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2000-2001 Press Release Index
CLARION, PA - For the first time in four years the Edinboro University wrestling team could not accept the team trophy at the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championships. The Fighting Scots watched Lock Haven crown five individual champions on Saturday, January 27, ending Edinboro's three-year reign as tournament champions.
The Bald Eagles tallied 153.5 team points, winning all ten matches during the final session. Five Lock Haven wrestlers won championship matches, including three over Fighting Scots. Edinboro finished in second place with 126.0 points. Bloomsburg (119.0), Clarion (100.5), and Slippery Rock (57.0) rounded out the top five.
Seven Fighting Scots competed in championship matches, but only All-American Josh Koscheck (Waynesburg, PA/Waynesburg) came away victorious. Koscheck, the top-ranked wrestler at 174 pounds, earned Outstanding Wrestler honors for the second time in three years while capturing his third PSAC title. He scored an 11-2 major decision over Bloomsburg's Cassidy Shults in the final, improving his season record to 28-0.
Head coach Tim Flynn's squad featured six second-place finishers, one third-place winner, and a fourth-place finisher. Edinboro's lone title-winner was the fewest the team has claimed since 1996 when Steve Feckanin (142 lbs.) was the only Fighting Scot to capture PSAC gold. Lock Haven's five champions were the most for the school since 1967.
Edinboro had finished in front of the Bald Eagles in each of the past three seasons, including a 34-point victory in last season's competition. Lock Haven leads the conference with 18 titles since the championships began in 1940. Edinboro owns five trophies, with four in the past seven seasons.
The Fighting Scots return to action on Thursday, February 1, hosting local foe Gannon at 7:30 p.m. On Friday, Eastern Wrestling League rival Clarion invades McComb Fieldhouse for a 7:30 p.m. dual match.
Here's a weight-by-weight breakdown of the PSAC Championships:
125 pounds - Freshman Jacob Gray (Essex, VT/Essex) faced a tough draw in his first Championships, opposing top-seed Trap McCormack of Lock Haven in a pig-tail match, losing by an 11-6 score. In the consolation bracket, Gray suffered a narrow 3-2 defeat to Clarion's Peter Derstine. Gray is 10-15 in his inaugural season. McCormack won the title, defeating Millersville's Omar Porrata, 2-1, in the finals.
133 pounds - Redshirt junior Charlie Soto (El Paso, TX/J.M. Hanks) began the tournament unseeded, but upset seeded opponents on three occasions to capture the third-place trophy in his first PSAC Tournament. He downed Bloomsburg's Russ Witt, the third seed, in the consolation final by a 5-3 count. Soto opened the tournament with a 4-1 victory over Witt, avenging a 5-3 sudden victory loss to the Huskie in their dual match. He then dropped a 4-3 decision to Clarion's 10th-ranked Rad Martinez in the semifinals. He advanced to face Witt in the final match following a 6-3 victory over fourth-seeded Jason Zinn of Shippensburg. Soto has a 7-13 record. Lock Haven's Scott Bair won the title with a 10-3 decision over Martinez.
141 pounds - In one of the most exciting final bouts, Edinboro's Cory Ace (Franklin, PA/Franklin) narrowly missed a reversal and an escape in the closing seconds of a 4-3 loss to Lock Haven's Mike Maney. Ace, ranked 20th by InterMat, led the 15th-ranked Bald Eagle by a 3-1 score after two periods. Maney opened the third with an escape, then scored a takedown with only 37 seconds remaining to take a 4-3 lead. The third seed, Ace upset second-seeded Tony Abbate of Slippery Rock, 5-3, with an overtime takedown in the semifinals. The victory avenged a 3-2 loss to Abbate in the Slippery Rock Open. He opened the dual with a 16-7 victory over Bloomsburg's Justin Haupt, then defeated Brad Kleckner of East Stroudsburg by a 9-8 score. Ace, the runner-up last season as well, is 16-6.
