Edinboro seeks 13th EWL title in 17 years at Bloomsburg on March 4
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by Kala Ibarra and Gary Abbott, USA Wrestling
Patricio Lugo of Edinboro after win over Iowa’s Brandon Sorensen of Iowa in the NWCA National Duals Series. Photo courtesy of GoFightingScots.com
No. 17 Edinboro is looking to come back from last year’s second-place finish behind Rider at the 2017 Eastern Wrestling League Championships in Bloomsburg, Pa., March 4.
Blooomsburg will be hosting seven Div. I teams and a total of 69 athletes for the EWL Championships. The NCAA has given the EWL a total of 17 automatic NCAA Div. I qualifiers this year.
Edinboro features six top 25 wrestlers in their lineup, four of which hold the top seed in the EWL tournament. Among them is No. 6 Patricio Lugo at 149 lbs., No. 9 Sean Russell at 125 lbs., No. 10 Dakota Geer at 184 lbs., and No. 17 Korbin Myers at 133 lbs. Also holding a No. 1 seed in the tournament is unranked Ty Schoffstall at 174 lbs. No. 13 Billy Miller is seeded second at 285 lbs.
Edinboro is the only nationally ranked team in the conference and is favored to take home the program’s 13th title.
Rider, last year’s conference champions, holds three No.1 seeds including 2016 NCAA All-American Chad Walsh at 165 lbs., along with Ryan Wolfe at 197 lbs. and B.J. Clagon at 157 lbs. They are all ranked among the top 25 wrestlers in the country, Walsh at No. 6, Wolfe at #10 and Clagon at No. 16.
Edinboro and Rider are projected to battle it out at 157 lbs.,165 lbs., and 184 lbs., with wrestlers from both teams seated at No. 1 and 2 in those weight classes.
Other top seeds in the tournament include No. 19 Brock Zacherl from Clarion at 141 lbs. and No. 12 Thomas Haines from Lock Haven at 285 lbs.
The first session of the tournament will begin at 10:00 a.m. and finals will follow starting at 6:00 PM. www.trackwrestling.com will have the brackets and results updated throughout the day.
CLICK HERE FOR EWL CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-SEEDS
A quick peak at each weight class
125 lbs. – 3 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Sean Russell (Edinboro)
Highest 2016 EWL returnee – Sean Russell (Edinboro), 1st
Returning conference champion Sean Russell, ranked No. 9 nationally, has the No. 1 pre-seed here. There are two other wrestlers who are projected to reach the NCAA field, No. 2 pre-seed Jake Gromacki of Clarion and No. 3 pre-seed J.R. Wert of Rider. Gromacki is No. 24 in the NCAA Coaches Ranking and No. 18 in the RPI, while Wert is No. 30 in the Coaches Ranking and No. 26 in the RPI. Ibrahim Bunduka of George Mason, who was fourth in the EWL last season, has the No. 4 pre-seed.
133 lbs. – 2 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Korbin Meyers (Edinboro)
Highest 2016 EWL returnee - None
None of the 2016 EWL placewinners return. This weight features one wrestler in Flowrestling’s nation ranking, No. 17 ranked Korbin Myers of Edinboro, who is top seeded at the EWL. The No. 2 pre-seed, D.J. Fehlman of Lock Haven, and the No. 3 pre-seed Anthony Cefolo of Rider, are projected to reach the NCAA Championships. Fehlman is No. 31 in the Coaches Ranking and No. 29 in the RPI, while Cefolo is No. 26 in the Coaches Ranking and No. 31 in the RPI. Also receiving pre-seeds are Roshaun Cooley of Clarion and Matt Noble of Bloomsburg.
141 lbs. – 2 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Brock Zacherl (Clarion)
Highest 2016 EWL returnee – Brock Zacherl (Clarion)
Returning champion Brock Zacherl of Clarion has the No. 1 pre-seed and boasts a No. 19 national ranking with Flowrestling. Right behind him in the national rankings is No. 20 Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven, the number two pre-seed. Perry has a No. 23 Coaches Ranking and is No. 22 in the RPI. The No. 3 preseed, Tejon Anthony of George Mason, is No. 32 in the Coaches Ranking. Evan Cheek of Cleveland State was third in the 2016 EWLs at 133 pounds, and gets a No. 4 pre-seed.
149 lbs. – 2 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Patricio Lugo (Edinboro)
Highest 2016 EWL returnee- Patricio Lugo (Edinboro), 3rd
Patricio Lugo of Edinboro is the top seed here, holding a No. 6 national ranking. He upset 2016 NCAA runner-up Brandon Sorensen of Iowa in the NWCA National Duals series. Lugo could be pushed by former Junior World Team member Sahid Kargbo of George Mason, the No. 2 pre-seed. Kargbo has a No. 23 Coaches Ranking and ranks No. 20 in the RPI. Also on the national horizon is No. 3 pre-seed Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven, with a No 33 Coaches Ranking and No. 1 RPI. Jacob Keller of Clarion is at the No. 4 pre-seed.
