EDINBORO, PA – The Edinboro University wrestling team captured its third straight PSAC Championship and sixth in seven years in convincing fashion. The Fighting Scots easily outdistanced second place Lock Haven, 140.5 points to 118.0 points. Edinboro hosted the 61st Annual PSAC Wrestling Championships at McComb Fieldhouse.
Nine Edinboro wrestlers competed in this morning’s semifinals, with seven moving on to the championship round and the other two advancing into third place matches. The Fighting Scots finished with five champions, one shy of the school record. In addition, they had two second place finishers, a third and a fourth place.
Bloomsburg finished in third place with 91 points, followed by East Stroudsburg with 77.5 points, and a tie for fifth place between Clarion and Millersville, both with 72 points. Shippensburg placed seventh (44.5 points).
The tournament featured five returning champions, and all five came away with first place finishes this year. Most noteworthy was Lock Haven’s Mike Maney, who became just the 13th wrestler in PSAC history to win four PSAC championships. The senior defeated Edinboro’s Deonte Penn, 7-2, to win the 149 lb. crown after finishing first at 141 lbs. the last three years. Leading 2-1 after two periods, Maney recorded a reversal and a takedown in the third period. He is now 26-3 and ranked seventh by InterMat and 10th by Amateur Wrestling News.
Matt King joined a select few by winning his third straight title at 165 lbs. The Edinboro senior, ranked third in Division I with a 31-1 record, handed Jeremy Reitz of Clarion a 4-1 defeat in the finals. King moved into seventh place in career wins this weekend with a 120-21 career record.
Jacob Gray and Alex Clemsen won their second straight PSAC titles at 133 and 184 lbs., respectively. Gray was the 125 lb. champion a year ago, and only recently moved up to 133 lbs. He defeated Lock Haven’s Dave Predko in the finals, 9-3. Clemsen, a sophomore, was the 184 lb. champion for the second year in a row, capturing a 10-4 decision over Corey Jacoby of Shippensburg.
Slippery’s Rock Brad Cieleski picked up his second straight crown with a 4-2 decision at 157 lbs. over Chris Horning of Clarion. Cieleski won at 149 lbs. a year ago.
Edinboro’s Nate Yetzer and Joe Hennis completed Edinboro’s contingent of champions. Yetzer had to rally for a 4-3 win over Clarion’s Aaron Wright at 174 lbs., recording a takedown with 40 seconds remaining after trailing at one point 3-1. Ranked seventh in the country, the junior is now 28-3. Hennis won by fall over Steve Itterly of Lock Haven at 1:30 in the heavyweight match. The Fighting Scots narrowly missed a record-tying sixth champion in the 197 lb. match. Thanks to a takedown in the final seconds, Chad Hoare of Bloomsburg came away with a 3-2 decision over freshman Mike LaBella.
The championship matches got underway with Lock Haven’s Jim Collins, one of two second seeds to win titles, defeating fifth-seeded Adam Bunting of Millersville, 6-4 in overtime. Clarion’s Frank Edgar was the other second seed to win, capturing the 141 lb. championship with a 2-0 win over top seed Derek Sola of Millersville. The other eight winners were all number one seeds.
FINAL RESULTS - 61ST PSAC CHAMPIONSHIPS EDINBORO UNIVERSITY McCOMB FIELDHOUSE JANUARY30-31, 2004
FINAL TEAM SCORES
1.Edinboro 140.5
2. Lock Haven 118.0
3. Bloomsburg 91.0
4. E. Stroudsburg 77.5
5. Clarion 72.0
5. Millersville 72.0
7. Slippery Rock 44.5
8. Shippensburg 44.0
9. Kutztown 30.0
Tournament "OW" - Mike Maney - Lock Haven
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
125- Jim Collins, LHU dec. Adam Bunting, Millersville 6-4 ot
133- Jacob Gray, Edinboro dec. Dave Predko, LHU 9-3
141- Frank Edgar, Clarion dec. Derek Sola, Millersville 2-0149- Mike Maney, LHU dec. Deonte Penn, Edinboro 7-2
157- Brad Cieleski, SRU dec. Chris Horning, Clarion 4-2165- Matt King, Edinboro dec. Jeremy Reitz, Clarion 4-1174- Nate Yetzer, Edinboro dec. Aaron Wright, Clarion 4-3184- Alex Clemsen, Edinboro dec. Corey Jacoby, Shippensburg 10-4
197- Chad Hoare, Bloomsburg dec. Mike LaBella, Edinboro 3-2
285- Joe Hennis, Edinboro pinned Steve Itterly, LHU 1:30
Third Place Matches
125- Pete Derstine, Clarion maj. dec. Mark Koszyk, ESU 13-2
133- Bryan Hart, Bloomsburg dec. Dan Gonzalez, ESU 4-1
141- Ron Doppelheuer, Edinboro maj. dec. Mark Piermattei, Bloomsburg 14-2
149- Brad Forbes, Bloomsburg maj. dec. Zack Leathers, Shippensburg 9-1
157- Charles Brenneman, LHU dec. Eric Ring, Edinboro 5-1
165- Jason Gilligan, LHU pinned Jason Cardillo, SRU 2:20
174- Curtis Yeager, Millersville dec. Charles Pienaar, SRU 4-2
184- Mike Greenberg, LHU maj. dec. Brandon Mihalko, ESU 9-1
197- Jared Dubbs, Shippensburg dec. Charles Deighton, ESU 4-1
HWT- Stanley Foster, ESU dec. Andy Freas, Kutztown 4-3
* Top 3 Places in each weight class earn All-PSAC