Fighting Scots Host 10th-ranked Northwestern, Clarion in Tri-Match 
-Edinboro hosts Northwestern and Clarion in a tri-match on Sunday, December 16 at McComb Fieldhouse.  The action gets underway at 1 p.m. with Clarion and Northwestern squaring off.  At 3 p.m. it's a matchup of two nationally-ranked squads, as the Fighting Scots, ranked 20th in the latest USA Today/NWCA/AWN Divsion I Coaches Poll, square ff against 10th-ranked Northwestern.  It marks the first time the two have met in a dual.  Following that contest, Edinboro will take to the mat against Clarion in the Eastern Wrestling League opener for both.

-Last week Edinboro made it back-to-back Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships, plus six in the last seven years.  All ten Fighting Scots placed as Edinboro won its 15th overall PSAC title.  The Fighting Scots finished with 160.5 points to outdistance Clarion, who came in second with 140 points.   Three wrestlers won their second straight individual titles -- A.J. Schopp (133 lbs.), Mitchell Port (141 lbs.), and Dave Habat (149 lbs.).    

-Edinboro comes in with a 1-1 record.  The Fighting Scots opened the dual season two weeks ago with a 22-12 win at Michigan State.  That was followed by a 21-16 loss to 11th-ranked Virgina Tech.   The Fighting Scots showcase an extremely young lineup, with one true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen starting, plus four sophomores.  There isn't one senior in the lineup.

-Tenth-ranked Northwestern is 3-1, with wins over Stanford (32-6), Stevens Tech (45-0), and Duke (33-12), before losing to third-ranked Minnesota (33-7).  The Wildcats have an impressive lineup with seven ranked wrestlers, led by second-ranked Jason Welch at 157 lbs.  In addition,  they have #15 Dominick Malone at 125lbs.; #9 Levi Mele (5-1) at 133 lbs.; #10 Pierce Harger at 165 lbs.; #8 Lee Munster  at 174 lbs.; #17 Alex Polizzi at 197 lbs., and #7 Mike McMullan at heavyweight.

-Clarion has a 1-1 record in dual meets.  The Golden Eagles dropped a 26-6 decision to then 18th-ranked Rutgers, and defeated Eastern Michigan, 21-10.  They are led by third-ranked James Fleming, who is 15-0 this year at 157 lbs.  He was named the PSAC Championships' Outstanding Wrestler last weekend.  An All-American a year ago, he has a 107-16 career record.  Clarion is coached by former Lehigh All-American Troy Letters, in his first season as the head coach.   

-Edinboro's lineup features five ranked wrestlers.  Leading the way are A.J. Schopp (133 lbs.) and Mitchell Port (141 lbs.), who are both ranked fourth by Amateur Wrestling News, with Schopp (9-0) fourth and  Port (10-1) fifth according to InterMat.  Both reached the round of 12 at last year's NCAA Division I National Championships.  Dave Habat (11-3) is ranked 15th in the Amateur Wrestling News poll and 16th according to InterMat.  Johnny Greisheimer (9-4), who returns after redshirting a year ago, is ranked 17th by Amateur Wrestling News and 18th by InterMat.  Finally, Ernest James (9-3) is ranked 16th by Amateur Wrestling News and 20th by InterMat.
 
Flynn Comments
- “I think this is a big weekend for us.  It's a tough weekend.  Not just because of the teams we are wrestling.  The school year is finishing up.  The kids are challenged academically.  They need to keep their lives in order academically and yet keep up physically.  Northwestern is a nationally-ranked team.  Clarion had a number of guys who finished ahead of our guys.  It will be tough.”