Fighting Scots Win Eighth PSAC Wrestling Championship in Ten Years
Clemsem Becomes 14th PSAC Wrestler to Win Four Titles
January 27, 2007

EDINBORO, PA – The Edinboro University wrestling team picked up its second straight PSAC Championship, and eighth in ten years, and for the second year in a row did it in dominating fashion. The Fighting Scots finished with 147.5 points to easily outdistance second-place Bloomsburg, who had 119 points. The Huskies hosted the event at Nelson Field House. It is Edinboro’s 11th PSAC title in wrestling.

Lock Haven finished third with 111.5 points, followed by Clarion with 79 points in fourth place. East Stroudsburg was fifth (57 points), with Millersville next with 44.5 points. Kutztown (43.5 points) and Shippensburg (23 points) rounded out the field.

All ten Edinboro grapplers earned All-PSAC honors. A year ago the Fighting Scots had nine wrestlers reach the finals. This time it was eight, with five winning titles. And that didn’t include Gregor Gillespie, who would have been the prohibitive favorite at 149 lbs. if he had not missed the tournament due to illness. Edinboro had three wrestlers finish second, and the other two Scots in the lineup captured third place.

Most notable among Edinboro’s five winners was Alex Clemsen, who won the 184 lb. championship. The senior won by major decision over Tom Kocher of Lock Haven, 14-4, to become just the 14th wrestler in PSAC history to win four PSAC championships. He previously won the crown at 184 lbs. in 2003, 2004, and 2006.

Deonte Penn won his second straight PSAC crown at 165 lbs., and for the second straight year he dominated the field. He won his first match by major decision, then finished with falls in the semifinals and finals. He won by fall at 2:23 over Bloomsburg’s Rickey Schmelyun in the finals. A year ago he won all three of his matches by fall.

Three other Fighting Scots picked up their first PSAC titles. Ricky Deubel, who finished second at 125 lbs. last season, was the winner at 133 lbs. thanks to a 3-1 decision over Joe Kemmerer of Kutztown.

At 174 lbs., Phil Moricone, in his first PSAC’s appearance, captured an 8-2 decision over Bloomsburg’s Andrew Jordan in the finals. The same was true at 197 lbs., as Jim Gibson came away with a 3-2 decision over Lock Haven’s Jeremie Cook.

In one of the two most anticipated bouts of the tournament, Seth Martin of Lock Haven, ranked ninth by InterMat, defeated Matt Hill, ranked 11th, by a 5-1 decision, in the 157 lb. final. The two had split earlier matches. Martin defeated Hill, 9-2, in last year’s title match.

Two ranked wrestlers also met at heavyweight, with Mike Spaid of Bloomsburg winning by major decision over Joe Fendone, 9-0. Spaid came in ranked 11th by InterMat, while Fendone was 20th according to Amateur Wrestling News. A year ago Fendone was the champions at 197 lbs.

Freshman Daryl Cocozzo also finished second, dropping a 4-1 decision to Darren Kern of Bloomsburg in the 141 lb. title match.

Fellow freshman Eric Morrill turned in a solid showing at 125 lbs., where nationally-ranked Mike Sees of Bloomsburg and Lock Haven’s Obenson Blanc also reside. Sees defeated Blanc, 10-5, in the championship match and was named the Tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler. Morrill lost by major decision to Blanc in the semifinals, but came back to win by fall over Toby Seger of Clarion in the third place match, Just a week earlier Seger had pinned Morrill in the dual between the two teams.

Finally, after losing out to Cocozzo in a wrestleoff on Monday for the 141 lb. starting job, Joel Webster filled in for Gillespie at 149 lbs. and came away with a third place finish. He lost his first match, but then came back to win twice, the last a 5-4 decision over Lock Haven’s Donnie Ament.

Here’s a look at the complete results for the Fighting Scots, with updated record in parenthesis. Rankings are InterMat/Amateur Wrestling News:

• 125 lbs. – Eric Morrill (12-13) – 3rd place
  Quarterfinals – won by major decision over Michael Acedo-Malaney, Millersville – 12-3
  Semifinals – lost by major decision to #7/#9 Obenson Blanc, Lock Haven – 15-4
  Cons. Semi’s – won by major decision over Cory Weiss, Kutztown – 9-0
  Third Place – won by fall over Toby Seger, Clarion – 2:58
• 133 lbs. – #18/NR Ricky Deubel (20-9) – 1st place
  Quarterfinals – won by technical fall over Darren Murray, Shippensburg – 16-1
  Semifinals – won by decision over Nick Hyatt, Lock Haven – 4-2 sv
  Championship – won by decision over #8 DII Jack Kammerer, Kutztown – 3-1
• 141 lbs. – Daryl Cocozzo (11-10) – 2nd place
  Quarterfinals – won by decision over Zach Kell, Lock Haven – 5-3
  Semifinals – won by decision over Greg Lewis, Clarion – 2-0
  Champiosnhip – lost by decision to Darren Kern, Bloomsburg – 4-1
• 149 lbs. – Joel Webster (12-9) – 3rd place
  Quarterfinals – lost by decision to Scott Heckman, East Stroudsburg – 13-9
  Cons. Semi’s – won by decision over Hadley Harrison, Clarion – 4-3
  Third Place – won by decision over Donnie Ament, Lock Haven – 5-4
• 157 lbs. – #11/#10 Matt Hill (25-2) – 2nd place
  Quarterfinals – won by technical fall over Nick Billups, Clarion – 18-1, 5:00
  Semifinals – won by decision over Dennis Bermudez, Bloomsburg – 5-4
  Championship – lost by decision to #9/#9 Seth Martin, Lock Haven – 5-1
  NOTE: Hill now has a 98-37 career record. Both of his losses have come to Martin.
• 165 lbs. – #8/#8 Deonte Penn (26-2) – 1st place
  Quarterfinals – won by major decision over Leif Ruschmeyer, East Stroudsburg – 11-1
  Semifinals – won by fall over Josh Evans, Millersville – 0:41
  Championship – won by fall over Rickey Schmelyun, Bloomsburg – 2:23
  NOTE: Penn is now 103-41 for his career and increases his career falls record to 46.
• 174 lbs. – #20/#20 Phil Moricone (21-6) – 1st place
  Quarterfinals – bye
  Semifinals – won by major decision over Jeremy Brooks, Millersville – 10-1
  Championship – won by decision over Andrew Jordan, Bloomsburg – 8-2
• 184 lbs. – #9/#11 Alex Clemsen (27-2) – 1st place – 4th PSAC title
  Quarterfinals – bye
  Semifinals – won by fall over Dominic Ross, Clarion – 4:37
  Championship – won by major decision over Tom Kocher, Lock Haven – 14-4
  NOTE: Clemsen becomes 14th wrestler to win four PSAC titles. He now has a 110-33 career record, moving into a tie for 14th place in career wins.
• 197 lbs. – Jim Gibson (17-6) – 1st place
  Quarterfinals – won by major decision over Dixon Jordan, Clarion – 13-1
  Semifinals – won by major decision over Kyle Davis, Kutztown – 14-6
  Championship – won by decision over Jeremie Cook, Lock Haven – 3-2
• 285 lbs. – NR/#20 Joe Fendone (27-2) – 2nd place
  Quarterfinals – won by major decision over Charles Deighton, East Stroudsburg – 9-0
  Semifinals – won by fall over A.J. Brooks, Clarion – 1:16
  Championship – lost by major decision to Mike Spaid, Bloomsburg – 9-0