Edinboro wins its third EWL title in four years

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Edinboro wrestling team dominated the 42nd Annual Eastern Wrestling League Championships on Saturday at Bloomsburg University. The Fighting Scots sent nine wrestlers to the semifinals, with eight reaching the finals. A school record six wrestlers would come away with championships as Edinboro won its third EWL title in the last four years and 15th in head coach Tim Flynn’s 20 years.

Edinboro finished with 121.5 points to easily outdistance second-place and defending champion Rider (75 points). Lock Haven was third (71.5 points) in the seven-team field. Lock Haven’s Ronnie Perry was selected as the Outstanding Wrestler after winning the 141-pound title.

Redshirt sophomore Sean Russell (32-6) earned his second trip to Nationals after winning his second straight 125-pound title thanks to an 11-3 major decision over Clarion’s Jake Gromacki.

Patricio Lugo and Billy Miller will also be going to Nationals for the second time after winning their first EWL crowns. Lugo, a sophomore, finished a dominant day with a 17-2 technical fall (6:34) over Sahid Kargbo of George Mason at 149-pounds.  Lugo improved to 30-7 while winning twice by fall along with the technical fall.

Miller (31-9) had a much more arduous path to the heavyweight championship. He needed overtime in two of his three matches, winning a 7-3 decision in a tiebreaker over Thomas Haines of Lock haven in the finals. It marked the third time that Miller and Haines had met this year, with Haines winning the first two by identical 4-3 decisions. Miller trailed 3-2 after Haines escaped in the first 30 second tiebreaker, but Miller would grab a 4-3 lead just before the buzzer with a takedown. An escape and another takedown in the second 30-second session clinched the title.

Three other EWL champions will be making their first trip to Nationals. Redshirt freshman Korbin Myers (29-10), ranked 20th, also needed a tiebreaker to defeat Lock Haven’s DJ Fehlman by a 7-4 decision. Myers won thanks to a reversal and penalty point in the second 30-second period.

With just one spot available at 174 lbs., Ty Schoffstall knew he needed to finish first to reach Nationals. The redshirt junior did just that, picking up a grueling 12-8 decision over Adam Mackie of Lock Haven. Schoffstall will take a 20-9 record to Nationalds.

Freshman Dakota Geer also competed in a weight class with just one automatic qualifier, and although he probably had a trip to St. Louis locked up, he left no doubt by winning a 6-3 decision over Cleveland State’s Nick Corba in the finals at 184 lbs. Geer is ranked 15th and has a 29-8 record.

B.J. Clagon of Rider received the top seed and a bye into the semifinals at 157 pounds, where he defeated fourth-seeded Jon Ross of Lock Haven by 12-0 major decision to draw a berth in the finals against Chase Delande of Edinboro. Clagon would defeat Delande by 9-1 major decision for his second EWL title, after having won in 2015.

At 165, Chad Walsh also drew the number one seed and a bye through the first round, setting up a semifinal matchup against Jared Siegrist of Lock Haven. Walsh defeated Siegrist by 10-1 major decision to set up a finals rematch from last year against Austin Matthews of Edinboro. Walsh would earn revenge, defeating Matthews, 9-5, to get back to the top of the conference for the second time.

197-pounder Ryan Wolfe drew the first seed as well, receiving a bye through the first round and a date with fourth-seeded Dylan Reynolds of Edinboro. Wolfe would defeat Reynolds by technical fall, 22-7, to advance to the finals across from Dustin Conti of Clarion. Wolfe would bring home the title with a 9-2 decision over Conti for his third EWL title.

Leading Lock Haven was Ronnie Perry, the No. 2 seed at 141, he opened his EWL Tournament with a dominating 17-0 tech fall (5:40) victory over host-Bloomsburg's Grant Bond. In the semifinals, Perry used a late third-period takedown to slip past No. 3 Tejon Anthony (George Mason), 4-2.

In the finals, Perry took down top-seed Brock Zacherl of Clarion 5-3 in a thriller. The two had met twice early this season with Zacherl winning both times – 5-3 (at Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships) and 3-2 in the regular season dual.

DJ Fehlman and Thomas Haines both finished second at 133 and 285, respectively, and by doing so punched their tickets to the NCAA Championships, joining Perry as 2017 national qualifiers.

Golden eagle, Jake Gromacki and Brock Zacherl both guaranteed their spots in the NCAA Championships in St. Louis in two weeks, earning automatic bids with top-two finishes at 125 and 141, respectively.  It will be the second straight trip to the big dance for Zacherl and the first in Gromacki's career.

Cleveland State was led by Nick Corba at 184 pounds, he advanced to the finals by allowing only a single point in his opening two matches. He won his opener, 4-0, and upset his foe from Rider in the semifinals by a 4-1 margin. Competing in a EWL title contest for the first time, Corba took an early lead with a takedown. His opponent from Edinboro was able to tie the match, and it remained knotted, 3-3, after two periods. Corba was unable to score in the final period and dropped a 6-3 decision. Corba now owns 23 wins on the season.

EWL Championships

 

125-pounds

1st: Sean Russell (Edinboro) dec. Jake Gromacki (Clarion)

3rd: Ibrahim Bunduka (George Mason) dec. Gerald Wert (Rider)

133-pounds

1st: Korbin Myers (Edinboro) dec. DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven)

3rd: Anthony Cefolo (Rider) MD Matt Noble (Bloomsburg)

141-pounds

1st: Ronald Perry (Lock Haven) dec. Brock Zacherl (Clarion)

3rd: Evan Cheek (Cleveland State) MD Evan Fidelibus (Rider)

149-pounds

1st: Patricio Lugo (Edinboro) dec. Sahid Kargbo (George Mason)

3rd: Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) dec. Jake Keller (Clarion)

157-pounds

1st: Bryant (BJ) Clagon (Rider) MD Chase Delande (Edinboro)

3rd: Jon Ross (Lock Haven) dec. Matt Raines (George Mason)

165-pounds

1st: Chad Walsh (Rider) dec. Austin Matthews (Edinboro)

3rd: Evan Delong (Clarion) dec. John Vaughn (Cleveland State)

174 - pounds

1st: Ty Schoffstall (Edinboro) dec. Adam Mackie (Lock Haven)

3rd: Dean Sherry (Rider) dec. Dominic Rigous (Clarion)

184- pounds

1st: Dakota Geer (Edinboro) dec. Nick Corba (Cleveland State)

3rd: Mike Fagg-Daves (Rider) dec. Scott Marmoll (Clarion)

197 -pounds

1st: Ryan Wolfe (Rider) dec. Dustin Conti (Clarion)

3rd: Tristan Sponseller (Lock Haven) dec. Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro)

285 pounds

1st: William Miller (Edinboro) dec. Thomas Haines (Lock Haven)

 

3rd: Mauro Correnti (Rider) dec. Matt Voss (George Mason)