2006 Eastern Wrestling League Tournament Preview
March 1, 2006

EDINBORO, PA – Edinboro University will host the 31st Annual Eastern Wrestling League Tournament on Saturday, March 4 and Sunday, March 5 at McComb Fieldhouse. Saturday’s first session gets underway at 11 a.m. with the quarterfinals. Session 2 starts at 6 p.m., with the championship semifinals and consolation quarterfinals taking place. On Sunday, Session 3 will begin at 10 a.m. and feature the consolation semifinals and consolation finals. Session 4, slated for 4 p.m., will begin with the 2006 EWL Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, followed by the finals.

Edinboro seeks its fourth straight EWL title and eighth in the last nine years. West Virginia finished as the EWL champion in 2002, and the Fighting Scots and Mountaineers tied for first place in 2004. A year ago, Edinboro totaled 113 points to outdistance Lock Haven (104 points). Pittsburgh was third (98), followed by West Virginia (93), with Bloomsburg in fifth place (81). Clarion and Cleveland State tied for sixth with 62 points.

The top three finishers in each weight class automatically qualify for the NCAA Division I National Championships, scheduled for March 16-18 in Oklahoma City, OK. In addition, the league’s coaches will choose five wild card selections to fill out the EWL’s 35 national qualifiers.

Edinboro enters the tournament as the favorite after claiming the dual meet crown with a perfect 6-0 record. In fact, Edinboro finished as the lone undefeated team on the Division I level with a 12-0 ledger. The Fighting Scots are ranked 16th in the USA Today/NWCA/InterMat Division I Coaches Poll. West Virginia finished with a 5-1 EWL record, with Bloomsburg at 4-2.

Five 2005 EWL champions return, led by Edinboro’s Shawn Bunch, who seeks to become just the fifth EWL wrestler ever to win four titles. West Virginia’s Greg Jones made it four EWL titles a year ago. Dan Reese of Bloomsburg, Clarion’s Kurt Angle, and Vertus Jones of West Virginia are the other four-time EWL champions. Bunch won the 133 lb. title a year ago and in 2003, and was the 125 lb. champion in 2002.

Bunch has been ranked number one at 133 lbs. for most of the season, and brings a record of 32-1 into the EWL’s. A year ago he finished as the runnerup at Nationals, dropping a 6-3 decision to Travis Lee of Cornell.

Bloomsburg’s Mike Sees seeks his second straight crown at 125 lbs., while Joshua Medina of Lock Haven is the returning champion at 149 lbs. Matt Lebe of West Virginia faces a challenging field at 157 lbs. A year ago he prevailed as the champion and went on to earn All-American honors with a second place finish at Nationals. Jim Bertulis moves up to 174 lbs. after upsetting return champion Nate Yetzer of Edinboro at 165 lbs. a year ago.

In addition, Edinboro’s Deonte Penn was the 2004 champion at 149 lbs. He redshirted a year ago, and is now competing at 165 lbs.

Here’s a look at the 2006 EWL Tournament, weight class by weight class:

