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Edinboro Match Notes

The Lineups

EDINBORO Fighting Scots (8-9, 6-0 EWL)
 

			2015-16	Career
			Record	Record
125	Sean Russell	R-Fr.	23-6	23-6	Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hills
133	Anthony Rivera	R-Jr.	8-11	13-26	Mardela Springs, Md./Parkside
141	Tyler Vath	Fr.	9-17	9-17	Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown
149	#18/#16 Patricio Lugo	Fr.	25-6	25-6	Homestead, Fla./South Dade
157	#16/#15 Austin Matthews	R-So.	7-2	7-2	Greenville, Pa./Reynolds/Clarion
165	Casey Fuller	R-Sr.	23-7	68-56	Hamlin, Pa./Western Wayne
174	Patrick Jennings	R-Sr.	20-13	74-60	Ridge, N.Y./Longwood
184	#5/#6 Vic Avery	R-Sr.	8-1	91-30	Foxboro, Mass./Foxboro
197	Vince Pickett	Sr.	18-14	78-58	Galloway, Ohio/Central Crossing
285	Billy Miller	R-Fr.	24-8	24-8	Perry, Ohio/Perry

 
RANKINGS: InterMat/Flowrestling


WEST VIRGINIA Mountaineers (6-10, 0-4 Big 12) 
 

			2015-16
			Record
125	#12/#13 Zeke Moisey	So.	26-9	Northampton, Pa.
	Ryan Elliott	R-Fr.	5-6	Fairmont, W.Va,
133	Keegan Moore	Fr.	16-10	Oklahoma City, Okla.
	Cory Stainbrook	Jr.	5-12	Streetsboro, Ohio
141	Tony DeAngelo	Jr.	13-19	Mebane, N.C.
149	Zachary Moore	Fr.	13-12	Oklahoma City, Okla.
	James Dekrone	Jr.	7-6	Northport, N.Y.
157	#17/#17 Dylan Cottrell	Jr.	25-8	Spencer, W.Va.
165	Connor Flynn	Fr.	14-18	Dardenne Prairie, Mo.
174	Ross Renzi	Sr.	11-17	Burke, Va.
184	Bubba Scheffel	Sr.	17-12	Oakland, Md.
197	#9/#10 Jacob A. Smith	Jr.	26-7	Charleston, W.Va,
285	A.J. Vizcarrondo	Sr.	13-18	Philadelphia, Pa.
	Chris Nelson	Sr.	0-4	Sophia, W.Va.

RANKINGS:  InterMat/Flowrestling


The Match Stories

The Edinboro wrestling team will recognize five seniors prior to taking the mat for the last time in 2015-16 at McComb Fieldhouse on Saturday, February 20. After recognizing Vic Avery, Warren Bosch, Casey Fuller, Patrick Jennings, and Vince Pickett, the Fighting Scots will face West Virginia at 7 p.m.  The Fighting Scots are wrapping up the regular season with a tough stretch of duals that got even tougher with the addition of Ohio State as part of the NWCA National Duals Championship Series.  Edinboro's last three opponents -- Virginia Tech, Central Michigan, and Kent State -- have all been nationally-ranked. Head coach Tim Flynn's team has an 8-9 record, with seven of those losses to nationally-ranked teams, and an eighth coming against a Pittsburgh team that has been in-and-out of the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. Edinboro had won three duals in a row before the last three duals that left the Fighting Scots looking to end a three-dual losing streak. Last Sunday, Edinboro lost to 20th-ranked Central Michigan (20-15) and 17th-ranked Kent State (18-15).

WFSE FM 88.9 will broadcast Saturday's match against West Virginia. Mike Fenner will handle the play-by-play duties, with Josh Kaufer handling the color commentary.       

Instead of beginning preparations for the EWL Championships on Saturday, November 5 following the West Virginia dual, Edinboro will travel to Columbus, Ohio on Monday to meet ninth-ranked Ohio State on February 22. The dual is one of eight comprising the NWCA Nationals Duals Championship Series. The Fighting Scots qualified as regular season champions of the Eastern Wrestling League. Edinboro finished with a perfect 6-0 record uin EWL duals while running their winning streak to 17 straight EWL dual matches. It marked the the straight year the Fighting Scots went undefeated.

