January 30, 2003
Bald Eagles Face Tough Road Trip to Cleveland State and Edinboro

Cleveland State... The Vikings of Cleveland State, under the direction of fifth-year head coach Jack Effner, are 8-4 overall and 1-1 in the EWL. In most recent action, CSU came back from a 10-13 deficit by stringing together wins in the last four bouts (174-HWT) to capture the 24-13 victory against Eastern Michigan. In league action, the Vikings have a win over Edinboro (19-12) and a loss to Pittsburgh (17-23). Commandeering the Viking attack are four ranked grapplers including No. 4-ranked Gerald Harris at 184 pounds. The Mansueto brothers both hold the national spotlight at 125 pounds with No. 19-ranked Rocco Mansueto (12-6) and at 133 pounds with No. 16-ranked Phil Mansueto (16-5). The fourth nationally recognized CSU wrestler is No. 18-ranked heavyweight Russ Davie (13-6).

Edinboro... Another typically strong Edinboro squad under the guidance of sixth-year head coach Tim Flynn takes to the mats versus Lock Haven this week, currently sporting a national ranking of 24th and a record of 6-4 along with an 0-1 EWL ledger. Fresh off of their second-straight PSAC Tournament team championship, the Fighting Scots had four wrestlers earn individual conference titles last weekend -- Jacob Gray (125 lbs.), Matt R. King (165 lbs.), Alex Clemson (184 lbs.) and David Shunamon (197 lbs.). Sporting three ranked grapplers, Edinboro’s most recent dual meet competition was at the Virginia Duals, where they went 3-2 with wins over VMI, Brown and North Carolina. The Fighting Scots’ one league loss came against Cleveland State (12-19). Edinboro hosts EWL opponent Clarion University on Friday, Jan. 31, before hosting the Bald Eagles on Saturday.

Below is the LHU weight-by-weight preview:

125: Jim Collins (Jonestown/Northern Lebanon) is 11-9 overall following a third-place performance at last weekend’s PSAC Championships. Collins defeated East Stroudsburg’s Mark Koszyk twice, once in the first round (9-1) and the second time for third place (7-4). He also defeated Shippensburg’s Rob Getz, 6-0. Collins’ only loss of the day came against the eventual champion, Edinboro’s Jacob Gray, 6-0 in the semifinals. 

133: Justin Owens (Morrisdale/West Branch) powered his way to a third-place finish at the PSAC tournament, notching one fall and one technical fall among his three wins. Owens, now 15-8 overall, opened with the 16-1 (2:59) tech fall over Slippery Rock’s Brian Gross. He pinned Dave Roberts of Millersville (4:45) in the consolation bracket, then posted an 8-2 decision against Bloomsburg’s Justin Haupt for third place. Like Collins, Owens’ only loss on the day came at the hands of an Edinboro wrestler, a slim 5-4 loss to Shawn Bunch.

141: Odds are that No. 7-ranked Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area) may take this week off to recuperate from a lingering illness, and in that event, the Bald Eagles could go with junior John Holsinger (Pennsburg/Quakertown). Maney (22-2) became Lock Haven’s 13th three-time PSAC champion over the weekend, capturing the win in a nailbiter of a final by pinning Edinboro’s Cory Ace with just one second remaining in the match. Holsinger is relatively inexperienced on the EWL scene but has been in the Haven program for three seasons. He is 1-4 this season after competing at the West Virginia Open and Mat Town USA. 

149: James LaValle (East Hanover, N.J./Hanover Park) is now 10-11 overall after going 2-2 and finishing in fourth place at the PSAC tournament. LaValle posted wins against Millersville’s Cody Ebersol (8-4) and East Stroudsburg’s Keith Kleckner (F, 6:47), while dropping matches against Bloomsburg’s Brad Forbes (6-3) and Edinboro’s Ron Doppleheuer (10-7). 

157: Charlie Brenneman (Hollidaysburg/Hollidaysburg) broke through a six-match slump to take fifth-place at the PSAC championships. Brenneman, now 12-13 overall, went 2-2 over the weekend with wins against Pete Nickel of Shippensburg (TF, 20-4;5:54) and Keith Smith of East Stroudsburg (9-2). 

165: If injury does not keep him out of this weekend’s lineup, PSAC runner-up Jason Gilligan (Brookville/Brookville) will get a rematch of the championship final this Saturday against Edinboro’s Matt R. King. Gilligan (14-7), who has been battling a neck injury, advanced to the conference championship via a 1:25 fall over Millersville’s Jon Rugg and a 16-3 major decision over Bloomsburg’s Ryan Garner. In the finals, however, the Boro’s King took the 7-2 decision for the title.

174: Chris Haines (Gettysburg/Gettysburg), now 8-11 overall, finished fourth at the conference championships due to wins against Curtis Yeager of Millersville (9-2) and Dave Gardner of Clarion (9-2). Both matches Haines lost were by a two-point differential, coming against eventual champion Hunter Guenot of Bloomsburg (4-2) in the semifinals and East Stroudsburg’s John Carr (8-6) in the consolation championship.

184: Mike Greenberg (Canton/Canton) will carry a 10-12 overall ledger into this weekend’s competition following a fifth-place performance at the PSAC tourney. A loss in the first round sent him into the consolation bracket, where he defeated Mark Knock of Millersville (6-1). After a loss to Corey Jacoby of Shippensburg (5-4), Greenberg tallied a 13-2 major decision over Bloomsburg’s Chad Hoare for fifth place.

197: Morgan Horner (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J./Hasbrouck Heights) made a statement in his first PSAC tournament, finishing as the runner-up in a 3-1 sudden victory loss to Edinboro’s David Shunamon. Horner, now 12-6 on the season, pinned Slippery Rock’s Corey Hart in 4:40 before knocking off defending champion and No. 6-ranked Eric Mausser of Clarion with a 12-6 decision in the semifinals. 

HWT: Steve Itterly (Bethlehem/Nazareth) fought his way to the conference finals, losing only to four-time PSAC titlist John Testa of Clarion (8-4) in the championship. Itterly defeated Joe Pahirs of East Stroudsburg, 10-3, in the first round before coming back from a two-point deficit to pin Edinboro’s Joe Hennis at 3:08 to advance to the finals. Itterly is now 14-10 on the season.

UP NEXT: Following this weekend’s travels, Lock Haven will return home for another two-day EWL stint to host No. 11-ranked West Virginia University on Friday, February 7 and the University of Pittsburgh on Saturday, February 8. Both matches start at 7:30 p.m.

###LHU###