• 125 lbs. – Bloomsburg’s Mike Sees, the defending champion, figures as the favorite in a talent-loaded weight class. The sophomore has a 23-3 record and enters the EWL’s with a nine-match winning streak. He is ranked eighth by Amateur Wrestling News and 14th by InterMat. Lock Haven sophomore Obenson Blanc and Edinboro’s Ricky Deubel, a redshirt freshman, figure to pose a stiff challenge. Blanc is ranked 13th by Amateur Wrestling News and 16th by InterMat with a 23-8 record, and was third a year ago. Deubel, meanwhile is 22-10 with seven falls, and is ranked 18th by Amateur Wrestling News and 20th by InterMat. Sees has defeated Blanc twice, 8-5 and 5-2, and is also 2-0 against Deubel, winning a pair of closes matches, 7-5 in overtime and 2-1. Deubel and Blanc have split two matches this year, with Deubel a 16-0 winner by technical fall at the Southern Scuffle, but Blanc coming back for a 12-6 win in the dual meet. Cleveland State’s Joe Wornoff will look to crack the top three. The junior placed fourth a year ago, and has a 10-7 record. Three more youngsters make this a very promising weight class for the future. Sophomore Toby Seger of Clarion is 11-10, while Pittsburgh’s Brad Gentzle (7-14) and Scott Stuart (2-14) of West Virginia are freshmen with an eye on the future.
• 133 lbs. – Shawn Bunch of Edinboro seeks his fourth EWL crown, and third at 133 lbs. A year ago Bunch finished with a 40-2 record, reaching the national finals before finishing as the runner-up. The senior has been just as dominant this year, going 32-1 and currently riding a 16-match winning streak. Bunch is ranked first in both the InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News’ polls. A year ago Bunch was pushed to the limit before claiming a 4-3 decision over West Virginia’s Seth Lisa. Lisa returns in hopes of pulling the upset. The senior has a 12-9 record, with a recent 14-6 loss to Bunch. Pittsburgh’s Mike Ciotti is another senior in hopes of a trip to Nationals. He has a 15-8 record, with a 4-1 EWL dual meet ledger, losing only to Bunch. He placed fourth at 149 lbs. a year ago. Cleveland State’ David Armstrong, a sophomore, shows a 16-11 ledger, although he was unable to crack the threesome of Bunch, Lisa and Ciotti. Bloomsburg freshman Rick Donald also has 16 wins, with a 16-11 record. Lock Haven junior Casey Moore (10-21) and freshman Robert LaBrake (9-18) of Clarion round out the field.
• 141 lbs. – Nationally-ranked Ron Tarquinio of Pittsburgh and West Virginia’s Brandon Rader figure to have a spirited battle for the 141 lb. title. Tarquinio looks for his third straight trip to the finals after winning the crown in 2004 and dropping a 3-1 overtime decision to Clarion’s Frank Edgar a year ago. The senior comes in with an 18-8 record and is ranked seventh by InterMat and ninth by Amateur Wrestling News. Rader is a talented freshman who has compiled a 23-3 record with eleven extra-point wins. He has split a pair of matches with Tarquinio, losing 3-1 in the Las Vegas Invitational, but then coming back for an 8-2 win a month ago. Rader is ranked seventh by Amateur Wrestling News and 15th by InterMat. Bloomsburg’s Brad Forbes looks to elbow his way in between this duo. The senior owns a 23-6 record, including a narrow 2-1 loss to Tarquinio. Edinboro junior Rick McLaughlin has a 17-14 record, with a pair of narrow losses to Forbes. Clarion freshman Greg Lewis is 14-10, with Mike Hurley of Cleveland State, a junior, showing an 11-14 record, and Brian Ellis of Lock Haven, a sophomore, coming in at 4-11.
• 149 lbs. – Lock Haven’s Joshua Medina is the returning champion, but he does not enter the tournament as the favorite. That designation would have to go to Edinboro’s Gregor Gillespie, a freshman who comes in with a 34-2 ledger. Both wrestlers are nationally-ranked, with Gillespie ranked seventh by InterMat and eighth by Amateur Wrestling News, and Medina 18th and 20th, respectively. Gillespie has won 13 matches by technical fall, including 15-0 against Medina in the dual meet. He also handed Medina a 9-4 defeat in the PSAC Championships title match. Gillespie has won 11 straight bouts. Medina, a senior who is a former junior college All-American, owns a 22-7 record. The big question is whether someone else can crack the top two. It is a young and talented field, with David Jaureguit a third ranked competitor, standing 11th in the Amateur Wrestling News rankings. The Mountaineer freshman owns a 19-5 record, but has wrestled just twice since January 22. Another freshman to watch is three-time PIAA champion Joey Ecklof, now a freshman at Pittsburgh. Ecklof has a 17-10 record, but has lost three of his last four matches. However, they’ve been to Jauregui (3-1), Medina (5-4, and Gillespie (6-0). The rest of the field includes Bloomsburg sophomore George Hickman (13-18), Cleveland State junior Ryan Hurley (8-14), who placed third a year ago, and Derrick Smith of Clarion, a freshman with a 2-13 record.
• 157 lbs. – Like the 149 lbs. weight class, the field at 157 lbs. features three nationally-ranked wrestlers, led by West Virginia’s Matt Lebe. The senior is the defending champion, and brings a glossy 30-3 record into the EWL’s He had won 11 straight matches before suffering a 6-4 overtime loss to Edinboro’s Matt Hill, but he rebounded against one the league’s impressive newcomers, claiming a 10-2 major decision against Victer Crenshaw of Cleveland State. His other two losses came by decision to top-ranked Alex Tirapelle of Illinois. Lebe fell from second to fifth in InterMat’s rankings after the Hill loss, while remaining third in the Amateur Wrestling News poll. A year ago he earned All-American honors with a seventh place finish at Nationals. Lock Haven’s Seth Martin is ranked 14th by Amateur Wrestling News and 17th by InterMat. The senior has a 32-9 record with 11 falls. Lebe edged Martin, 10-9, in mid-February, but Martin owns a pair of wins against Hill. The Edinboro junior vaulted to 19th in the InterMat rankings with the win over Lebe, and has a 21-7 record despite missing time due to several injuries. A year ago Martin prevailed 5-0 over Hill in the third place match, although Hill earned a trip to Nationals as a wild card selection. Keep an eye on freshmen Aric Furhman of Bloomsburg and Crenshaw. Furhman is 21-13, with a pair of two-point losses to Martin. Crenshaw owns a 19-13 record. Pittsburgh sophomore Sean Richmond (10-16) and Clarion freshman Lucas Christopher (6-16) round out the field.