157 lbs. – 1 NCAA qualifier
No. 1 pre-seed – B.J. Clagon (Rider)
Highest 2016 EWL returnee – B.J. Clagon (Rider), 2nd at 149
Nobody in the EWL is in the Flowrestling rankings at this weight class. Getting the No. 1 pre-seed is B.J. Clagon of Rider, who was second in the EWL last year down at 149 pounds. Clagon is No. 20 in the Coaches Ranking, but is not in the RPI. The No. 2 pre-seed, Chase Delande of Edinboro, is No. 27 in the RPI. Only the winner of this weight class is an automatic NCAA qualifier. The other pre-seeds are No. 3 Jonathan Ross of Lock Haven, No. 4 Kevin Laubach of Bloomsburg and No. 5 Matthew Raines of George Mason.
165 lbs. – 2 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Chad Walsh (Rider)
Top 2016 EWL returnee – Austin Matthews (Edinboro), 1st at 157
Last year’s EWL finalists at 157 are the top two men at 165 in the conference this year, Chad Walsh of Rider and Austin Matthews of Edinboro. Matthews defeated Walsh in the EWL finals last year, 17-6. Matthews was also an EWL champion in 2014 competing for Clarion.
This year, the pre-seeds are reversed, with Walsh at No. 1 and Matthews at No. 2. Both have high national rankings, with Walsh at No. 6 and Matthews at No. 10 in the Flowrestling rankings. Nobody else at this weight appears in the NCAA Coach Rankings or RPI. Getting the other pre-seeds are Evan DeLong of Clarion and Jared Siegrist of Lock Haven. DeLong was third in the EWL at this weight class last year.
174 lbs. – 1 NCAA qualifier
No. 1 pre-seed –Ty Schoffstall (Edinboro)
Top 2016 EWL returnee – Dominic Rigous (Clarion), 4th at 184
Only the EWL champion gets an automatic NCAA berth at this weight this season. There are no wrestlers from the conference in the Flowrestling rankings. The No. 1 pre-seed, Ty Schoffstall of Edinboro, is the only EWL in the RPI at No. 22. The others who have pre-seeds are No. 2 Adam Mackie of Lock Haven, No. 3 Dominic Rigous of Clarion and No. 4 Dean Sherry of Rider. Rigous was fourth in the EWL up at 184 last year.
184 lbs. – 1 NCAA qualifier
No. 1 pre-seed – Dakota Geer (Edinboro)
Top 2016 EWL returnee – Michael Fagg-Davies (Rider), 2nd
The top wrestler here on the national scene is No. 15 ranked Dakota Geer of Edinboro, who pulls the No. 1 pre-seed. Geer is a freshman and is competing in his first EWL tournament. Last year’s EWL runner-up, Michale Fagg-Davies of Rider, returns at the weight and has the No. 2 pre-seed. Nick Corba of Cleveland State, a past Junior World Team member, gets the No. 3 pre-seed. He is ranked in the RPI at No. 19, Since only one wrestler gets an automatic NCAA berth, the others will need to compete well enough to get a wildcard. Also in the pre-seeds is Scot Marmoll of Clarion at No. 4. Freshman Corey Hazel of Lock Haven is No. 31 in the NCAA Coaches Rankings, but did not get a pre-seed.
197 lbs. – 1 NCAA qualifier
No.1 pre-seed – Ryan Wolfe (Rider)
Top 2016 EWL returnee – Ryan Wolfe (Rider), 1st
Returning EWL champion Ryan Wolfe of Rider seeks his third EWL title, after also winning the conference at 174 pounds back in 2015. Wolfe holds a No. 10 national ranking with Flowrestling. Only the EWL champion advances to the NCAAs with an automatic berth. Nobody else in the conference appear in the NCAA Coaches Ranking or the RPI. The other three pre-seeds are No. 2 Tristan Sponseller of Lock Haven, No. 3 Dustin Conti of Clarion and No. 4 Dylan Reynolds of Edinboro.
285 lbs. – 2 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Thomas Haines (Lock Haven)
Top 2016 EWL returnee – Billy Miller (Edinboro), 2nd
The EWL has two heavyweights with national rankings, No. 12 Thomas Haines of Lock Haven and No. 13 Billy Miller of Edinboro. Haines gets the No. 1 pre-seed, having beaten Miller in the PSAC finals in December. Miller was second in the EWL Tournament last year. No other EWL heavyweight are in the NCAA Coaches Rankings or RPI. Getting the other pre-seeds are No. 3 Matthew Voss of George Mason and No. 4 Mauro Correnti of Rider.
