Michigan State, 25-10) out in Ohio at the Cliff Keen/NWCA National Duals. The Bald Eagles also dropped slightly in the national rankings, rated 14th in the latest NWCA poll and 17th in the InterMat listing.

The Bald Eagles in PSAC Tournament Action: Lock Haven has won a conference-best 19 tournament crowns, winning three times in the 1990’s and most recently capturing the 2001 title. The Crimson and White have not finished any lower than fourth place since the 1990 season. 

After the first dry spell in LHU history during the 2000 season when not one Bald Eagle merited a PSAC title, an impressive total of five Bald Eagles garnered individual PSAC crowns in 2001, the most for an LHU squad since the 1967 season. 

The Haven’s 2001 champions included a clean sweep of the lower weights, as Trap McCormack at 125 pounds, Scott Bair at 133 pounds, Mike Maney at 141 pounds, and JaMarr Billman at 149 pounds all won titles. LHU’s fifth champion was Avery Zerkle, who won at 197 pounds.

Last Year’s PSAC Championships: With Clarion’s Tippin Gymnasium as the back-drop, Lock Haven captured the tournament title with 153.5 team points, a margin of 27.5 more points than the nearest opponent and runner-up Edinboro University (126.0). LHU’s win broke Edinboro’s streak of three-straight championship titles earned from 1998-2000. Bloomsburg University finished third (119.0), while Clarion University (100.5) and East Stroudsburg University (57.0) followed in fourth and fifth place. Slippery Rock (52.5), Kutztown (34.0), Millersville (32.5), and Shippensburg (23.0) wrapped up team-place finishers in sixth through ninth place, respectively. 

Top Notch Competition at 59th PSAC Tournament: According to the official PSAC Tournament preview, this year’s field is yet another extremely competitive one which includes six returning champions, 10 championship finalists, 36 former placewinners, 11 Division I ranked wrestlers and one Division II ranked wrestler. 

The PSAC features two teams ranked among the nation’s top-25 in the latest InterMat and NWCA polls, Lock Haven at #17 and #14, and Edinboro at #18 and #16, respectively. 
Lock Haven at PSAC Championships p 2 of 3

Below is a weight-by-weight preview:

125: Trap McCormack (Loganton/Bald Eagle Nittany) headlines the crowd at 125 pounds as the returning PSAC champion and only ranked grappler at #19 in the latest polls. McCormack is a two-time all-conference wrestler with last year’s crown in addition to a third-place finish as a freshman in 1999. He also earned a fourth-place finish in 2000. The Bald Eagle senior enters competition with a 12-3 overall mark after going 1-1 last weekend, defeating Ohio State’s Jesse Lang, 7-2, before getting caught on his back (fall - 2:39) against Chris Williams of Michigan State. 

Competition for McCormack comes by way of several other returning placewinners in Kutztown’s Brian Burzynski (3rd in 2001), Bloomsburg’s Brock Hite (4th in 2001), Clarion’s Peter Derstine (5th in 2001), and Slippery Rock’s Adam Renner (6th in 2001). 

133: With Chris Spealler (Paoli/Great Valley) still questionable due to an ankle injury, the LHU coaching staff is also considering Victor Jackson (Hampton, Va./Poquoson) for a possible challenge here at 133 pounds. Spealler remains at 10-4 overall, and has wrestled in the PSAC championships before, finishing fourth at 141 pounds two seasons ago. Jackson is 11-8 for the season after two losses this weekend to his Ohio State and Michigan State opponents. 

The path to the top at 133 pounds will be rough, as the Bald Eagles will have to battle through seventh-ranked Rad Martinez of Clarion, 17th-ranked Cory Ace of Edinboro, 1999 champion Jason Gabrielson, formerly of Edinboro and now with Millersville, along with Slippery Rock’s Chris Matarrese. Kutztown’s Kolhby O’Donnell is also a contender, ranked fifth in Division II.

141: Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) has his sights set on repeating as champion of the 141-pound weight bracket after winning the gold in his first season of competition. Seventh-ranked Maney is currently 14-2 on the season, going 1-1 at the National Duals last weekend including a 1-0 decision over Michigan State’s Charles Sageman. 

Other wrestlers looking to unseat Maney include Chad Caros of Edinboro along with East Stroudsburg’s Brad Kleckner. 

149: Third-ranked JaMarr Billman (Easton/Easton Area) and James LaValle (East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park) are both on the preliminary list for the ‘go’ at 149-pounds. Billman, the returning champion, is 19-1 overall after a bittersweet weekend where he lost his first match of the season, a 5-2 decision against Ohio State’s Keaton Anderson, but rebounded to win his 100th career bout with a 14-5 major decision over Michigan State’s Karl Nadolsky. 