West Virginia comes in with a 6-10 record and is 0-4 in the Big 12, prior to a Friday match against Clarion. Like Edinboro, the Mountaineers have faced a demanding schedule, with eight of their losses to ranked opponents. Edinboro and West Virginia have wrestled four common opponents -- both beat Lock Haven, both lost to North Carolina State and Virginia Tech, and WVU beat Pittsburgh while the Fighting Scots fell to the Panthers. Second-year head coach Sammie Henson relies on three nationally-ranked wrestlers -- Jacob A. Smith (26-7), ranked ninth at 197 lbs., 12th-ranked Zeke Moisey (26-9) at 125 lbs., and 17th-ranked Dylan Cottrell (25-8) at 157 lbs. A year ago, Moisey finished as the NCAA runner-up at 125 lbs., finishing with a 32-14 record. Smith was an NCAA qualifier after transferring from Cleveland State. Cottrell is also a transfer, qualifying for nationals in 2013-14 while at Appalachian State, and being named the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year. 

The Edinboro lineup received a huge boost a month ago with the returns of Vic Avery and Austin Matthews against George Mason. Both had missed the entire season while recovering from knee surgery. Avery is 8-1 since returning to wrestle at 184 lbs. and now has 91 career victories. He posted a 2-1 decision in a tiebreaker over seventh-ranked Blake Stauffer of Arizona State in the Edinboro Open, before dropping a 3-1 loss in sudden victory to Zach Zavatsky of Virginia Tech. The redshirt senior earned All-American honors for the first time a year ago with a third place showing. He was 34-7 a year ago and has been ranked as high as second in the various national rankings. Matthews had not competed since November of last season due to knee injuries. A former transfer from Clarion, Matthews was off to great start last year with a 9-0 record and climbed into the top five nationally. He would suffer a knee injury and miss the rest of the season. The redshirt sophomore began the year ranked as high as fourth at 157 lbs. He is 7-2 this year while facing a number of very strong opponents.

The return of Avery and Matthews give Edinboro's lineup a little more experience, but the ascent is still on youth, with true freshmen Tyler Vath (141 lbs.) and Patricio Lugo (149 lbs.) in the lineup along with redshirt freshmen Sean Russell and Billy Miller at 125 and heavyweight, respectively. Lugo has a 25-6 record and is ranked 16th by FloWrestling and 18th by InterMat. Miller has a 24-8 record, while Russell is 23-6.

While youth has been key in 2015-16, Edinboro's upperclassmen have stepped up. Casey Fuller is enjoying the best season of his career. The redshirt senior has a 23-7 record while competing at 165 lbs. and is ranked 20th by InterMat. Coming off a 29-win season a year ago, redshirt senior Patrick Jennings owns an 20-13 record at 174 lbs. Finally, senior Vince Pickett has an 18-14 ledger at 197 lbs.  Pickett and Avery are the lone returning national qualifiers from last year's team. 

With a lineup featuring four true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen, it was anticipated that Edinboro would see its string of four straight PSAC championships come to an end. But someone forgot to tell the Fighting Scots. Six wrestlers reached the finals on December 5, with all six coming away with titles, and a total of eight Fighting Scots placed. It all added up to a fifth straight championship for the Scots, who finished with 136.5 points to outdistance Lock Haven, who finished second with 118 points, in the 12-team field. A trio of seniors led the way. Casey Fuller won his second straight title at 165 lbs., while Vince Pickett was doing the same at 197 lbs. Patrick Jennings won his first championship at 174 lbs. The freshmen did their part, as well. Redshirt freshmen Sean Russell and Billy Miller finished first at 125 and 285 lbs., respectively, while true freshman Patricio Lugo took home the crown at 149 lbs. Freshman Spencer Nagy added a third place finish at 157 lbs., with fellow freshman Nate Hagan fourth at 141 lbs.     

Head coach Tim Flynn is in his 19th season as head coach. Already the record-holder for career wins at Edinboro, Flynn joined the 200-win club with the early-season victory over Northern Illinois. He owns a 206-82-5 record. Flynn was named the EWL Coach of the Year for the second straight year and seventh time overall last season. In addition, he was selected the PSAC Coach of the Year for the 13th time.  

Edinboro has six wrestlers ranked in the various polls. Vic Avery is ranked as high as second by WIN Magazine at 184 lbs., and is in the top ten in all six polls despite sitting out two months while recovering from knee surgery. Like Avery, Austin Matthews returned against George Mason and jumped right back in to the rankings. He is 12th at 157 lbs. according to TheOpenMat.com. Patricio Lugo is ranked as high as 16th by FloWrestling at 149 lbs., and is ranked 18th by InterMat. Casey Fuller us ranked 18th by TheOpenMat. Sean Russell is 19th by TheOpenMat.com at 125 lbs. Heavyweight Billy Miller is 29th in TheWrestlingReport.com poll.