No. 17 Edinboro is looking to come back from last year’s second-place finish behind Rider at the 2017 Eastern Wrestling League Championships in Bloomsburg, Pa., March 4.
Blooomsburg will be hosting seven Div. I teams and a total of 69 athletes for the EWL Championships. The NCAA has given the EWL a total of 17 automatic NCAA Div. I qualifiers this year.
Edinboro features six top 25 wrestlers in their lineup, four of which hold the top seed in the EWL tournament. Among them is No. 6 Patricio Lugo at 149 lbs., No. 9 Sean Russell at 125 lbs., No. 10 Dakota Geer at 184 lbs., and No. 17 Korbin Myers at 133 lbs. Also holding a No. 1 seed in the tournament is unranked Ty Schoffstall at 174 lbs. No. 13 Billy Miller is seeded second at 285 lbs.
Edinboro is the only nationally ranked team in the conference and is favored to take home the program’s 13th title.
Rider, last year’s conference champions, holds three No.1 seeds including 2016 NCAA All-American Chad Walsh at 165 lbs., along with Ryan Wolfe at 197 lbs. and B.J. Clagon at 157 lbs. They are all ranked among the top 25 wrestlers in the country, Walsh at No. 6, Wolfe at #10 and Clagon at No. 16.
Edinboro and Rider are projected to battle it out at 157 lbs.,165 lbs., and 184 lbs., with wrestlers from both teams seated at No. 1 and 2 in those weight classes.
Other top seeds in the tournament include No. 19 Brock Zacherl from Clarion at 141 lbs. and No. 12 Thomas Haines from Lock Haven at 285 lbs.
The first session of the tournament will begin at 10:00 a.m. and finals will follow starting at 6:00 PM. www.trackwrestling.com will have the brackets and results updated throughout the day.
CLICK HERE FOR EWL CHAMPIONSHIPS PRE-SEEDS
A quick peak at each weight class
125 lbs. – 3 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Sean Russell (Edinboro)
Highest 2016 EWL returnee – Sean Russell (Edinboro), 1st
Returning conference champion Sean Russell, ranked No. 9 nationally, has the No. 1 pre-seed here. There are two other wrestlers who are projected to reach the NCAA field, No. 2 pre-seed Jake Gromacki of Clarion and No. 3 pre-seed J.R. Wert of Rider. Gromacki is No. 24 in the NCAA Coaches Ranking and No. 18 in the RPI, while Wert is No. 30 in the Coaches Ranking and No. 26 in the RPI. Ibrahim Bunduka of George Mason, who was fourth in the EWL last season, has the No. 4 pre-seed.
133 lbs. – 2 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Korbin Meyers (Edinboro)
Highest 2016 EWL returnee - None
None of the 2016 EWL placewinners return. This weight features one wrestler in Flowrestling’s nation ranking, No. 17 ranked Korbin Myers of Edinboro, who is top seeded at the EWL. The No. 2 pre-seed, D.J. Fehlman of Lock Haven, and the No. 3 pre-seed Anthony Cefolo of Rider, are projected to reach the NCAA Championships. Fehlman is No. 31 in the Coaches Ranking and No. 29 in the RPI, while Cefolo is No. 26 in the Coaches Ranking and No. 31 in the RPI. Also receiving pre-seeds are Roshaun Cooley of Clarion and Matt Noble of Bloomsburg.
141 lbs. – 2 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Brock Zacherl (Clarion)
Highest 2016 EWL returnee – Brock Zacherl (Clarion)
Returning champion Brock Zacherl of Clarion has the No. 1 pre-seed and boasts a No. 19 national ranking with Flowrestling. Right behind him in the national rankings is No. 20 Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven, the number two pre-seed. Perry has a No. 23 Coaches Ranking and is No. 22 in the RPI. The No. 3 preseed, Tejon Anthony of George Mason, is No. 32 in the Coaches Ranking. Evan Cheek of Cleveland State was third in the 2016 EWLs at 133 pounds, and gets a No. 4 pre-seed.
149 lbs. – 2 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Patricio Lugo (Edinboro)
Highest 2016 EWL returnee- Patricio Lugo (Edinboro), 3rd
Patricio Lugo of Edinboro is the top seed here, holding a No. 6 national ranking. He upset 2016 NCAA runner-up Brandon Sorensen of Iowa in the NWCA National Duals series. Lugo could be pushed by former Junior World Team member Sahid Kargbo of George Mason, the No. 2 pre-seed. Kargbo has a No. 23 Coaches Ranking and ranks No. 20 in the RPI. Also on the national horizon is No. 3 pre-seed Kyle Shoop of Lock Haven, with a No 33 Coaches Ranking and No. 1 RPI. Jacob Keller of Clarion is at the No. 4 pre-seed.
