November 21, 2001
LHU Wrestling Set To Host Nine-Team Field 
For 2001 Mat-Town U.S.A. Invitational

Mat-Town Schedule of Events
First Round: 9 a.m.
Quarterfinals: 12 p.m.
Semifinals: 3 p.m.
Consolation Finals: 6 p.m.
Finals: 8 p.m.

Competing Teams
Bucknell University
Franklin & Marshall College
Lock Haven University
Ohio University
Old Dominion University
Penn State University
University of Pittsburgh
Purdue University
Slippery Rock University

Below is a weight-by-weight preview for this season’s Mat-Town U.S.A. Invitational:

125                The 125-pound weight class appears thin on familiar returning faces but will still display the talent of two top-ranked wrestlers along with several others fighting for top placement.  Purdue freshman Chris Fleeger, ranked #7 in the nation, will be making his inaugural appearance at the Mat-Town tourney after capturing the 125-pound title at the Navy Classic last weekend in his season-opening performance.  Lock Haven’s three-time national qualifier and #13-ranked Trap McCormack finished third the last two years and will be looking to grasp the Mat-Town title that has thus far eluded him.  Other returning place-winners include LHU’s Justin Owens (7^th) and Slippery Rock’s Adam Renner (8^th).

133                Three ranked grapplers along with four returning place-winners will scrap for the individual honors at 133 pounds.  Pittsburgh’s Shawn Amistade, a national qualifier last season at 125-pounds and a sixth-place finisher at Mat-Town, is currently ranked #11 in the nation.  Lock Haven’s #17-ranked Chris Spealler is another favorite here, finishing in seventh place last season.  New to the Mat-Town field but a top contender for individual honors is 2001 NCAA qualifier Marat Tomaev of Penn State.  Another Nittany Lion, #18-ranked Josh Moore, made the trip to the national tourney last season at 125-pounds, but moves up to 133 pounds this season and will look to better his 2000 fourth-place performance at Mat-Town.  Ohio’s Paul Hodermarsky also returns to the field after finishing in eighth place last season.

141                One of three weight classes to return the 2000 champion, the 141-pound bracket also includes five of last year’s place winners.  Lock Haven’s Mike Maney enters as the crowd favorite after winning the tourney crown last season as a red-shirt freshman.  An NCAA qualifier, Maney is currently ranked #6 in the nation.  He will be pushed by Penn State’s #18-ranked Scott Moore, who moves up a weight class after scoring third-place Mat-Town honors at 133 pounds last season.   Three other place winners will be in the hunt for the title, including Eric Narkiewicz of Penn State (5^th), Keith Ferraro of Lock Haven (7^th), and Old Dominion’s Blake Romano (8^th). 

149                LHU’s #2-ranked JaMarr Billman, one of two All-Americans in competition this weekend, headlines the list of those sparring for the individual title at 149 pounds.  Billman did not compete the last two seasons at Mat-Town, however, he did pocket tournament crowns in both 1997 and 1998.   Two other ranked wrestlers enter competition who will offer top-notch competition for Billman, #15-ranked Jake Percival of Ohio University, and #19 Nate Wachter of Penn State.  Percival, a freshman, advanced to the finals at the West Virginia University Open earlier this season where he defeated Billman for the championship.  Wachter was last year’s 149-pound Mat-Town champion, and is currently ranked #20 nationally.   Other returning wrestlers vying for top finishes include Old Dominion’s Dennis Whitby (4^th), Lock Haven’s James LaValle (5^th), and Brad Harper of Purdue (7^th), who may move up a class to compete at 157 pounds.

157                Whoever emerges as the victor at 157-pounds will have battled through a field including four returning national qualifiers along with three of last year’s place winners.  Looking to defend his 2000 Mat-Town title is national qualifier and #13-ranked Zach Doll of Pittsburgh.  He will be challenged by three others with national tournament experience, including Clovis Crane of Purdue (5^th in 2000), Ryan Smith of Ohio (4^th in 2000), and Mat-Town newcomer Jason Gilligan of Lock Haven, who did not wrestle in Mat-Town last season due to injury.  Penn State’s #17-ranked James Woodall is also a possible contender for the individual medal.

165                For the second-straight season, Pittsburgh’s #8-ranked Carl Fronhofer is the only ranked wrestler entering into the Mat-Town tournament at 165-pounds.  Fronhofer finished as the runner-up the past two seasons, and will be challenged this year for the title by returning place winners Oscar Santiago of Purdue (3^rd at 157) and Old Dominion’s Jake Cairns (6^th).  Also in the mix will be Lock Haven’s Charlie Brenneman, who red-shirted last season but finished sixth at 157 in 1999’s edition of Mat-Town. 

174                Perhaps some of the most colossal battles of the day will take place at 174 pounds, where three top-ranked grapplers return to Mat-Town in the attempt to collect the first-place hardware.   Old Dominion’s #9-ranked Jeff Rusak, a returning NCAA qualifier, finished as the runner-up last season.  Purdue’s #18-ranked Ryan Lange, also a national tournament participant, finished third at the 2000 Mat-Town after a 6-3 loss to Rusak in the semifinals.  Ohio’s #16-ranked Luke Moore, yet another NCAA qualifier, finished fourth at last year’s invitational after losing a slim 3-2 decision to Lange in the consolation championship round.  Contesting Rusak, Lange, and Moore will be two other returning place winners, Lock Haven’s Ed Pawlak (6^th) and Eric O’Connor (8^th).

184                Another tightly contested weight class is at 184 pounds where three ranked, returning national qualifiers, along with a host of other worthy wrestlers, will all battle for the top spot on the podium. Lock Haven’s #18-ranked Josh Millard is the top returning place winner after securing fourth place last season.  Pittsburgh’s #14-ranked Dan Stine was fifth at the 2000 Mat-Town tourney.  Penn State’s #17-ranked Mark Becks also returns for the 2000 season with NCAA experience under his belt, but did not compete at last year’s Mat-Town invitational.  Becks did, however, capture a third-place finish at 174 pounds in 1999 with a 9-6 decision over Josh Millard. Three other returning place winners have the ability to move into any of the top spots again this season, including Purdue’s Jon Fitch (5^th at 174), Ohio’s Mark Shrout (7^th), and Slippery Rock’s John Opfar (8^th). 

197                Four wrestlers with national tournament experience will take the mats to vie for the crown at 197 pounds, including last year’s champion, Jon Bush of Purdue, and runner-up, Lock Haven’s Avery Zerkle.  Bush, #11-ranked, was last year’s champion after defeating Zerkle by fall in 2:04.  Zerkle, also a national qualifier, returns for competition again this season looking to even the score against Bush.  Pittsburgh’s #18-ranked David Sandberg finished fifth last season at the Mat-Town invite.  Another Pittsbugh Panther, Josh McCullough, secured a sixth-place finish in 2000’s tournament.  Penn State’s Pete Mielnik was a national qualifier a year ago, but did not place at the Mat-Town tourney.  Mielnik finished in eighth place at the 1999 Mat-Town invitational.

HWT                The field at heavyweight may be headlined by defending Mat-Town champion, returning All-American and #6-ranked Jacob Vercelli of Purdue, but four other place winners from last season’s bracket also return to challenge for the individual crown.  Pittsburgh’s Jacob Lininger (3^rd), Penn State’s Kevin Shippos (4^th) and Pat Cummins (5^th), along with Franklin & Marshall’s Dennis Maguire (8^th) will all look at the very least to repeat as place winners if not knock Vercelli out of the top spot. 

###LHU###