Photo Gallery (to come on Friday)

EDINBORO, Pa. (Dec. 5, 2013) – The scoreboard at the end of the night read "Iowa 22, Edinboro 19", but the real winners on Thursday night were the 3,152 wrestling fans who packed McComb Fieldhouse to watch the Fighting Scots challenge the number one ranked team in the country. And not far removed was A.J. Schopp, who defeated top-ranked Tony Ramos 3-2 in the feature match of the night at 133 lbs.

Edinboro would win three of the first four matches to jump out to a 13-4 lead, but the Hawkeyes won the next five bouts to clinch the win before Ernest James ended the night with a pin. The crowd marked the largest for aqn Edinboro sporting event at McComb Fieldhouse in many years.

Iowa's Thomas Gilman opened the night with a 12-3 major decision over Kory Mines, who came in ranked 16th by Amateur Wrestling News and 17th by Intermat.

That set the stage for the matchup at 133 lbs. between All-Americans Schopp and Ramos. A year ago Ramos claimed a 9-0 major decision in the dual at Iowa City, and would eventually finish as the national runner-up. Schopp would finish fourth at Nationals.

Schopp opened the scoring with a takedown at 1:47 of the first period, and would ride out Ramos the rest of the period. Ramos knotted the score at 2-2 with a takedown at the buzzer to end the second period.

Schopp began the third period on the bottom, and would gain the winning escape with just over a minute left in the third period. He would elude Ramos the rest of the way to upset the consensus number one wrestler at 133 lbs., bringing a huge roar from the large crowd. Schopp, who came in ranked eighth, remained undefeated at 7-0, while Ramos tasted defeat for the first time and just the 13th time in his career, falling to 7-1.

Mitchell Port, ranked number two at 141 lbs., followed with an impressive fall over Josh Dziewa, who came in undefeated at 9-0 and ranked 13th by InterMat and 18th by Amateur Wrestling News. The two battled through a scoreless first period. Port started the second period on the bottom and would reverse Dziewa forty seconds into the period. He would finish the match at 3:47 to improve to 4-0. He was making his first appearance in a month after suffering an ankle injury in the Michigan State Open.

Dave Habat boosted Edinboro's lead to 13-4 with a 13-5 major decision over Brody Grothus (10-3) at 149 lbs. The junior, ranked seventh by Amateur Wrestling News and tenth by InterMat, jumped out to 9-2 lead after one period thanks to three takedowns and three near-fall points.

Iowa began its rally behind top-ranked and defending national champion Derek St. John at 157 lbs. St. John used four takedowns to beat Johnny Greisheimer by major decision 13-5. The loss left Greisheimer at 4-4, while St. John remained undefeated at 10-0.

Nick Moore (4-0), ranked fourth by interMat and sixth by Amateur Wrestling News, followed with an 11-4 decision over Zach Towers at 165 lbs. Towers, a redshirt freshman making his collegiate debut, trailed just 5-1 after two periods, but Moore, the cousin of Edinboro assistant coach Cliff Moore, responded with a pair of takedowns in the third period to pull away.

Sixth-ranked Mike Evans (10-0) followed with a 13-5 major decision over Patrick Jennings (4-2) at 174 lbs.

Nick Mitchell once again filled in for injured Vic Avery at 184 lbs., and the redshirt freshman nearly upset top-ranked Ethen Lofthouse. Following a scoreless first period, the two traded escapes early in the next two periods. Lofthouse would register the lone takedown of the match with 1 minute 10 seconds left to wrestle in the third period. Mitchell nearly reversed Lofthouse to tie the match before finally escaping with 29 seconds to go for the final score. Mitchell is now 4-3 while Lofthouse remained undefeated at 9-0.

Sammy Brooks (8-3) clinched the match for the Hawkeyes at 197 lbs., posting an 11-0 major decision over Vince Pickett (4-2) to give the Hawkeyes a 22-13 lead. Neither wrestler scored in the first period, but Brooks parlayed the top position to start the second period into an eight-point period on back points.

Ernest James wrapped up the evening with his 33rd career fall at heavyweight. The senior led 5-0 when he ended the match with Tomas Lira (5-2), a natural 197-pounder filling in at heavyweight, at 2:10. James is now 5-2.

Edinboro jumps right back into action on Saturday, December 7, hosting the 71st Annual PSAC Championship. The first session gets underway at 9:30 a.m.


#1/#3 IOWA 22, #15/#15 EDINBORO 19
Thursday, December 5, 2013
McComb Fieldhouse
Edinboro, PA

125 – Thomas Gilman (IA) maj. dec. #17/#16 Kory Mines (EU), 12-3
133 – #8/#8 A.J. Schopp (EU) dec. #1/#1 Tony Ramos (IA), 3-2
141 – #2/#2 Mitchell Port (EU) fall over #13/#18 Josh Dziewa (IA), 3:47
149 – #10/#7 Dave Habat (EU) maj. dec. Brody Grothus (IA), 13-5
157 – #1/#1 Nick St. John (IA) maj. dec. Johnny Greisheimer (EU), 13-5
165 – #4/#6 Nick Moore (IA) dec. Zach Towers (EU), 11-4
174 – #6/#6 Mike Evans (IA) maj. dec. Patrick Jennings (EU), 13-5
184 -- #2/#1 Ethen Lofthouse (IA) dec. Nick Mitchell (EU), 3-2
197 – Sammy Brooks (IA) maj. dec. Vince Pickett (EU), 11-0
Hwt. – Ernest James (EU) fall over Tomas Lira (IA), 2:10

ATT: 3,152

RECORDS: Edinboro 0-2
Iowa 5-0

RANKINGS: InterMat/Amateur Wrestling News