The Edinboro Lineup
2012-13 Record – 9-5, 3-1 EWL  
 
Wt.        Name (Yr., Record, Hometown)
125         Kory Mines (So., 13-16, Maple Heights, OH)
133         #4/#3 A.J. Schopp (So., 25-3, Tyrone, PA)
141         #4/#4 Mitchell Port (So., 26-3, Bellefonte, PA)
149         #17/#17 Dave Habat (So., 23-7, Cleveland, OH)
157         Michael DePalma (Fr.-r., 20-10, Jeannette, PA)
                Casey Fuller (So , 7-10, Hamlin, PA)
165         Johnny Greisheimer (Jr., 15-11, Wantagh, NY)
174         Patrick Jennings (Fr.-r, 12-20, Ridge, NY)                
184         Vince Pickett (Fr., 19-13, Galloway, OH)
197         Warren Bosch (Fr.-r, 12-15, Kings Park, NY)         
Hwt.      #19/#20 Ernest James (Jr., 20-9, Medford, NY)
 
HEAD?COACH:  Tim Flynn (Penn State '87, 172-64-5, 16th year)
Rankings:  InterMat/Amateur Wrestling News
 
The Match Stories
 
} Edinboro concludes the dual season this weekend against a pair of old rivals.  The Fighting Scots host Pittsburgh on Friday, February 22 on Senior Night.  The next day they head down I-79 to face West Virginia.  Both have long been rivals of the Fighting Scots, but conference realignment has changed all that.  West Virginia joined the Big 12 this year, while Pittsburgh becomes a member of the ACC?next year.  Edinboro is tied for 15th InterMat's Tournament Strength rankings and 15th in the USA Today/NWCA/AWN Coaches Poll.   Pittsburgh is ranked 17th in both polls.
} Edinboro faced a formidable task at Iowa last Saturday, suffering a 31-6 loss to the second-ranked Howkeyes.  Mitchell Port and Dave Habat won by decision for the Fighting Scots at 141 and 149 lbs., respectively.  A week earlier the Scots won a 20-19 decision over Kent State, who was ranked 21st by InterMat.    
} Prior to the Pittsburgh match, Mike Horton will be honored as Edinboro's lone senior.  The heavyweight from Philipsburg, PA has served as a valuable reserve and owns a career record of 55-30.
} Edinboro finished fourth at the Virginia Duals, defeating Army (25-10) and 25th-ranked Old Dominion (21-12) before losing to tenth-ranked Virginia Tech (23-10) and ninth-ranked Central Michigan (25-10).  The loss to Virginia Tech snapped a six-match winning streak. 
} Edinboro ended 2012 with an 11th place showing at the Midlands Championships, which featured 14 teams that finished in the top 25 at last year's NCAA?Division I National Championships.  A pair of Fighting Scots placed fifth, with A.J. Schopp picking up a fifth place finish for the second straight year at 133 lbs. and Mitchell Port also picking up a fifth place.  Three other wrestlers fell a win shy of earning medals -- Dave Habat and Michael DePalma at 149 lbs. and Ernest James at heavyweight. 
} The Fighting Scots made it back-to-back Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference championships in December, 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.).     
}The Fighting Scots showcase an extremely young lineup, with one true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen starting, plus four sophomores.  Edinboro's lineup features four ranked wrestlers.  Leading the way is A.J. Schopp (133 lbs.), who is ranked third by Amateur Wrestling News and fourth by InterMat and has a 25-3 record with 16 falls.  Mitchell Port is not far behind, ranked fourth by both Amateur Wrestling News and InterMat with a 26-3 record.  Both reached the round of 12 at last year's NCAA?Division I?National Championships.  Dave Habat (23-7) is ranked 17th in both polls, and Ernest James (20-9) is ranked 19th at heavyweight by InterMat and 20th by Amateur Wrestling News.
} A year Edinboro lost to both Pittsburgh and West Virginia.  The Fighting Scots own a 15-9 advantage in the all-time series with the Panthers, but have lost the last three meetings.  Edinboro is 14-9-2 vs. WVU.  Last year marked the first loss to the Mountaineers since the 2002-03 campaign, with a pair of ties mixed in there.
}Following this weekend's action, Edinboro will host the Eastern Wrestling League Championships on Saturday, March 9 at McComb Fieldhouse.
 
Scouting Pittsburgh
 
} The Panthers come to McComb Fieldhouse with a deceiving 8-6 record, and are ranked 17th in both the InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News' polls.  Coach Rande Stottlemyre's team has faced an ambitious schedule, with an 18-16 win over Virginia Tech, a 23-12 victory over Maryland, along with losses to Michigan (16-15), Ohio State (26-13), Oklahom State (26-14), Penn State (31-7), and Lehigh (22-14).  In their last season as a member of the EWL before moving to the ACC?next year, Pittsburgh is 3-1 in the EWL, dropping a 19-18 decision to Bloomsburg.  That loss snapped a two-year run for the Panthers as dual meet champions, but they still have a chance to win their third straight EWL?tournament crown in two weeks.  Five grapplers are nationally-ranked , led by third-ranked Matt Wilps at 197 lbs.  The fifth-year senior defeated Edinboro's Chris Honeycutt last year to win the EWL?crown, and comes in ranked third with a record of 17-2.  The losses are to top-ranked Dustin Kilgore of Kent state and second-ranked Quentin Wright of Penn State.  He earned All-American honors with a fourth place showing last year.  Younger brother Tyler Wilps is ranked 12th by Amateur Wrestling News and  17th by InterMat at 165 lbs.  A third-year sophomore, he has an 18-6 record.  The Thomusseit brothers are also higghly-ranked.  Heavyweight Zac Thomusseit is ranked  seventh by Amateur Wrestling News and eighth by InterMat with a 21-2 record.  The fifth-year senior is a two-time national qualifier at 197 lbs. and was the 2011 EWL?champion.  Max Thomusseit, a redshirt sophomore, is ranked 13th by InterMat and 14th by Amateur Wrestling News at 184 lbs.  Finally, former Meadville High School standout Shelton Mack is ranked 17th at 133 lbs. and defeated Edinboro's A.J. Schopp in last year's dual.  Mack, a junior, owns a 15-7 record.  He lost to Schopp in the EWL?finals, then reached the round of 12 at Nationals.       
 
Scouting West Virginia
 
} The Mountaineers have suffered through a very uncharacteristic season under long-time head coach Craig Turnbull, showing a 1-9 record in their first season competing in the Big 12.  In fact, they opened the season with a win and have since lost nine straight duals.  However, those losses have come to the likes of Maryland, Penn State, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Rutgers and Iowa State.  A young lineup showcases junior Nathan Pennesi, who is ranked 12th by Amateur Wrestling News and 14th by InterMat at 141 lbs.  He is a two-time national qualifier at 133 lbs. before moving up this year.  Pennesi has a 21-7 record.  Shane Young, a senior at 125 lbs., has a 10-3 record.