EWL Championship Headquarters
EDINBORO, Pa. -- Edinboro University will host the 38th Annual EWL Tournament on March 9, 2012. The event will decide this year's champion while also serving as the qualifying tournament for the upcoming NCAA Division I National Championship, set for March 21-23 in Des Moines, IA.
In the team race, Pittsburgh seeks its third straight EWL crown in its final year as a league member. The Panthers will move on to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2013-14. Pittsburgh interrupted a run of eight straight titles by Edinboro in 2011, and defended its crown a year ago.
The Panthers came in first with 135.5 points to outdistance Edinboro's 116.5 points. West Virginia, now a member of the Big 12, was third (112 points), with host Clarion fourth (91) and Bloomsburg fifth (89.5). Lock Haven and Cleveland State rounded out the field.
Pittsburgh, Edinboro and Bloomsburg figure to have a spirited battle for the 2013 title. The Panthers of coach Randy Stottlemyre finished with a deceiving 9-6 dual record while facing a very demanding schedule, and were 4-1 in EWL duals. They are ranked 16th in InterMat's Tournament-Strength Rankings. Pitt features a lineup with no fewer than five nationally-ranked wrestlers.
Edinboro has four nationally-ranked wrestlers, including a pair in the top four in their respective weight classes. The youthful Fighting Scots were 10-6 in duals, and 3-2 in the EWL, with one-point losses to Bloomsburg and Pittsburgh. They are ranked 17th by InterMat. Head coach
Tim Flynn has guided the Fighting Scots to 12 EWL championships.
Bloomsburg came away with its first dual meet title since 1993 at 5-0. Now the Huskies, 17-3 overall, look to register their first tournament championship since that same year. Though not ranked by InterMat, head coach John Stutzman's Huskies may just have the most complete lineup in the field from top to bottom, as evidenced by five nationally-ranked wrestlers.
Clarion is a team to keep an eye on, with the up-front strength to post an upset under first-year coach Troy Letters. Lock Haven, under head coach Robbie Waller, also has several very dangerous competitors who will look to gain a spot at the top of the stand. Ben Stehura continues to rebuild the Cleveland State program.
Individually-speaking, wrestling fans are in for a treat with no fewer than 16 nationally-ranked wrestlers taking to the mats. Five EWL wrestlers are ranked in the top five in their respective weight classes when looking at the Amateur Wrestling News, InterMat and WIN rankings.
Three 2012 champions return – Edinboro's
A.J. Schopp at 133 lbs., James Fleming of Clarion at 157 lbs., and Pittsburgh's Matt Wilps at 197 lbs. -- along with six runners-up. In addition, Pittsburgh heavyweight Zac Thomusseit was the 2011 champion at 197 lbs. Fleming seeks his third straight title, with Wilps also after his third following crowns in 2010 and 2012.
Here's a look at the 2013 EWL Tournament, weight class by weight class (number in parenthesis is NCAA qualifier allocation:
125 lbs. (1) – Pittsburgh's Anthony Zanetta has won the last three championships at this weight class, but he is redshirting. That still leaves four 2012 place-winners returning. Bobby Rehm of Lock Haven, who has won back-to-back PSAC championships, placed third a year ago as a freshman. He comes in with a 23-8 record. He was 4-1 in EWL duals, with the loss coming to Clarion's Tyler Fraley. The oncoming freshman has a 14-10 record, and was also 4-1 in EWL duals. That defeat was to
Kory Mines of Edinboro. Mines has had an up-and-down season after finishing fourth last year. The third-year sophomore has a 14-16 record, including a second place showing at the PSAC Championships. Cleveland State's Ben Willeford (20-16) captured fifth place last year with a decision over Sean Boylan of Bloomsburg (18-16), and leads the Vikings in wins. Pittsburgh freshman Derrick Nelson (4-8) rounds out the field.
133 lbs. (3) – Edinboro's
A.J. Schopp and Pittsburgh's Shelton Mack battled into sudden victory a year ago before Schopp prevailed 4-3
to win the EWL title. The two have had several tight battles in their careers. This weight class figures to be one of the most competitive in the 2013 championships with Schopp, Mack and Boomsburg's Nick Wilcox all nationally-ranked. Schopp, a third-year sophomore and the 2012 EWL Freshman of the Year, leads the way with a 27-3 record and a perfect 5-0 ledger in the EWL. He has 17 falls. Schopp is ranked as high as third by Amateur Wrestling News and fourth by InterMat. He is also a two-time PSAC champion. Wilcox is ranked 11th by Amateur Wrestling News with a 23-6 record, and his lone EWL loss came to Schopp. He also lost to Schopp in the PSAC finals. Wilcox was fourth a year ago. Mack has a 15-8 record and is ranked 17th by both Amateur Wrestling News and InterMat. The junior finished second a year ago and third in 2011. Like Schopp, he reached the round of 12 at Nationals a year ago. Cleveland State's Michael Carlone (15-15), Clarion's Joe Waltko (12-19), the fifth place finisher in '12, and Cody Wheeler of Lock Haven will look to wrestle their way into the top three.
