CLARION COMPETES IN 62ND PSAC WRESTLING CHAMPIONSHIPS
                           E. STROUDSBURG WILL HOST ON FRIDAY & SATURDAY JANUARY 28-29
        Nine PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) teams and 90 athletes will travel to East Stroudsburg this weekend searching for PSAC “Gold” at the 62nd Annual Wrestling Championships.
        Action gets underway at 5pm Friday, January 28th at ESU’s Koehler Fieldhouse. Session two featuring the semifinals and two rounds of consolations are set for Saturday at 11am, with the championship finals and place matches slated for 5pm Saturday night. All Session and Individual Session passes for Adults and Students will be available at the door.
        A championship steeped in great tradition, the 62nd PSAC Championship will feature the return of 5 individual champions and four runners-up from previous PSAC Championships.
        Edinboro, the pre-tournament favorite, has won five of the last six PSAC team titles including 2004, 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 and 1998. Lock Haven won the team crown in 2001. In the 1990's Clarion, Edinboro and Lock Haven won three PSAC titles each, with Bloomsburg getting one. In the history of the PSAC’s Lock Haven leads with 19 team titles, Clarion and Bloomsburg have 13 each, Edinboro 8, East Stroudsburg and Millersville 2 each and Slippery Rock one. West Chester won 3 team crowns but no longer has wrestling.
        The Fighting Scots hosted and won the 2004 title going away with 140.5 points with Lock Haven second at 118, Bloomsburg third with 91, East Stroudsburg fourth with 77.5 and Clarion and Millersville tied for fifth with 72 points. Shippensburg was seventh at 44.5, Slippery Rock eighth with 44 and Kutztown ninth at 30.
        Edinboro also won the 2003 title (hosted by Millersville) with 134.5 points, edging Lock Haven who had 127.5. Bloomsburg finished third with 98.5 points and Clarion was fourth with 97.5, while Slippery Rock finished fifth with 83.5.
        Kutztown hosted the 2002 PSAC’s and Edinboro won the team title with 147 points, while LH was a close second with 141 and Clarion third at 101.5.
        In the 2001 PSAC’s hosted at Clarion’s Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium, Lock Haven took the team title scoring 153.5 points, Edinboro was second with 126, Bloomsburg third at 119 and Clarion fourth with 100.5.
        The 2005 race appears to be Edinboro’s to lose. The Fighting Scots under eighth year head coach Tim Flynn enters the tournament with a 7-3 dual record including wins over Clarion (32-13), Buffalo (24-15) and Virginia (26-6).
        With plenty of youth featured at this year’s event, including at least 40 freshmen and sophomores out of the 90 participants, the battle for team places second through sixth could be interesting. Usually that battle at the
top is between Clarion, Lock Haven and Bloomsburg, but host East Stroudsburg has a very strong team and an excellent opportunity to place high building on their fourth place finish a year ago.
        Bloomsburg, led by third year head coach Dan Wirnsberger, has led the Huskies to a 4-5 dual meet record. They have wins over Buffalo (21-9), Slippery Rock (34-9), Ohio U. (23-12) and Kent State (21-18).
        Lock Haven, under third year head coach Rocky Bonomo, has a 3-4 dual meet record and includes a PSAC win over Millersville (41-3) and losses to #3 Iowa State (35-12) and #17 Indiana (32-4).
        Host East Stroudsburg and coach Angelo Borzio (In his 6th season), is off to a fast start with a 6-1 dual meet record. The Warriors have impressive wins over Slippery Rock (20-15), Rutgers (19-13), Millersville (28-10) and American (42-7), with its lone loss coming against Army (29-6).
        Clarion, under eighth year head coach Ken Nellis, leads the Eagles into the PSAC’s with an 3-8-1 dual meet record against a quality D-I schedule. The Golden Eagles have posted wins against Mercyhurst (27-13), Drexel (23-16) and Slippery Rock (29-9), a 16-16 tie against Ohio University, with losses against #21 Penn State (41-3), UPJ twice (27-15; 24-12), Kent State (30-17), #2 Illinois (37-7), #24 Northern Illinois (31-3), #22 West Virginia (43-0) and Edinboro (32-13).
        Clarion’s PSAC lineup will likely be missing an entry at 125 and 184. The Eagles Toby Seeger (Fr. Shaler) suffered a knee injury against WVU and could be out for the remainder of the season. 184-pounder Dave Gardner (So. Norwin) also sustained a knee injury vs WVU and is likely to miss this weekend. Clarion wrestlers this weekend include Chris Lape (So. 10-9; Coraopolis) at 133, Frank Edgar (Sr. 29-6; Toms River, N.J.) at 141, either Nathan Geesaman (So. 2-7; Waynesboro) or Bart Wylie (Fr. Renfrew) at 149, Chris Horning (Jr. 17-4; Syracuse, N.Y.) at 157, Marcus Surin (Sr. 18-9; Spring Valley, N.Y.) at 165, Chris Goings (Fr. 6-14; Centerville, Va.) at 174, Charlie Cilinski (Jr. 2-12; Gainesville,Va.) at 197 and John Fager (Jr. 10-11; West Jordan, Utah) at heavyweight
        Clarion’s core group hoping for high places will be Edgar, Horning and Surin. Edgar is the defending champion at 141, is a three-time placewinner (5th at 141-2003; 4th in 2001) and has pushed his career record to 109-52. Horning, who finished second last year at 157 and third at 165 last year as a freshman, has a career record of 59-33. Surin, meanwhile, is having his best season in a Clarion singlet after dropping to 165.
