Clarion posted two individual champions and a total of eight placewinners over the weekend as the Golden Eagles finished third at the 59^th Annual PSAC Wrestling host by Kutztown University.

Held at Kutztown’s Keystone Arena, Edinboro won the team title with 147 points, Lock Haven was second with 141, Clarion third with 101.5, Millersville fourth with 78.5, Bloomsburg fifth with 66, East Stroudsburg sixth with 62.5, Slippery Rock seventh at 56.5, Kutztown eighth with 55.5 and Shippensburg ninth with 12 points.

Leading the way for the Golden Eagles and fifth year head coach Ken Nellis were PSAC Champions Eric Mausser (Jr. Sharon) at 197 and John Testa (Jr. Newark, De.) at heavyweight, with 133-pounder Rad Martinez (Jr. West Jordan, Utah) finishing second. Mausser’s win also helped Clarion reach a milestone in PSAC wrestling history. He became the 100^th Clarion wrestler to win a PSAC individual title. Of course with Testa’s victory, the Eagles now have crowned a total of 101 champions.

Mausser won the individual title at 197-pounds when he defeated the #1 seed and #6 ranked David Shunamon of Edinboro 4-3 in the finals. Mausser got to the finals by defeating Corey Hart (SR) 8-0 in the opening round and LH’s Avery Zerkle 5-0 in the semi’s. His 3-0 record pushes his season record to 25-6 and his career record to 79-33. He was 2^nd at 197 in 1999 and fourth here last year.

Testa, the #1 seed at heavyweight, won his third consecutive PSAC title and notched a 3-0 record at PSAC’s to run his season record to 25-5. Testa opened the tournament with a 12-4 major decision over Tom Boetsch (LH), then pinned Bob McKillop (SR) at 4:39 in the semi’s. John decisioned Edinboro’s Josh Pearce 10-4 in the finals, his third finals win over Pearce in as many years. Testa has raised his career record at Clarion to 82-22 and joins elite company with three PSAC titles. Also with three are former grapplers Chuck Coryea, Randy Miller, Ken Nellis, Mike Cole, 1996 USA Olympic Champion Kurt Angle, Dan Payne, Sheldon Thomas and Mark Angle. Four Clarion wrestlers have won four PSAC titles including Wade Schalles, Bill Simpson, Don Rohn and Jim Beichner.

Martinez posted a 2-1 record in placing second at 133-pounds. He opened the tournament with a 7-2 decision over Mark Piermattei (BL), then decisioned Chris Matarrese (SR) 6-2 before dropping a 6-5 decision in the final seconds to Cory Ace (Edinboro) in the finals. Martinez, ranked #6 in the nation, raised his season record to 23-3 and has a two year record at Clarion of 52-13. He was second at 133 last year.

Clarion also had four wrestlers finish in third place and they were Peter Derstine (So. Coral Springs, Fl.) at 125, Dominic Surra (Sr. Kersey) at 149, Jeremy Reitz (So. Brookville) at 157 and Todd Schuchert (Fr. N. Huntingdon) at 174.

Derstine notched a 3-1 record in taking third place. He lost in the opening round to Adam Renner (SR) 9-6 then posted a tech fall 16-1 at 5:35 over Mike Collins (BL), an 8-1 decision over Brian Burzynski and a 3-2 win over Renner for third place. Derstine raised his record to 15-9 this season. He finished 5^th at 125 last year and now has a career record of 30-24.

Surra also carved a 3-1 record in taking third place at 149. He defeated Shawn Blanchard (16-5) in the opening round, then lost a 7-3 decision in the semi’s to Brad Cieleski (SR). He battled back with a 9-8 win over Michael Ashby (ED) and then a 9-3 decision for third place over Keith Kleckner (E. Stroudsburg). He raised his season record to 12-12 and became a three-time career placewinner getting 4^th last year and 6^th at PSAC’s in 1998. He now has a career record of 53-50.

Reitz was 3-1 in placing third at 157 and raised his season record to 14-8. He opened the PSAC’s with a 4-1 win over Chris Jacobs (K), but lost a 6-1 decision to Ryan Yates (ED). In the wrestle backs Jeremy pinned Jason Cardillo (SR) at 1:40, then defeated Matt Dudeck (ESU) 3-2 for third place.

Schuchert posted a 3-1 record to place third as a freshman at 174. He started with an 8-1 decision over Millersville’s Curtis Yeager, then lost to eventual champion Josh Koscheck (ED) by fall at 5:24. In the wrestled backs he pinned Nick Brumbaugh (K) at 2:08, then decisioned Dan Roy (ESU) 10-4 for third place. Schuchert raised his season record to 12-3, and combined with his 6-2 record last year before taking a medical red-shirt, has a career record of 19-5.

Also placing sixth for the Golden Eagles was Marcus Surin (Fr. Spring Valley, N.Y.), while Stephen Stremple (Fr. Pgh) at 141 and Jim Perry (Jr. Reynoldsville) at 165 were 0-2.

Surin lost an 8-3 decision to Justin Johnson (BL) to start the tournament, defeated Anthony Petrock (ESU) 6-0, then lost 4-1 to Matt Camino (ED) and 10-1 to John Opfar (SR). Surin has a season record of 2-20.

Stremple was pinned by Brad Kleckner (ESU) at 4:00 in his fist match, then lost a 14-4 decision to Derek Sola (ML) to finish the tournament. Stremple is now 4-9 this season.

Perry, who has weighed in at 157 all season, moved up to 165 to cover the weight class. He opened with a 7-3 loss to Chris Haines (LH), then lost a 7-5 decision to Millersville’s Craig Pequignot. Perry is now 4-13 this season.

CLARION NOTES: Clarion’s 4-time PSAC champs and their years are Bill Simpson (71, 72, 73, 74), Wade Schalles (71, 72, 73, 74), Don Rohn (73, 74, 75, 76), and Jim Beichner (83, 84, 85, 86)... Three time winenrs include Chuck Coryea (73, 75, 76), Randy Miller (77, 80, 81), Ken Nellis (83, 84, 86), Mike Cole (86, 87, 89), Kurt Angle (90, 91, 92), Dan Payne (93, 94, 95), Sheldon Thomas (94, 96, 97), Mark Angle (98, 99, 00) and Testa (2000, 2001, 2002)... Clarion will host Edinboro this Saturday (Feb. 2) at 7:30pm as the Eagles return to dual meet action.