By CRAIG PHILLIPS
Staff writer
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Pitt’s Ron Tarquinio served as a nemesis for Clarion University’s Frank Edgar. He does no longer.
Edgar who posted a 3-1 overtime victory over Tarquinio to win the Eastern Wrestling League Championship at 141 pounds, completely exorcised the demon Thursday night at the 75th NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships at the Savvis Center.
The Clarion senior was seeded ninth behind the Panther, who received the eighth seed.
This despite the fact Edgar had moved up to seventh in the national rankings conducted by Amateur Wrestling News and Intermat.
This time around, he didn’t need overtime.
Edgar, 40-7, broke the bout open in the second period with an early escape before connecting on a double-leg lift takedown :34 into the period. Tarquinio escaped later in the period, but was also warned for stalling and at that point, Edgar knew he was in command.
“I felt really physically strong,” the Clarion senior said. “It worked out better than the last time. It happened earlier, I guess.”
Edgar, who allowed an escape in the third, finished with 1:17 riding time advantage for a 4-2 win and will face top-seeded Nate Gallick of Iowa State in the quarterfinals. Gallick, 27-0 and the Big 12 champion, placed fifth at 141 a year ago.
Tarquinio checked into the wrestlebacks at 25-7.
“(Frank’s) maturity and confidence are showing,” Clarion coach Ken Nellis said. “He’s wrestling real well and putting it all together.”
Edgar advanced to his second-round bout with Tarquinio with a 10-2 major decision over Iowa’s Alex Tsirtsis, a freshman who was fifth in the Big Ten Championship and carried a 21-10 record into the bout.
Edgar, after barely missing the opening takedown via a spin-behind maneuver, opened the scoring with :08 remaining in the first period by connecting on a double-leg takedown.
He increased his lead to 3-0 just :06 into the second period by countering a tilt attempt by hitting a high bridge and hip-change. He the executed a shrug for a takedown :33 into the period and rode the rest of the way.
Tsirtis selected the top position in the third and could only hold Edgar for :21 before the Eagle escaped with a standup.
The Hawkeye cut Edgar’s lead to 6-2 at the :45 mark with a takedown, but Edgar escaped once against and added a takedown and 1:29 in riding time for the major.
Clarion teammate Chris Horning, the 11th seed at 157 pounds, suffered a heartbreaking defeat as he was taken down in the final :12 to lose 4-3 in his second-round bout against Trent Paulson of Iowa State.
Paulson, the sixth seed, was a decided favorite over Horning, but the Clarion junior had other ideas.
Horning went ahead 2-0 with :30 left in the first period when he countered an inside trip attempt by Paulson for a takedown. However, both wrestlers were warned for stalling with 1:18 gone in the period and Horning was penalized one point with :13 remaining.
Horning took a 3-1 lead with an escape at the midway point in the second period and rode with legs the first minute of the third until he became out of position. Paulson took advantage and escaped with :57 left in the bout.
Pursuing Horning on their feet, Paulson locked a bear bug and tripped the Golden Eagle to the mat for the winning takedown in the closing moments.
Nellis, although disappointed, felt Horning wrestled well.
“(Chris’) right arm must of got pinched in for the bear hug,” Nellis said. “It had to be hard for Paulson to get that angle. The stalling call was tough, but Chris is wrestling well.”
Horning, who entered the tournament with a 26-5 record, wrestled a tactical bout in his opener against Missouri’s Brad Cieleski -- who spent three years at Slippery Rock before transferring to Missouri.
Cieleski, a Brookville High School graduate with a 23-8 record, is the younger brother of Doug Cieleski. The elder Cieleski served as a graduate assistant coach at Clarion last season and was well-versed in Horning’s style and techniques.
Thus, Horning chose the conservative rout in his approach against the Big 12 runner-up and the bout was scoreless after one period.
Horning, using a sit-back and standup, escaped in :16 in the second period to take a 1-0 lead and the two finished on their feet.
Cieleski, choosing the bottom position in the final period, exhausted all avenues of escape. However, Horning effectively used grapevine combinations to finish the bout on top and with 1:44 riding time for an extra point in his 2-0 win.
Horning will meet the winner of the bout between Oregon State’s Tony Hooks and Columbia’s Devin Masenko in the third round consolations.
Today will also mark the announcement of the 75th anniversary all-time NCAA tournament team. Clarion’s University’s Wade Schalles and Kurt Angle are two of 45 nominees for 15 spots on the prestigious squad.