There is just one other returning PSAC placewinner at 149 pounds, Clarion’s Dominic Surra, whom Billman defeated by fall in 4:03 in the head-to-head match up two weeks ago. 

157: Jason Gilligan (Brookville/Brookville) tops all the returning placewinners in the 157 pound weight class after finishing third last season. Gilligan is currently 7-9 following two losses out at the National Duals. Only one wrestler Gilligan faced last year in tournament competition is back, East Stroudsburg’s Matt Dudeck, whom Gilligan defeated 5-3 in the third-place bout.

Dudeck, along with Millersville’s Jesse Reed, are returning placewinners that the sophomore Bald Eagle could potentially face. Another top contender will be a familiar one to Gilligan, Clarion’s Jeremy Reitz. Reitz, also a Brookville native, defeated Gilligan, 3-1, in dual meet action earlier this season.

165: Charlie Brenneman (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg) and Chris Haines (Gettysburg/Gettysburg) are both penciled in at 165 pounds for the Bald Eagles. Brenneman is 8-9 on the season following a loss to Ohio State’s John Clark. Haines also lost one over the weekend to Anton Hall of Michigan State, bringing his overall mark to 12-7 on the year. Neither wrestler has experience in PSAC tournament action.

Along with either Lock Haven wrestler, favorites at the 165 pound weight class include Edinboro’s 13th-ranked Matt R. King along with Millersville’s Craig Pequignot.

174: Ed Pawlak (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern) will vie for his first trip to the PSAC finals after finishing third in last year’s competition. Pawlak dropped to 6-8 after two losses this past weekend, including a slim, 4-3, decision against Michigan State’s Rashad Evans.

Edinboro’s returning national champion and three-time PSAC titlist Josh Koscheck is the heavy favorite in the 174-pound weight class. Pawlak is one of two other returning placewinners from last season. Also making another attempt at top honors is East Stroudsburg’s Dan Roy, who was fifth in 2001.

184: Lock Haven’s Josh Millard (Mill Hall/Bald Eagle Area) and Mike Greenberg (Canton/Canton) are both candidates to represent The Haven at 184 pounds. Millard, ranked #19 at 184 pounds, tied for fourth place last season with his brother Justin from Edinboro, and was a fourth-place finisher back in 2000 as well. The Bald Eagle senior is 9-5 overall after winning a 9-5 decision over Nathaniel Mesyn of Michigan State last weekend. Greenberg is currently 5-6 overall, and could also be utilized at 197 pounds if necessary.

Others challenging at 184 pounds include Slippery Rock’s John Opfar, who was beaten by LHU’s Millard, 16-7, at Mat-Town, and Millersville’s Adam Schaaf. Both wrestlers were among the placewinners in 2000.

197: Avery Zerkle (Urbana, Ohio/Graham) is the returning PSAC champion at 197 pounds and is a two-time placewinner, also finishing fourth at the conference event back in 2000. He will be looking to regain mid-season form after an injury-plagued season thus far. Zerkle is 5-4 overall, last dropping a 14-3 decision to Michigan State’s John Wechter on Saturday. 

Last season’s runner-up and sixth-ranked David Shunamon of Edinboro is returning to the hunt for the title, and is currently the highest ranked grappler in the mix at 197 pounds. Others include Clarion’s 20th-ranked Eric Mausser, a fourth-place finisher a year ago, along with last season’s sixth-place finisher in Millersville’s Greg Enyon. 

HWT: The Haven’s Tim Boetsch (Lincolnville, Maine/Camden Rockport) retains the starting role at heavyweight for the Bald Eagles, and will be competing in his first PSAC championship. Boetsch is 3-9 overall, last falling 1-1 in the tiebreaker to Michigan State’s Michael Keenan. 
The PSAC field at heavyweight is deep with talent, as two-time returning champion and ninth-ranked John Testa of Clarion returns to try for a third-straight title. Edinboro’s Josh Pearce also returns, looking to dethrone the two-time winner. Other placewinners from years past include East Stroudsburg’s Marc Bauknecht and Millersville’s Tyler Woolever. 

UP NEXT: The Bald Eagles return home to Thomas Field House to host Edinboro University in an Eastern Wrestling League and PSAC match-up on Friday, Feb. 1, at 7:30 p.m. On Saturday, Feb. 2, Lock Haven will wrestle for the second time in as many days, hosting EWL opponent Cleveland State University. Saturday’s dual meet also starts at 7:30 p.m.
 

 

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