141 lbs. (2) – A year ago
Mitchell Port of Edinboro lost a tough 7-6 decision to Mike Morales of West Virginia in the finals as a redshirt freshman. Now he returns as the favorite to capture his first crown. Port is ranked fourth by Amateur Wrestling News and fifth by InterMat with a 28-3 record (5-0 in EWL) and has run off 13 straight wins. Standing in his way is Lock Haven's talented Dan Neff. The redshirt freshman has a 24-8 record and has climbed into the national rankings at 19th by WIN and 20th by Amateur Wrestling News. He took third at the PSAC's. The only other returning place-winner from 2012 is Pittsburgh's Travis Shaffer, the owner of a 10-10 record. The sophomore finished third a year ago. Bloomsburg's Matt Rappo is capable of an upset and has a 17-14 record. Nick Flannery of Cleveland State was 3-2 against EWL competition and has a 13-10 overall ledger. Sam Sherlock of Clarion has an 11-10 record, but came in second at the PSAC Championships.
149 lbs. (3) – Edinboro's
Dave Habat is the lone ranked wrestler at 149 lbs., but this figures to be a highly competitive weight class. Habat was second a year ago in his first go-around at EWL's, dropping a 3-2 decision to Pittsburgh's Tyler Nauman. In fact, he is the only wrestler back from last year's 149-pound field. The third-year sophomore comes in with a 23-7 record and was 5-0 against EWL competition. He is ranked 17th by both Amateur Wrestling News and InterMat. Bloomsburg's Josh Roosa has an impressive 20-4 ledger, with two of those losses to Habat and Pittsburgh's Ronnie Grabinsky. He took fifth place in 2011 and was second at the PSAC Championships in December. Just a redshirt freshman, Garbinsky has a 16-9 record. Clarion's Tyler Bedelyon bears watching after taking fourth place at 141 lbs. a year ago and third at the 2012 PSAC's. The junior comes in with an 18-12 record, defeating Garbinsky but losing to Habat and Roosa during the EWL duals. Lock Haven's Mac Maldarelli shows up in the NCAA's RPI rankings and will look to elbow his way into the top three. The junior has a 16-11 ledger and was fourth at the PSAC's. Mike Mencini (2-10) of Cleveland State rounds out the field.
157 lbs. (3) – Clarion's James Fleming and Frank Hickman of Bloomsburg have battled the past few years for supremacy both in the EWL and PSAC championships, with Fleming defeating Hickman the last two years in the EWL finals. A year ago Hickman upset Fleming in the PSAC's, but it was Fleming coming back with a 4-2 decision in the EWL championships. He prevailed again at the PSAC Championships, where he was named the Outstanding Wrestler, and also won in the dual match. Fleming leads a loaded weight class that features six strong competitors. In search of his third EWL crown, the senior is ranked fourth by both Amateur Wrestling News and InterMat after a fifth place finish at Nationals a year ago. The three-time NCAA qualifier has a 29-2 record with 10 falls and now has 121 career wins. Hickman's lone loss in EWL competition came to Fleming, and the fifth-year senior has a 24-4 record. In fact, he has 99 career wins, seeking to becoime Bloomsburg's 16 wrestler with 100 wins on Saturday. He is ranked 11th by InterMat and 12th by Amateur Wrestling News. Pittsburgh's Donnie Tasser picked up a third place finish a year ago and comes in with a 24-13 record. The year before the fifth-year came in fourth and went to Nationals. Edinboro's
Michael DePalma began the year at 149 lbs. before moving up to 157 lbs. The redshirt freshman has a 20-10 record but will be taking to the mat for the first time in a month after battling a minor illness. Lock Haven's Jake Kemerer (17-10) is the X factor. He has been out since the end of December, but when healthy has proven a tough competitor. He was ranked 20th when he went down. Matt Donohoe of Cleveland State is better than his 14-15 record indicates, including 1-4 against his EWL foes.
165 lbs. (3) – Like 157 lbs., this is another weight class with excellent talent and depth. Bloomsburg's Josh Veltre and Pittsburgh's Tyler Wilps are both nationally-ranked, and
Johnny Greisheimer of Edinboro has been at times this year. Veltre has climbed all the way to 11th in the national rankings. The junior showcases a 29-5 record and is riding a 21-match winning streak. That includes a perfect 5-0 ledger against EWL foes. He redshirted last year and came in fifth in 2011. Wilps' lone setback in the EWL came to Veltre, part of a 19-6 record. He is ranked 12th by Amateur Wrestling News and 16th by InterMat. Wilps was the EWL runner-up a year ago. Greisheimer, a junior, redshirted last year and is a former national qualifier at 157 lbs. He has a deceiving 16-12 record, with numerous close defeats. He defeated Veltre in the season-opening UB Invite but has since lost a pair of close decisions. Corey Carlo was Cleveland State's top finisher a year ago, coming in third third. A fifth-year senior, he has a 14-17 record. Lock Haven will send out Aaron McKinney, who has a 23-22 record. Clarion junior Nick Milano (3-18) rounds out the weight class.
