EDINBORO, Pa. (Feb. 20, 2016) – The Edinboro University wrestling team dropped its final home dual on Saturday night, as West Virginia spoiled Senior Night for four seniors in the lineup, handing the Fighting Scots an 18-14 defeat. That left both teams with 8-10 records. Edinboro will now face ninth-ranked Ohio State in the NWCA Duals Championship Series in Columbus, Ohio on Monday, February 22.
 

As luck would have it, the match would come down to the heavyweight bout, with an interesting twist. Edinboro starter Billy Miller (24-8) was unavailable, and Warren Bosch, who last year started at heavyweight, was out due to a death in the family.

That left head coach Tim Flynn to insert Corey Beck into the lineup. The sophomore was better known for starting at strong safety for the Edinboro football team in 2014 until taking the mat tonight.

A natural 197 pounder, Beck gave up 85 lbs. to WVU's A.J. Vizcarrondo (15-18), who weighed in at 280 lbs. Despite that, Beck found himself trailing just 1-0 on a Vizcarrondo escape to start the third period. He took several shots late in the match that had the crowd roaring, but he was unable to finish for a takedown while falling to 3-4 in his first time in the lineup.      

The match featured just one bout with bonus points, that coming in the very first match as 125 lbs., as Sean Russell improved to 24-6 with a 19-3 technical fall at 5:31 over Ryan Elliott (6-6). Leading just 2-0 after one period, Russell parlayed a big second period into the win. He would record a reversal, two takedowns, and twice tilted Elliott for two points to lead 14-2.
After that, the two teams would split the six matches with decisions. After the Mountaineers claimed tight decisions at 133 and 141 lbs., Patricio Lugo gave the Fighting Scots an 8-6 lead as he won a 3-2 decision over Zach Moore (14-13) at 149 lbs. Lugo, ranked 18th by InterMat, used a first-period takedown and an escape early in the third period to improve to 26-6.
 

The 157 lb. match was the only one of the evening between two ranked wrestlers. WVU's Dylan Cottrell, ranked 17th, prevailed in a 4-1 decision over 16th-ranked Austin Matthews. Cottrell had the match's lone takedown with just over a minute left in the first period as he improved to 27-8 while dropping Matthews to 7-3.

Casey Fuller walked off the mat for the final time at McComb Fieldhouse a 7-2 winner over Connor Flynn (15-19) at 165 lbs. Fuller, now 24-7, had takedowns in each of the first two periods.

After fellow senior Patrick Jennings (20-14) was unable to follow suit at 174 lbs., falling 3-2 to Ross Renzi (12-18), Vic Avery posted an impressive decision at 184 lbs. Avery, ranked fifth, improved to 9-1 with an 8-4 decision over Bubba Scheffel, who fell to 18-13. Avery had the lone takedown in the first two periods and entered the third tied at 2-2. He dominated the final two minutes with a pair of takedowns and an escape. He owned over two minutes in riding time.

Vince Pickett, the fourth straight senior in the lineup, suffered a 3-0 setback to ninth-ranked Jacob A. Smith at 197 lbs. to set the stage for the match-deciding heavyweight bout. Pickett is now 18-15, with Smith at 28-7.