• 165 lbs. – Edinboro’s Deonte Penn and Justin Nestor of Pittsburgh figure to be the two favorites. The two have split a pair of matches this year, with Nestor winning by fall at 5:40 in the Southern Scuffle, and Penn rebounding with a 3-1 decision. That is part of an 11-match winning streak for the junior, who is 26-9 with 11 falls. The victory over Nestor boosted Penn to 20th in the InterMat rankings. Penn redshirted a year ago, but in 2004 he won the 149 lb. EWL title. Nestor had occupied the 20th spot in the rankings before the loss to Penn, and left the senior with a 23-8 record. The Panther placed fourth a year ago. Larry Hall will represent West Virginia. The freshman has a 9-5 record. Cleveland State junior Tim Scarl brings a 10-5 record into EWL’s, while while Bloomsburg senior Frank Beasley is 15-21. Rory McCoy, a sophomore from Lock Haven with a 4-10 record, and Clarion’s Chris Goings, who is 0-3 after just returning in February, complete the weight class. Goings was fourth at 174 lbs. a year ago.
• 174 lbs. – In one of the more wide-open weight classes, no fewer than four grapplers could challenge for the crown. Jim Bertulis of Bloomsburg seeks his second straight EWL crown after moving up from 165 lbs. The senior has missed considerable time due to injury, but has a 14-3 record with five falls. Edinboro senior Eric Ring comes in with a 28-10 record, including a recent 2-0 decision over Bertulis. He also handed WVU’s impressive redshirt freshman, Kurt Brenner, a 7-1 defeat in his last match, but has split with Lock Haven’s Carlos Ponce. Ring placed second a year ago. Brenner is 20-6 and actually the only ranked wrestler of the group, standing 15th in the Amateur Wrestling News poll. Ponce captured third place a year ago, and comes in with an 18-13 record. The senior split a pair of 4-2 decisions with Ring. Clarion’s Dave Gardner, a senior, comes in with a 14-14 record, while Pittsburgh sophomore Nick Padezan is 11-16 and Cleveland State senior Anthony Mestek is 10-14. Sophomore David Gilkey (9-13) is also a possible competitor for the Vikings. Padezan owns an 8-5 win over Ponce.
• 184 lbs. – For the first time in four years the 184 lb. class won’t be dominated by Greg Jones. The former West Virginia national champion has taken his four EWL crowns to the WVY bench as an assistant coach, likely leaving Cleveland State’s Ron Howard and Alex Clemsen of Edinboro as the favorites. Howard, a senior, is unranked but has a 10-7 win over Clemsen as part of his 25-7 record. He has won nine straight matches, going 6-0 against EWL foes during that time. Howard placed third a year ago. Clemsen’s lone loss in EWL action came to Howard. The junior has a 29-7 record and is ranked 17th by InterMat. He redshirted a year ago, but took second place in 2004 and was third in 2003. Clemsen has won 10 of his last 11 matches, interrupted by the Howard setback. Keep an eye out for oncoming Derrick Morgan of Lock Haven and Bloomsburg’s Nate Shirk. Morgan, a senior, is 22-11, and while he’s dropped decisions to both Howard and Clemsen, he has a 6-1 win over Shirk. Shirk is a tough junior with a 15-10 ledger, with two losses to Clemsen and one to Howard. Chance Litton of West Virginia is 6-13, while Clarion’s Dominick Ross is 1-17. They are both freshman. Pittsburgh sophomore Kyle Deliere is 6-18.
• 197 lbs. – Edinboro’s Joe Fendone wasn’t even a starter until early January. Now the redshirt freshman is the favorite at 197 lbs., thanks to a 26-6 record with 10 falls. He has won his last 11 matches. Fendone ended the dual meet season with a fall over West Virginia’s Jared Villers, who is sure to look for revenge at EWL’s. The Mountaineer sophomore has a 17-10 record, with nine wins going for extra points. Keeping with the youthful theme in this year’s tournament, Lock Haven freshman Tom Kocher has a 16-15 ledger. Bloomsburg sophomore Jesse Hasseman is 15-15, with Mike Heist of Pittsburgh, a junior, coming in at 6-16. The final two competitors are Cleveland State senior Ishmal Williams (4-11) and Clarion freshman Logan Downes, who is 5-20 while competing at 165 lbs.
• 285 lbs. – A trio of sophomores spearhead a weight class that has none of the top four finishers back. Mike Spaid of Bloomsburg has a 20-9 record with five falls. He placed fifth last year, and came away with the PSAC crown earlier this year. Cleveland State’s Rashard Goff was 5-1 in EWL action and 21-15 overall with five falls. He has come on strong of late, with wins in nine of his last ten matches. The lone loss – a 3-0 decision to Spaid. He had earlier defeated Spaid by a 3-0 count. Edinboro’s Jeremy Mosley stepped into the starting lineup in early February, and ended up winning four of his five EWL bouts. The lone loss – a 4-0 decision to Goff, who also beat him 1-0 in the Cleveland State Open. But Mosley upset Spaid, 6-3, part of his 15-9 record. Lou Thomas of Pittsburgh moved up to heavyweight early in the year after finishing fourth at 197 lbs. last year. The sophomore shows a 7-12 record. Clarion freshman A.J. Brooks is 12-16. Rounding out the field is senior Tim Meyers of Lock Haven, who is 6-21, and West Virginia junior Matt Holsopple, who has a 3-14 record.