149 pounds - In the second of three exciting championship match losses to Lock Haven grapplers, senior Ryan Shapert (Glenshaw, PA/Shaler) could not overcome ninth-ranked Jamarr Billman, losing by a 9-8 score. Billman used two takedowns and a reversal to lead 6-4 after the first period. In the second, Shapert narrowed the score to 7-6 with a takedown with 58 seconds remaining. While in top position, Shapert received his third caution call, awarding a point to Billman. An escape with only three seconds left in the period gave the Bald Eagle a 9-6 lead. Shapert escaped from the down position to start the third, but could not take Billman down in the final session, and with 1:44 riding time, lost a 9-8 decision. The tenth-ranked Shapert defeated Brett Owen of Shippensburg, 12-1, in the first round, then shut out Clarion's Dominic Surra by an 8-0 score. Shapert is 17-7.
157 pounds - All-American Shaun Shapert (Glenshaw, PA/Shaler) faced Bloomsburg's Ed Hockenberry in the finals, looking to avenge a 4-0 loss in their dual match earlier this season. Again Shapert would come up short, losing to the seventh-ranked Huskie by a 9-3 score. Ranked 12th nationally, Shapert opened with a 4-2 win against Clarion's Jim Perry. He advanced to face Hockenberry after a fall over Ryan Smith of Shippensburg at 6:18 and a 4-3 decision over Lock Haven's Jason Gilligan. Shapert has a 19-7 record.
165 pounds - Senior Yanni Diamond (Wellesley, MA/Wellesley) became the fourth-straight Fighting Scot to fall in the championship match with a 2-1 loss to Slippery Rock's 15th-ranked Doug Cieleski. After a scoreless first period, Diamond chose down to start the second but could not score an escape. Cieleski took a 1-0 lead in the third with an escape with 1:40 left. Diamond was awarded a point after two stalling calls on his opponent, but it was not enough to overcome Cieleski, who won with 1:39 of riding time. Diamond defeated Bloomsburg's Hunter Guenot, 1-0, in the semifinals. It was his third victory over Guenot this season. Guenot had defeated Diamond in the finals of the PSAC Tournament a year ago. He added an opening round win over Pete Kroshefskie of Clarion, 2-0, to improve his season mark to 15-9.
174 pounds - All-American Josh Koscheck (Waynesburg, PA/Waynesburg) finally put an end to Edinboro's futility in championship matches with an 11-2 major decision over Cassidy Shults of Bloomsburg, earning the Fighting Scot his second Outstanding Wrestler award. He also claimed the award as a freshman in 1999. Koscheck advanced to the final match following falls over Walter Putnam of Millersville in 40 seconds and Shippensburg's Aaron Mitchell in 30 seconds. Now a three-time PSAC champion, he became only the seventh Fighting Scot to capture three titles. The NCAA runner-up a year ago leads the Fighting Scots with eight falls this season and has a career record of 109-18.
184 pounds - In the most interesting development of the tournament, freshman Justin Millard (Laceyville, PA/Wyalusing) and older brother Josh of Lock Haven each agreed to forfeit their third-place match against each other and settle for fourth-place finishes. Millard pinned Shippensburg's Nick Hensley in the first round in 2:03, but lost by a 10-2 score to Clarion's top-seeded Bob Topper in the semifinals. In the consolation bracket, he registered his eighth fall of the season over Dan Madonna of East Stroudsburg at 3:45. Millard is 16-11.
197 pounds - Sophomore Dave Shunamon (Tewksbury, MA/Tewksbury) faced Lock Haven's Avery Zerkle in the finals, losing in the double-overtime tiebreaker by a 5-4 score. It took Zerkle ten seconds to break Shunamon's grasp and earn the victory. The top-seed, Shunamon pinned East Stroudsburg's Andy Sheaffer in 1:54 in the first round, then beat Shipensburg's Kevin Boccella, 8-5, in the semifinals. Boccella is the fourth-ranked wrestler in Division II. Shunamon, ranked 12th nationally, has a 23-3 season mark.
Heavyweight - In a rematch of the 2000 finals, Josh Pearce (Greenville, PA/Commodore Perry) battled Clarion's John Testa. Pearce was unable to avenge last season's loss, dropping a 3-1 decision to Testa. It was Pearce's second loss to Testa this season, losing in the finals of the Slippery Rock Open, 7-4, in November. Ranked 11th, Pearce downed Chris Bulley of Shippensburg in the first round, 3-0, then defeated Lock Haven's Craig Tefft by a 1-0 score. Pearce has an 18-5 season mark.
~ Fighting Scots ~
Created on ... January 28, 2001