Clarion University’s wrestling team sent five qualifiers to the NCAA Division I Wrestling Nationals last weekend and 157-pounder Chris Horning (So. Syracuse, N.Y.) and 125-pounder Peter Derstine (Sr. Coral Springs, Fla.) won two matches each and helped the Golden Eagles finish in 55^th place.

Held at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri, defending champion Oklahoma State ran away with the team title scoring 123.5 points, while second place Iowa was far back with 82 points. Rounding out the top five were Lehigh and Ohio State tied for third with 77.5 points and Nebraska fifth with 74. Clarion scored 3.5 points and finished 55^th with five wrestlers.

Also wrestling for the Golden Eagles were 165-pounder Jeremy Reitz (Sr. Brookville), 141-pounder Frank Edgar (Jr. Toms River, N.J.) and heavyweight Matt Wilcox (Guys Mills - Maplewood),

"Overall I thought our guys showed they were well prepared and wrestled some very good matches at the nationals," said Clarion’s seventh year head coach Ken Nellis. "Our seniors showed well and our younger wrestlers gained some valuable experience. That experience hopefully will pay some dividends next year."

Horning, only a sophomore, made his first trip to nationals a memorable one. He opened the tournament winning a 7-2 decision over Paul Siemon (Hofstra). In the second round he lost a hard-fought 8-4 match against eventual national champion (#2 seed) Matt Gentry of Stanford. That match was tied 4-4 entering the third period when Gentry escaped and added a late takedown to secure the win. Horning battled back in the wrestle backs for a 3-2 win over Minnesota’s Matt Nagel. His second period escape provided the margin of victory. Then he lost to #10 seed Travis Paulsen (Iowa State) 5-4 and was eliminated. Chris finished 2004 with a 26-10 overall record, won the EWL title and placed second at PSAC’s. Combined with his 16-19 record at 165-pounds last year, Chris has a two-year record of 42-29.

Derstine, a senior, posted a 2-2 record at 125-pounds to end his career at Clarion. He opened the NCAA’s with a loss by fall to eventual NCAA Champion Kyle Ott (Illinois) at 3:59. Ott was the #6 seed. In the wrestle backs Derstine won two consecutive matches when he defeated Casey Brewster (WVU) 13-6 and then downed Slippery Rock’s Ben Watson (13-7). In the Brewster match Derstine trailed 4-3 entering the third period, but he put together two, five-point moves to get the win. Against Watson he was ahead 8-7 in the third when he got a takedown with under ten seconds left and put Watson to his back for his 13-7 win. In Derstine’s final match he lost to Northwestern’s John Velez 10-2. Derstine had his best season as a Golden Eagle winning the EWL title, placing third at PSAC’s, Reno and Penn State and had a final season record of 34-11. Last year Pete was 23-11 at 125-pounds and placed 4^th at EWL’s but didn’t reach the NCAA’s. Derstine ended with a Clarion career mark of 89-50.

Reitz was 1-2 at the NCAA’s and finished his season with a record of 23-19. He opened the NCAA’s against #2 seed and eventual NCAA Champion Troy Letters of Lehigh and lost a 13-5 decision. In the wrestle backs Reitz defeated Navy’s Mike Barikian 3-2. Reitz posted a takedown with 45-seconds left in the match to provide the margin of victory. His final match was a loss by fall to #12 seed J.J. Holmes of E. Michigan at 3:40. Jeremy finished the year with a 23-19 record, was 5^th at EWL’s, 1^st at E. Stroudsburg, second at PSAC’s and 4^th at Mat Town and 6^th at Reno. Last year he was 27-17 at 157-pounds and ws 2^nd at PSAC’s and 6^th at EWL’s. He also finished 19-14 in 2002 at 157-pounds and was 3^rd at PSAC’s and 4^th at EWL’s. Jeremy finished a quality career at Clarion with a 69-50 record.

Edgar, a junior, had two tough matches at the NCAA’s. He opened with a last second 4-3 loss to #10 seed Doug McGraw (Penn). Edgar led 3-2 in the third when McGraw posted a takedown with 31-seconds left and rode him out to preserve the win. In the wrestle backs Edgar ran into #9 seed Cory Cooperman and lost 12-3. Frank posted a strong 36-9 season record including a 5^th pace at EWL’s, 1^st at PSAC’s and Penn State, 2^nd at E. Stroudsburg and third at Reno and Mat Town.

Frank was 0-2 at nationals last year and 1-2 as a freshman in 2001. Edgar now has a career record at Clarion of 80-46.

Wilcox, a freshman, finished his season strong although he was 0-2 at his first NCAA’s. He lost in the first round to #1 seed and eventual NCAA Champ Tommy Rowlands (Ohio State) by fall at 4:03. In the wrestle backs he lost 15-3 to Oregon State’s Jamie Rakevich. Wilcox finished his freshman season with a 12-14 record, but was third at the EWL’s and won 9 of his final12 regular season matches.

CLARION NOTES: The Golden Eagles were 5-10 in matches wrestled at the NCAA’s and have a 38-year record now of 304-263 at nationals... Clarion now has 42 NCAA-I All-Americans including 8 NCAA Champions ... The titles came in 1972 (Garry Barton, Wade Schalles), 1973 (Don Rohn, Wade Schalles, Bill Simpson), 1990 Kurt Angle, 1992- Kurt Angle and 1996 Sheldon Thomas... The Eastern Wrestling League had only 3 All-Americans including NCAA Champ Greg Jones at 184 from West Virginia and Edinboro’s Matt King (3^rd at 165) and Nate Yetzer (8^th at 174) .... Under Ken Nellis the Eagles have been 24^th at NCAA’s in 1998, 27^th in 1999, 26^th in 2000, 42^nd in 2001, 41^st in 2002, 26^th in 2003 and 55^th this year ... Clarion finished the regular season with a dual meet record of 4-8... Nellis’ seven-year record is 44-59-2.