174 lbs. (1) – Possibly no weight class is more wide open thatn174 lbs., where not one place-winner is back. Based on his 5-0 record in league competition, plus an overall record of 14-7, Pittsburgh's Nick Bonaccorsi must be considered the favorite. He appears in the NCAA coaches' rankings. Others such as Bloomsburg's Chris Smith (16-14), who was fifth at 165 lbs. a year ago, and Edinboro's
Patrick Jennings (12-22) will look for an upset along with valuable team points. Clarion Ryan Darch is just 9-15 overall, but went 4-1 in EWL action. That lone loss was to Bonaccorsi. Smith was the PSAC champion thanks to a win over Darch, while Jennings came in fourth. Cleveland State's Xavier Dye has a 9-11 record, while Lock Haven will decide between a pair of freshmen -- Travis Moyer (13-14) and Tyler Wood (8-14).
184 lbs. (2) – Again this is a weight class without a returning place-winner. In 2011 Max Thomusseit reached the finals at 184 lbs. before losing to Edinboro's
Chris Honeycutt. Now the 2011 EWL Freshman of the Year comes in as the favorite after redshirting a year ago. He owns a 13-4 record and is ranked 13th by Amateur Wrestling News and InterMat. Look for Lock Haven's Fred Garcia to provide a stiff challenge after capturing first place at the PSAC Championships. He is 24-9 and was 4-1 in EWL competition. Edinboro's Vince Pickett has enjoyed a highly-successful freshman campaign with a 20-14 record and six falls. He went 3-2 in his first time around the EWL, the losses to Thomusseit and Garcia. Clarion's Steven Cressley has a 9-18 record, but the senior is a seasoned wrestler who took third place last year. Bloomsburg will enter either Andre Petroski who is 14-15, or Sam Shirey, who is 10-10. Petroski competed in all the EWL duals, winning twice. Cleveland State sophomore Bobby Blankenship is 3-18.
197 lbs. (2) – A year ago Pittsburgh's Matt Wilps and Honeycutt staged a classic battle featuring two of the top five 197-pounders in the
country. Honeycutt is gone, and while Wilps will still face plenty of competition, there is no question he is of one the truly elite wrestlers in the country. The fifth-year senior is currently ranked third after earning All-American honors with a fourth place finish at Nationals. He has an 18-2 record, with the two losses to top-ranked Dustin Kilgore of Kent State and second-ranked Quentin Wright of Penn State. He ranks sixth at Pitt in career wins (122). Wilps seeks his third EWL title. Richard Perry of Bloomsburg and Justin Ortega of Clarion are no pushovers by any means, with Perry defeating Ortega in the PSAC finals in December. Perry has a third place (2012) and fifth place (2011) showing to his credit. The fourth-year junior owns a 27-3 record and is ranked 14th by Amateur Wrestling News and 16th by InterMat. Ortega will be making his first appearance at the EWL's after transferring from Penn State. A senior, he has an 18-11 record. Redshirt freshmen
Warren Bosch (13-16) and Phil Sprenkle (12-19) will represent Edinboro and Lock Haven, respectively. CSU will choose between Nick Anthony (5-10) and Corbin Boone (4-13).
Hwt. (3) – The heavyweight class features balance from top to bottom, not to mention three nationally-ranked grapplers. Pittsburgh's Zac Thomusseit was the 197 lb. champion in 2011 before redshirting last year. He has enjoyed the jump to heavyweight, showing a 22-2 record with ten falls. The fifth-year senior is ranked fifth by Amateur Wrestling News and eighth by InterMat. Thomusseit was a perfect 4-0 in EWL duals. Bloomsburg junior Justin Grant is ranked 18th by InterMat and 19th by Amateur Wrestling News with a 23-4 record. The former transfer from Kutztown is also competing in the EWL's for the first time after winning the PSAC championship. Edinboro's
Ernest James is the top returning place winner after finishing as the 2012 runnerup. He was fourth the year before that. James comes in at 21-10 and is ranked 19th by InterMat and 20th by Amateur Wrestling News. Harry Turner of Lock Haven was sixth at the 2012 EWL's and fifth in 2011. Cleveland State's Riley Shaw shows up in the NCAA's RPI rankings though just a freshman. He has a 17-15 record. Phil Catrucco of Clarion returned to the mat this year after taking two years off. The senior is 17-21.
