January 14, 2003
#25 Bald Eagle Wrestlers Open EWL Schedule With Virginia Tech
Lock Haven Looks To Add To 5-0-0 Series Lead Versus Hokies

Below is the LHU weight-by-weight preview:

125: A trio of wrestlers continue to battle for the starting nod at 125 pounds with red-shirt freshmen Leslie Morrow (Canton, Ga./Sequoyah) and Jim Collins (Jonestown/Northern Lebanon) along with junior Dave Predko (Ridgway/Ridgway) all vying for the mat time. Morrow is now 5-8 after losing two bouts at the Virginia Duals, including a loss to Illinois’ No. 14-ranked Kyle Ott. Predko earned starting duties at 125 pounds in day two of the Duals, but also dropped two straight to fall to 5-8 on the season. Collins last took the mat in a starting capacity in December at the Clarion Duals and is 7-8 on the season.

133: Senior Justin Owens (Morrisdale/West Branch) was 3-1 at the Virginia Duals, his only loss coming against Illinois’ No. 13-ranked Mark Jayne. Owens piled up wins versus Bernard Gardner of Army (F 5:28), Drew Opfer of Kent State (4-3) and Niicholas Garuccio of Hofstra (10-3) to improve to 11-7 overall. Also a potential starter for the Bald Eagles is senior Blair Tugman (Lincroft, N.J./Middletown South). Tugman is 7-7 following a loss to Illinois’ No. 19-ranked Cal Ferry while wrestling up a weight class at 141 pounds.

141: The Bald Eagles’ headliner and No. 6-ranked Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) is now 18-2 overall following a 2-1 outing in Hampton, Va. Maney opened the weekend’s competition with a big win in a 6-4 decision over No. 7-ranked Phillip Simpson of Army, then lost for only the second time this season in the Kent State dual, giving up a 3-0 decision to Ryan Simmons. He bounced back quickly, pinning Hofstra’s Matt Homenick in 1:32 in LHU’s final match of the tournament. 

149: James LaValle (East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park), now 8-8, will be looking to rebound after a 1-3 venture at the Virginia Duals which included two losses versus ranked opponents. LaValle’s two bouts against ranked opponents included a close 8-5 decision against Illinois’ No. 14-ranked Tony Pedrosa before a 16-5 major decision versus No. 19-ranked Jon Masa of Hofstra. His one win was a 2-1 decision over Nate Daughtery of Kent State.

157: Another wrestler hoping to jump back onto the winning track is 157-pounder Charlie Brenneman (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg). Brenneman faced ranked wrestlers in three of his four matches this weekend, going 0-4 on the trip to move to 10-10 overall. 

165: Jason Gilligan (Brookville/Brookville) recorded a 2-1 ledger at the Virginia Duals, moving his overall mark to 11-6 on the season. Gilligan posted wins against Army’s Kurt Pryor (5-3) and Kent State’s Mark Lensman (7-1), and lost by just one point, 9-8, to No. 7-ranked Noel Thompson of Hofstra.

174: Chris Haines (Gettysburg/Gettysburg) is the probable starter at 174 pounds for the Bald Eagles. Haines had a rough weekend at the Virginia Duals, going 0-4 including losses to two top-20 ranked grapplers. Since he moved up from 165 pounds two weekends ago, he has posted a 2-5 ledger and is 7-8 on the season. At 11-6 overall and 2-0 in dual meets, Eric O’Connor (Elizabethtown/Elizabethtown) could also fill in the starting role at 174 pounds .

184: Junior Mike Greenberg (Canton/Canton) will take the mat at 184 pounds. Greenberg is 3-4 since the switch up from 174 pounds, and is 8-9 on the season. At the Virginia Duals, he got by Brad Christie of Hofstra, 5-4, and Matt Bernard of Army, 4-0. A loss to a ranked Illinois opponent and the close 9-7 loss versus Alex Camargo of Kent State put his weekend mark at 2-2. Dan Riggs (Hanover/Delone Catholic), a sophomore, could also earn wrestling rights versus Virginia Tech. Riggs is 9-8 on the season.

197: Perhaps benefiting the most from the re-shuffling of the lineup is red-shirt freshman Morgan Horner (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J./Hasbrouck Heights), who is 9-5 on the season. Horner’s overall mark includes a 6-1 ledger since moving up to 197 pounds two weeks ago, and the freshman has also earned a No. 20 ranking in the latest AWN poll. At the Virginia Duals, Horner scored an 8-5 decision against Army’s Joe Forsman followed up with LHU’s only win in the Illinois match, a 3-2 victory over #19-ranked Tyrone Byrd of Illinois. In the second day of action he posted a 12-1 major decision against Kent State’s Ben Rings before losing by major decision to Hofstra’s No. 4-ranked Chris Skretkowicz. 

HWT: Bald Eagle junior Steve Itterly (Bethlehem/Nazareth) was 3-1 at the Virginia Duals, scoring the deciding points in the Kent State win with a fall in 2:58 over Wilbur Leonard. He also posted a 6-1 decision versus No. 17-ranked John Paxton of Army and a 5-4 win against Dan Garay of Hofstra. His only loss came in the Illinois match-up, a 5-2 decision versus Chris Little. Itterly’s season record stands at 11-9 overall. 

UP NEXT: Following the Virginia Tech dual, the Bald Eagles will prepare themselves for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Wrestling Championships being held Friday through Saturday, January 24-25, at Millersville University. Action gets underway at 5 p.m. on Jan. 24 and 11 a.m. on Jan. 25. Lock Haven was the team runner-up at the 2002 PSAC Tournament.

###LHU###