THE WEST VIRGINIA SERIES
EDINBORO LEADS 18-9-2 
Edinboro and West Virginia met twice in 2014-15. The first meeting took place in the Virginia Duals, with the Fighting Scots coming away with a 21-16 victory. They ended the regular season at the WVU Coliseum, coming away with their third straight win over the Mountaineers, this time by a 25-9 margin.  

LAST MEETING
2014-15:  EDINBORO 25, WEST VIRGINIA 9 -- The Fighting Scots jumped out to a 16-0 lead after four matches thanks to a pair of decisions, a fall by Mitchell Port at 141 lbs., and Dave Habat's major decision at 149 lbs. Warren Bosch capped the win as he avenged a loss to WVU's A.J. Vizcarrondo in their meeting in January with a 5-3 decision in sudden victory.

THE COACHES
EDINBORO -- Tim Flynn (Penn State '86) is in his 19th season as the helm of the Fighting Scots.  He has elevated the Edinboro program to one of the best in the country, compiling a 206-82-5 record.  Edinboro has had 13 top-20 finishes and five in the top ten at the NCAA Division I National Championships during his tenure.  That includes the two best finishes in school history the last two years. The Fighting Scots made the podium for the first time at Nationals with a third place showing a year ago, and in 2014 they were fifth. He has produced three national champions and 37 All-Americans.  All told, Flynn has been named the EWL Coach of the Year seven times and the PSAC Coach of the Year 13 times. Two years ago, Flynn captured nearly every Coach of the Year award, including being named the NWCA NCAA Division I Coach of the Year, WIN's Dan Gable Coach of the Year, and was InterMat's Co-Coach of the Year along with Minnesota's J Robinson.

WEST VIRGINIA -- Sammie Henson (Missouri '95) is in his second season as the head coach at West Virginia, replacing long-time mentor Craig Turnbull. He led the Mountaineers to a 9-9 finish in his first season. Henson previously served as the head assistant coach for two years at Missouri and also had a stint with Penn State. He was a two-time national champion at Clemson and previously earned All-American honors at Missouri. He went on to win a gold medal at the 1998 World Championships before winning a silver medal at the 2000 Olympics. He is one of five inductees for the National Wrestling Hall of Fame's Class of 2015.  

GOODBYE SENIORS
Edinboro will bid farewell to five seniors appearing in their final home dual against West Virginia. All have played a key role in the Fighting Scots' success over the last five years, including last year's third place finish at the NCAA Division I National Championships. Vic Avery is in his fourth season as a starter at 184 lbs. and owns a 91-30 career record. He earned All-American honors a year ago with a third place finish, and is a four-time national qualifier. Vince Pickett is a four-year starter while competing at 184 and 197 lbs. He earned his first trip to Nationals a year ago, and has a 78-58 career record. Patrick Jennings has started all four years, as well, at 174 lbs. He owns a 74-60 career record.  Casey Fuller has started for three seasons, first at 157 lbs. as a true freshman, and the last two years at 165 lbs. He has a 68-56 career record. Finally, while not in the starting lineup at this time, Warren Bosch was a starter at 197 lbs. for a season and at heavyweight a year ago. He has a 40-49 career record.

EDINBORO TO FACE OHIO STATE IN NWCA NATIONAL DUALS CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
By virtue of winning the Eastern Wrestling League regular season championship, Edinboro will travel to Columbus, Ohio on Monday, February 22 to face the Buckeyes of Ohio State at St. John Arena in the NWCA National Duals Championship Series presented by the United States Marine Corps and Titan Mercury Wrestling Club. The match is one of eight that will take place from February 19 to February 22. The NWCA National Duals Championship Series features eight Big Ten teams hosting six conference champions and two at-large non-Big Ten teams based on the USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. Top-ranked Penn State, which tied for the Big Ten title with Iowa, will host Big 12 champion and No. 3 Oklahoma State on Sunday, February 21 to highlight the eight bowl-style dual meets in the new national duals format. Ohio State comes in with a 10-3 record and is ranked ninth in the latest USA Today/NWCA Coaches Poll. The Buckeyes showcase a lineup with eight nationally-ranked wrestlers (according to InterMat), including top-ranked Nathan Tomasello at 125 lbs., the reigning NCAA champion at 125 lbs., and Kyle Snyder (hwt.), who became the youngest world champion in USA Wrestling history last summer.   They also feature No. 3 Bo Jordan (165), who suffered his only loss of the season on Friday to his cousin, Isaac Jordan of Wisconsin, No. 4 Micah Jordan (Bo's younger brother at 141), and No. 9 Johnni DiJulius (133). Ohio State and Edinboro met in the opening round of the old format duals last season, with the Buckeyes winning 30-7. Ohio State holds a 9-3 all-time lead in the series.