March 17, 2003
Four-Deep Bald Eagle Contingent To Represent LHU At NCAA Tournament

2003 Team Championship Race: When the curtains of this year’s NCAA Division I Wrestling National Championships open, the spotlight is expected to shine on a heated battle among several hearty competitors. Two-time defending national team champion Minnesota does not enter as the favorite, however with eight qualifiers and three returning finalists, including two champions, they could very well be in position for the three-peat. Oklahoma State enters as the team to beat, going undefeated during the year, 17-0, capturing the Big XII title and qualifying all ten wrestlers for the championships. Iowa is another team in the mix at the top, bringing seven grapplers into the title fray including two returning champions. 
              Last season, Minnesota captured the team trophy with 126.50 points, followed by Iowa State (104.00) and Oklahoma (101.50) in second and third place, respectively. Iowa (89.00) and Oklahoma State (82.50) rounded out the top five teams at the championships. 

LHU at 2002 NCAA Championships: Seven Bald Eagle grapplers competed in Albany, N.Y., at the 2002 NCAA National Championships, with two -- Mike Maney at 141 lbs. and JaMarr Billman at 149 lbs., emerging as All-Americans. Chris Spealler (133 lbs.) and Josh Millard (184 lbs.) both won in the first round, but dropped their next two to finish at 1-2. At 197 lbs., senior Avery Zerkle won his pigtail match, but lost in the first round. He went 1-1 in the wrestlebacks to cap off his final NCAA appearance at 2-2. Ed Pawlak (174 lbs.) and Trap McCormack (125 lbs.) both went two and out. As a team, the Haven wrestlers posted 24.00 points, finishing in a three-way tie for 19th place.


SENIOR STANDOUT
Senior Bald Eagle grappler Justin Owens (Morrisdale/West Branch) earned a spot at the national championships after finishing fifth at the EWL championships. Rebounding from a first-round loss to Brandon Lauer of West Virginia (12-7), Owens soundly defeated Bloomsburg’s Justin Haupt by major decision (11-1) in the consolation first round. He then wrestled for fifth place after a loss to Clarion’s Rad Martinez, 7-3, in the semifinals. In the fifth-place bout, Owens pinned Pittsburgh’s Mike Ciotti in 2:15. 

A break-out year of sorts, Owens has been a solid back-up throughout his career but has finally earned the starting role and the trip to nationals in his final season. He has seen the most ranked wrestlers out of the Haven quartet, matching up against 10 top-rated grapplers in a total 12 matches throughout the season. Owens was 2-10 in those duals, including five matches that were lost by five or less points. 

Owens’ First Round Opponent: (Pigtail Match) Justin Owens (LHU) vs. Joe Cristaldi (Drexel) / Winner vs. (3) Ryan Lewis (Minnesota)
Opponent Quick Facts: Cristaldi, a junior from Erdenheim, Pa., placed second at 133 lbs. in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) championships. This is his second trip to the NCAA tournament. He is 17-9 entering into championship action. Owens and Cristaldi met earlier in the season at the Sheridan Duals -- Owens won by technical fall, 22-7, in 7:00. 

MANEY RETURNS
This year’s trip to the NCAA championships marks the third for No. 8-ranked Mike Maney (Clarence/Bald Eagle Area), who will enter competition seated sixth. He earned All-America honors last season by finishing eighth overall. Maney, at 27-3 overall, is tied for 10th in the nation in total wins in his weight class and earned his spot on the 141-pound bracket by placing second at the EWL tournament. He advanced to the finals with a major decision (14-3) over Cleveland State’s Paul Theodore, then a 4-1 decision over Pittsburgh’s Ron Tarquinio. He injury defaulted out of the championship bout to Edinboro’s No. 14-ranked Cory Ace after suffering a concussion at the end of the first period. Maney is 3-1 in matches wrestled against ranked competitors, defeating No. 5 Phillip Simpson of Army, 6-3, No. 9 Dana Holland of Arizona State, 4-3, and splitting a pair with Edinboro’s Ace in tournament finals, winning by fall at 6:59 in the PSAC Championships and losing by injury default in the EWL tourney. 

Maney’s First Round Opponent: (6) Mike Maney (LHU) vs. Casey Hunt (Oregon)
Opponent Quick Facts: Hunt, a senior from Pendelton, Oregon, placed third in the Pacific-10 Athletic Conference championships. This is Hunt’s second straight trip to the NCAA tournament, although last year he made the journey at 149 pounds.


SECOND TIME AROUND
Jason Gilligan (Brookville/Brookville) paid in advance for his second trip to the NCAA Championships, leaving no question by earning an automatic berth to Kansas City as the third-place finisher at the 2003 EWL Championships. Now a two-time nationals qualifier, Gilligan received a wild card bid for his first go-around after finishing fifth. He went 0-2 during his last trip. This season, Gilligan has recorded a 19-11 ledger and a 9-4 mark in tournament action. At the EWL tournament, he won his first round bout, 3-2, against Cleveland State’s Jason Effner, then lost in the semis to Edinboro’s Matt King, who went on to capture the title. In the wrestlebacks, Gilligan scored a fall in 2:19 over Bloomsburg’s Ryan Garner, then posted a 10-2 major decision against Virginia Tech’s Mike Cox for third place. The Bald Eagle junior has met up with five wrestlers currently ranked among the nation’s finest, going 1-5 with his only win coming against Kent State’s No. 16 Nick Nemeth (6-3). 

Gilligan’s First Round Opponent: Jason Gilligan (LHU) vs. (12) Kevin Carr (Central Michigan)
Opponent Quick Facts: Carr helped the CMU Chippewas to the Mid-American Conference team title, earning a second-place finish. Carr is a junior from Warsaw, Indiana. 

FRESHMAN PHENOM
After quietly entering the scene at 184 pounds at the year’s open, red-shirt freshman Morgan Horner (Hasbrouck Heights, N.J./Hasbrouck Heights) was moved up to fill in at 197 pounds instead and has been a dominating force ever since -- earning the 12th seed for the national championship tournament. Horner was ranked 18th in the latest InterMat poll, is 19-9 overall and went 14-5 in dual meet action. He finished as the runner-up at both PSAC and EWL championships, and is tied for 10th among 197-pounders with six pins on the season. Horner matched up against five currently ranked grapplers throughout the course of the year, posting a 3-5 mark. Of those five losses, three came against Edinboro’s David Shunamon including bouts in the finals of both PSAC and EWL tourneys. Should Horner win his first-ound bout at the NCAA tournament, he will get a fourth chance at the Fighting Scot if Shunamon also advances after the opening round. 

Horner’s First Round Opponent: (12) Morgan Horner vs. David Dashiell (UNC)
Opponent Quick Facts: Dashiell was the Atlantic Coastal Conference (ACC) champion at 197 pounds, helping the Tarheels capture the ACC team title. Like Horner, Dashiell, who hails from Chesapeake, Va., is another freshman standout. 

###LHU###