157 lbs. – 1 NCAA qualifier
No. 1 pre-seed – B.J. Clagon (Rider)
Highest 2016 EWL returnee – B.J. Clagon (Rider), 2nd at 149
Nobody in the EWL is in the Flowrestling rankings at this weight class. Getting the No. 1 pre-seed is B.J. Clagon of Rider, who was second in the EWL last year down at 149 pounds. Clagon is No. 20 in the Coaches Ranking, but is not in the RPI. The No. 2 pre-seed, Chase Delande of Edinboro, is No. 27 in the RPI. Only the winner of this weight class is an automatic NCAA qualifier. The other pre-seeds are No. 3 Jonathan Ross of Lock Haven, No. 4 Kevin Laubach of Bloomsburg and No. 5 Matthew Raines of George Mason.
165 lbs. – 2 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Chad Walsh (Rider)
Top 2016 EWL returnee – Austin Matthews (Edinboro), 1st at 157
Last year’s EWL finalists at 157 are the top two men at 165 in the conference this year, Chad Walsh of Rider and Austin Matthews of Edinboro. Matthews defeated Walsh in the EWL finals last year, 17-6. Matthews was also an EWL champion in 2014 competing for Clarion.
This year, the pre-seeds are reversed, with Walsh at No. 1 and Matthews at No. 2. Both have high national rankings, with Walsh at No. 6 and Matthews at No. 10 in the Flowrestling rankings. Nobody else at this weight appears in the NCAA Coach Rankings or RPI. Getting the other pre-seeds are Evan DeLong of Clarion and Jared Siegrist of Lock Haven. DeLong was third in the EWL at this weight class last year.
174 lbs. – 1 NCAA qualifier
No. 1 pre-seed –Ty Schoffstall (Edinboro)
Top 2016 EWL returnee – Dominic Rigous (Clarion), 4th at 184
Only the EWL champion gets an automatic NCAA berth at this weight this season. There are no wrestlers from the conference in the Flowrestling rankings. The No. 1 pre-seed, Ty Schoffstall of Edinboro, is the only EWL in the RPI at No. 22. The others who have pre-seeds are No. 2 Adam Mackie of Lock Haven, No. 3 Dominic Rigous of Clarion and No. 4 Dean Sherry of Rider. Rigous was fourth in the EWL up at 184 last year.
184 lbs. – 1 NCAA qualifier
No. 1 pre-seed – Dakota Geer (Edinboro)
Top 2016 EWL returnee – Michael Fagg-Davies (Rider), 2nd
The top wrestler here on the national scene is No. 15 ranked Dakota Geer of Edinboro, who pulls the No. 1 pre-seed. Geer is a freshman and is competing in his first EWL tournament. Last year’s EWL runner-up, Michale Fagg-Davies of Rider, returns at the weight and has the No. 2 pre-seed. Nick Corba of Cleveland State, a past Junior World Team member, gets the No. 3 pre-seed. He is ranked in the RPI at No. 19, Since only one wrestler gets an automatic NCAA berth, the others will need to compete well enough to get a wildcard. Also in the pre-seeds is Scot Marmoll of Clarion at No. 4. Freshman Corey Hazel of Lock Haven is No. 31 in the NCAA Coaches Rankings, but did not get a pre-seed.
197 lbs. – 1 NCAA qualifier
No.1 pre-seed – Ryan Wolfe (Rider)
Top 2016 EWL returnee – Ryan Wolfe (Rider), 1st
Returning EWL champion Ryan Wolfe of Rider seeks his third EWL title, after also winning the conference at 174 pounds back in 2015. Wolfe holds a No. 10 national ranking with Flowrestling. Only the EWL champion advances to the NCAAs with an automatic berth. Nobody else in the conference appear in the NCAA Coaches Ranking or the RPI. The other three pre-seeds are No. 2 Tristan Sponseller of Lock Haven, No. 3 Dustin Conti of Clarion and No. 4 Dylan Reynolds of Edinboro.
285 lbs. – 2 NCAA qualifiers
No. 1 pre-seed – Thomas Haines (Lock Haven)
Top 2016 EWL returnee – Billy Miller (Edinboro), 2nd
The EWL has two heavyweights with national rankings, No. 12 Thomas Haines of Lock Haven and No. 13 Billy Miller of Edinboro. Haines gets the No. 1 pre-seed, having beaten Miller in the PSAC finals in December. Miller was second in the EWL Tournament last year. No other EWL heavyweight are in the NCAA Coaches Rankings or RPI. Getting the other pre-seeds are No. 3 Matthew Voss of George Mason and No. 4 Mauro Correnti of Rider.
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