Eight Boro Wrestlers Place at Michigan State Open
Gillespie, Hill, Penn Bring Home First Place Trophies
November 13, 2006

Complete Results (MSU Website)

EDINBORO, PA – The Edinboro University wrestling team turned in a strong showing on Sunday at the Michigan State Open in East Lansing, MI. A total of eight wrestlers finished as placewinners, with three – Gregor Gillespie (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) at 149 lbs., Matt Hill (Freedom, PA/Freedom) at 157 lbs., and Deonte Penn (Solon, OH/Solon) at 165 lbs. – capturing first place.

Alex Clemsen (Moberly, MO/Moberly) and Joe Fendone (Salem, NH/Central Catholic (Mass.)) came in second at 184 lbs. and heavyweight, respectively. Phil Moricone (Derry, NH/ Pinkerton) and Jim Gibson (Hermitage, PA/Kennedy Christian) battled their way back through the wrestlebacks after losses in the quarterfinals to place third at 174 and 197 lbs., respectively. Finally, Ricky Deubel (Chagrin Falls, OH/Kenston) brought home fourth place at 133 lbs.

Gillespie, the number one seed at 149 lbs., dominated the competition to improve to 8-0 and 48-4 for his career. The sophomore, ranked third nationally, opened with an 11-4 decision over Joey Metzler of Old Dominion, then won by technical fall at 3:46 over Rece Cox of Eastern Michigan. He won by major decision, 10-0, over eighth-seeded Jermain Thompson of Eastern Michigan in the quarterfinals, then posted a 4-0 win over Indiana’s Matt Coughlin, ranked 14th by InterMat, in the semifinals. He picked up his third win this season by technical fall in the finals, the end coming at 2:56 for EWL-rival Ryan Hurley of Cleveland State, who was seeded second.

Hill was seeded fourth at 157 lbs., but the senior upset top-seeded Brandon Becker of Indiana, 5-3, in the semifinals, then won a 5-2 decision against Chris Brown of Old Dominion in the finals. Brown had upset the number two seed in the semifinals. Hill entered the tournament ranked 14th by Amateur Wrestling News and 17th by InterMat. Becker was ranked third in each poll. Hill also defeated fifth-seeded Tony Greathouse of Michigan State, the fifth seed, by a 4-3 decision. Hill went 5-0 on the day and is now 8-0 for the season and 81-35 for his career.

A week ago Penn, a returning All-American ranked fourth by InterMat and eighth by Amateur Wrestling News, suffered an unlikely loss in the Avalon Duals. A week later the senior won all five of his bouts at 165 lbs. to improve to 7-1. The number one seed, he opened with his 36th career fall against Eric Moon, followed by a 5-0 decision against Ohio’s Jacob Ison. In the quarterfinal he was a 9-4 winner over Jeff Burge, then reached the finals with a 5-2 decision against Zack Shanaman of Penn, the number four seed. Penn came away with the title thanks to a 3-2 decision over K. Mueller of North Carolina, who had upset the number seed in the semifinals. Penn now has an 84-40 career ledger.

Clemsen entered as the number one seed at 184 lbs., in addition to being ranked third by InterMat and sixth by Amateur Wrestling News. The senior reached the finals with four straight wins by decision, but Indiana’s Marc Bennett concluded his run with a 3-2 upset. Bennett had knocked off the second seed in the semifinals. Clemsen’s wins included a 5-4 decision over fourth-seeded David Erwin of Penn State. He has a 7-1 record and is 91-32 for his career, moving up to 19th in career wins.

Fendone continued his transition from 197 lbs. to heavyweight with a 4-1 record, suffering a 9-1 loss to Spencer Nadolsky of North Carolina in the finals. Nadolsky was seeded first and is ranked fourth by InterMat and sixth by Amateur Wrestling News. Fendone was seeded third, and upset second-seeded Dave Herman of Indiana, 6-4, in the semifinals. He is now 7-1 for the season and 36-10 in his career.

Moricone defeated Michigan’s Scott Giffin to reach the quarterfinals at 174 lbs., where he faced second-seeded Blake Maurer of Ohio State. Maurer, ranked 12th by Amateur Wrestling News and 13th by InterMat, held off the Boro sophomore, 3-2. Moricone proceeded to run off four straight wins to go 5-1 and finish third. In the consolation semifinals he came away with a 4-2 upset of fifth-seeded Antione Love of Ohio, and was a 3-2 winner over John Murphy of Michigan State, the fourth seed, in the third place bout. Moricone is now 7-2 on the season.

Gibson also posted four wins in the consolation round to finish third at 197 lbs. He lost by fall to the number one seed, J. D. Bergman of Ohio State, who is ranked fifth in both polls, in the quarterfinals. The senior picked up two wins over seeded wrestlers to finish third. In his first consolation match, he upset third-seeded Tony Lyssiotis of Eastern Michigan, 6-2. He then defeated Indiana’s Justin Curran, the fourth seed, by a 5-2 decision in the third place bout. Gibson improved to 7-2 with the 5-1 performance on Sunday.

Like Fendone, Deubel moved up a weight class this year to 133 lbs. He went 3-2 at the Michigan State Open and is now 6-2. The sophomore won his first two matches, including an 8-6 overtime decision against Michigan State’s Jeff Wimberley in the quarterfinals. That set up a match with top-seeded and number one ranked Matt Valenti of Penn, with Deubel putting up a good effort before losing 3-0. Deubel defeated sixth-seeded Steve Clair in the consolation semifinals before dropping a rematch to Wimberley in the third place match, 4-2.

Here’s how all the Fighting Scots wrestlers fared at the Michigan State Open: