2001 Mat-Town U.S.A. Invitational 

PENN STATE CROWNED CHAMPION OF MAT-TOWN 
Purdue’s Chris Fleeger Named Outstanding Wrestler

(Lock Haven, Pa.) – The Penn State Nittany Lions captured the team title at the 2001 Mat-Town U.S.A. Invitational, crowning a tournament best three individual champions along the way.  Earning individual recognition as the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler was Purdue University’s 125-pounder Chris Fleeger.
           Penn State outgained the rest of the nine-team field by a solid 10-point margin, posting 161.5 team points for the victory with three champions and four runners-up. Purdue University was the runner-up with 151.5 points, followed by Ohio University (130.0), Lock Haven University (129.5), and the University of Pittsburgh (121.5).  Old Dominion University (90.5), Franklin & Marshall College (26.5), Slippery Rock University (18.0), and Bucknell University (9.5) rounded out the field. 
          The Nittany Lions’ Josh Moore (133 lbs.), Scott Moore (141 lbs.), and Mark Becks (184 lbs.) all earned individual titles to help boost PSU to the team victory.  In the title bout at 133, Josh Moore met up with teammate Marat Tomaev, coming up with a last-second escape and takedown for the 5-4 win.  Scott Moore received the medical forfeit from LHU’s Mike Maney for the crown at 141 pounds.  At 184 pounds, Becks squared off against teammate Jon Sauve in a battle that went to the tie-breaker round before he scored the escape for the 2-1 decision.
          Purdue’s Chris Fleeger wasted just 2:12 before registering his second fall of the day, this time over Penn State’s Justin Kast in the championship match at 125 pounds.  Fleeger had been ahead, 8-0, before the pin.  The Boilermakers’ Jake Vercelli also captured an individual title, posting the second-quickest fall of the day with a 24-second pin over Penn State’s Josh Walker at heavyweight.
         The JaMarr Billman (LHU) – Jake Percival (Ohio) match-up at 149 pounds that never happened at the West Virginia Open (a Percival win by medical forfeit) finally took place this evening, as Billman handed the freshman a 14-10 decision. 
         Pittsburgh crowned two champions, Carl Fronhofer at 165 pounds and David Sandberg at 197 pounds. Fronhofer recovered from a 2-1 first period deficit to defeat Purdue’s Oscar Santiago, 5-4.  David Sandberg also bounced back from a first period deficit of 1-0 to Purdue’s Jon Bush, the defending champion, tallying all his points in the third period off a penalty point, an escape, then a last second takedown to secure the 4-1 decision.
         Ohio’s Ryan Smith posted a commanding 10-4 decision over Lock Haven’s Jason Gilligan in the championship bout at 157 pounds, while Old Dominion’s Jeff Rusak scored the 3-2 win over Purdue’s Ryan Lange at 174 pounds.

>>>Full Results  
(link to GimpSoftware - click on brackets, then go to 2001 Mat-Town)

The OUTSTANDING WRESTLER was Chris Fleeger (Purdue) at 125 lbs.

###LHU###