LOCK HAVEN, Pa. (March 5, 2016) – The Edinboro wrestling team saw its run of back-to-back Eastern Wrestling League championships snapped at Lock Haven's Thomas Fieldhouse on Saturday. However, it was still a successful day for a Fighting Scots squad that featured a mix of youth and veterans. Edinboro finished second and took home three individual titles.
 
More importantly, six Fighting Scots, out of 17 EWL qualifying spots, qualified for the NCAA Division I National Championships at Madison Square Garden in New York City from March 17-19. They will look to continue a run of back-to-back top five finishes for the Fighting Scots.
 

Rider would claim its first EWL championship on Saturday, as the Broncs also crowned three champions and finished with 89 points. Edinboro was second with 79.5 points, with host Lock Haven totaling 59 points. Clevelnad State was fourth (55 points), with Clarion fifth (41.5 points), George Mason sixth (32.5 points, and Bloomsburg seventh (5.5 points). Lock Haven's Dan Neff was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler.    
 
Five wrestlers reached championship matches for the Fighting Scots in their respective weight classes, with three coming away as champions. Vic Avery led the way, as he dominated the field at 184 lbs. to win his third EWL title and become just the seventh Edinboro wrestler to win three-or-more championships.  Avery won by fall over George Mason's Michale Fagg-Daves at 1:08 in the championship match to improve to 13-1 on the season. He now has a 96-30 career record.
 
Austin Matthews, who like Avery did not join the lineup until the middle of January, earned his second EWL crown, and first as a Fighting Scots. The redshirt sophomore won the championship at 157 lbs. in 2014 while competing at Clarion. On Saturday, he won all three of his matches by bonus points, including an 11-4 major decision over the defending 157 lb. champion, Chad Walsh of Rider, in the finals. Matthews improved to 10-4.
 
Redshirt freshman Sean Russell earned his first trip to Nationals with a dominating performance at 125 lbs. Like Matthews, he won his first match by fall and the next two by major decision. He posted a 20-8 major decision over Lock Haven's Jake Field in the final to boost his record to 27-7.
 
Russell also shared the EWL's Most Dual Points Award with Walsh with 28 points each.
 
Billy Miller and Casey Fuller took home second place finishes at heavyweight and 165 lbs., respectively. Miller had incredibly long evening as it turned out. The redshirt freshman battled defending champion Riley Shaw of Cleveland State into two tiebreakers before losing 5-4 on riding time. He had upset Shaw earlier in the year.
 
Miller was then forced to wrestle Rider's Mauro Correnti in a true second place match, with a trip to Nationals on the line. He again needed two tiebreakers, only this time he made sure riding time wasn't the deciding factor. After knotting the score at 3-3 with an escape, he used a takedown and four near-fall points in the final seconds for an incredible 9-3 decision. He will head to New York City with a 28-9 ledger.
 
Fuller earned his first trip to Nationals despite suffering an 11-3 loss to Rider's Connor Brennan in the finals. It marked the second straight year Brennan beat Fuller in the finals, as he became a three-time champion. Fuller, a redshirt senior, has a 26-9 record.
 
Patricio Lugo completes Edinboro's group of national qualifoers. The true freshman captured third place while competing iin a challenging 149 lb. weight class that featured three nationally-ranked wrestlers. Lugo, the second seed, would finish third. He dropped a 9-6 decision to Rider's B.J. Clagon in the semifinals after picking up a first round bye.  He won by technical fall in the consolation semifinals before capturing an 11-2 major decision over Blake Roulo of George Mason  in the third place match to capture one of three qualifying spots the EWL had at 149 lbs. Lugo is now 29-7.
 
Patrick Jennings (22-17) would finish fourth at 164 lbs., while Vince Pickett (19-18), the 197 lb. champion a year aho, did not place. Jennings wraps up his career with a 76-64 record, while Pickett was 79-62.    
  
125 lbs. – Sean Russell (#1 seed) – 1st Place
Quarterfinals – won by fall over Zach Valcarce, Rider -- 4:10
Semifinals – won by maj. dec. over John Martin, Cleveland St. (#4 seed) – 27-13
Finals –won by maj. dec. over  Jake Field, Lock Haven (#3 seed) – 20-8
 
133 lbs. – Anthony Rivera
Quarterfinals – lost dec. to Rob Deutsch, Rider (#1 seed) -- 7-4
Consolation First Round – won by dec. over Roshaun Cooley, Clarion – 6-2
Consolation Semifinals – lost by maj. dec. to Evan Cheek, Cleveland St. – 10-0
 
141 lbs. – Tyler Vath
Quarterfinals – lost dec. to Tejon Anthony, George Mason (#4 seed) -- 4-3
Consolation First Round – Bye
Consolation Semifinals – lost by dec. to Mike Carlone, Cleveland St. (#2 seed) – 8-6
 
149 lbs. – Patricio Lugo (#2 seed) – 3rd Place
Quarterfinals – Bye
Semifinals – lost by dec. to B.J. Clagon, Rider (#3 seed)—9-6
Consolation Semifinals – won by tech. fall over Nick Montgomery, Cleveland St. (#4 seed) – 18-3 (6:05)
Third Place – won by maj. dec. over Blake Roulo, George Mason (#5 seed) – 11-2
 
157 lbs. – Austin Matthews (#2 seed) – 1st Place
Quarterfinals – won by fall over Jake Keller, Clarion -- 2:00
Semifinals – won by maj. dec. over Greg Flournoy, George Mason (#3 seed) – 12-4
Finals – won by maj. dec, over Chad Walsh, Rider (#1 seed) – 17-6
 
165 lbs. – Casey Fuller (#2 seed) – 2nd Place
Quarterfinals  – won by fall over Matthew Carr, Bloomsburg -- 2:00
Semifinals – won by dec. over Evan Delong, Clarion (#3 seed) – 3-1 sv
Finals – lost by maj. dec. to Connor Brennan, Rider (#1 seed) – 11-3
 
174 lbs. – Patrick Jennings (#2 seed) – 4th Place
Quarterfinals  – won by by dec. over Ryan Forrest, George Mason -- 3-2
Semifinals – lost by fall to Gabe Stark, Cleveland St. (#3 seed) —2:41
Consolation Semifinals – won by dec. over Curt Delia, Rider – 6-0
Third Place – lost by dec. to Ryan Forrest, George Mason – 5-3
 
184 lbs. – Vic Avery (#1 seed) – 1st Place
Quarterfinals – won by tech. fall Kyle Wojtaszek, Bloomsburg -- 17-1
Semifinals – won by dec. over Dominic Rigous, Clarion (#4 seed) – 9-4
Finals – won by fall over Michale Fagg-Daves, Rider (#3 seed) – 1:08
 
197 lbs. – Vince Pickett (#4 seed)
Quarterfinals  – won by maj. dec. over Dominic Carfagno, Bloomsburg – 12-1
Semifinals – lost by dec. to Ryan Wolfe, Rider (#1 seed) – 5-0
Consolation Semifinals – lost by dec. to Dustin Conti, Clarion – 5-2
 
Hwt. – Billy Miller (#1 seed) – 2nd Place
Quarterfinals – won by dec. over Evan Daley, Clarion – 8-3
Semifinals – won by dec. over Matt Voss, George Mason (#4 seed) – 6-1
Finals – lost by dec. to Riley Shaw, Cleveland St. (#2 seed) – 5-4 tb2
True Second Match – won by dec. over Mauro Correnti, Rider (#2 seed) – 9-3 tb2