        CLARION NOTES: Clarion won 3 PSAC titles in the 1990's (1991, 92 & 94), placed 2nd three times (1990, 95, 96), finished third three times (1997, 98, 99) and fourth in 1993, 2000 and 2001... Clarion posted 31 individual champions in the 1990's, more than any other PSAC team... Of Clarion’s 13 team titles the first came in 1965 under coach Frank Lignelli, then 11 under coach Bob Bubb in 1972, 73, 74, 76, 77, 78, 81, 83, 86, 91 &92, and one under Jack Davis (1994)... Clarion heavyweight John Testa was voted the "Outstanding Wrestler" of the 2003 PSAC Championship - Testa defeated Lock Haven's Steve Itterly 8-4 in the finals to win his fourth PSAC title... He was only the 12th wrestler in PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) history to win four individual titles and the first to win four titles at heavyweight... Clarion’s other 4-time PSAC Champions were Wade Schalles (1971-74), Bill Simpson (1971-74), Don Rohn (1973-76) and Jim Beichner (1983-86) ... Clarion’s 3-time PSAC champions include Chuck Coryea, Randy Miller, Ken Nellis, Mike Cole, Kurt Angle, Dan Payne, Sheldon Thomas and Mark Angle... Mark won his third in 2000 and was the PSAC’s “OW” at the 2000 tournament... Clarion wrestlers have won 104 individual PSAC crowns... The 13 wrestlers to win PSAC titles in order of their accomplishment is: LH’s Steve DeAugustino (1947-50), LH Ralph Clark (1957-60), LH Gray Simons (1959-62), LH Fred Powell (1961-64), LH Bill Blacksmith (1963-66), Clarion Wade Schalles (1971-74), Clarion Bill Simpson (1971-74), Clarion Don Rohn (1973-76), Clarion Jim Beichner (1983-86), LH Mike Rogers (1994-97), ED Josh Koscheck (1999-2002), Clarion John Testa (2000-2003), LH Mike Maney (2001-2004)
Here’s a weight by weight look at the PSAC’s (Ranked wrestlers with highest ranking according to either AWN or Intermat - records in parenthesis):
        125: This weight class is wide open. The top seeds would appear to go to either Bloomsburg’s Mike Sees (11-0) or Obe Blanc (18-9) of Lock Haven. Brandon Clemmer (17-7) of Ship, and 2004 runner-up Adam Bunting (6-8) of Millersville could also battle fo gold. Ship’s Jamie Thomas (3-1), who was 5th last year could also place high and is ranked #3 in D-II. ESU’s Roberto Ramos (7-6) has wins over Bunting and Thomas.
        133: Edinboro’s Shawn Bunch (25-1) is ranked #1 in the nation at this weight class and is the prohibitive favroite. Bunch was runner-up at 125 in 2002. Looking to get to the finals will be defending 125-pound PSAC champion Jimmy Collins (6-11) of Lock Haven. Bloomsburg’s Tony Curto (15-5), ESU’s Ryan McCallum (11-4) and Clarion’s Chris Lape (10-9) hope to battle for high places. Millesville’s Dave Roberts was sixth in 2004.
        141: Defending Champion Frank Edgar (29-6) of Clarion will be the top seed at 141. Edgar ranked 11th nationally, has also placed 4th in 2001 and 5th in 2003. He will be challenged by East Stroudsburg’s Scott Heckman (16-4) and Edinboro’s Ron Doppelheuer (19-8). Doppelheuer was third last year. Also looking to challenge will be Brad Forbes (7-5) of Bloomsburg, who was second at 149 in 2003. Edgar pinned Doppelheuer last week in their dual meeting.
        149: This weight class appears to be wide open. East Stroudsburg’s Mark Smith (25-7) is talented and was third at 141 two years ago. Lock Haven’s Josh Medina (16-6), Ship’s Zach Leathers (8-4), Millersville’s Shawn Blanchard (16-11), Bloomsburg’s Mark Piermattei (8-16) and Edinboro’s Zach Plerhoples could all reach the finals. Leathers (ranked #4 in D-II) was 6th at 141 in 2003 and 4th at 149 last year. Blanchard was 5th in 2002. Clarion will have either Nathan Geesaman or Bart Wylie competing here.
        157: Clarion’s Chris Horning (17-4), ranked 9th in the nation, will be the favorite at this weight class. He lost in the finals 4-2 to SRU’s Brad Cieleski a year ago after taking third at 165 as a freshman. Also ready to battle are Edinboro’s Matt Hill (22-7) and Lock Haven’s Seth Martin (20-11). ESU’s Keith Kleckner (10-11), who was 4th at 149 in 2002 and 5th in 2003 and Kutztown’s Jamie Gill (5-7), who was 6th last year, are the other returning placewinners.
        165: Edinboro’s Nate Yetzer, the defending champ at 174, moves down to 165 and is the strong favorite to win here. Yetzer (25-4) is ranked 10th in the nation. He will be challenged by Bloomsburg’s Jim Bertulis (24-4), who was 5th at 174 last year and ESU’s Keith Smith (8-4), was 5th at 165. Clarion’s Marcus Surin (18-9) also hopes to place high, along with LH’s B.J. Mikeska (12-10) and Kutztown’s Kevin Kahlbach (12-10).
        174: With Yetzer moving to 165, the 174-pound weight class appears to be left to Bloomsburg’s Brian Hasseman (24-3). Hasseman is ranked #14 in the country. He will be challenged by Curtis Yeager (17-6) of Millersville, ESU’s John Carr (20-8), Kutztown’s Ryan Wasser (16-9), Edinboro’s Eric Ring (17-12) and Clarion’s Chris Goings (6-14). Yeager was 3rd last year and 6th the two previous seasons. Carr was 3rd in 2003 and 6th a year ago, while Wasser was 6th at 165 in 2002. Carlos Ponce of Lock Haven (10-13) was 5th at 197 last season. Goings defeated Ring 6-5 last week.
        184: Maybe the widest open weight class other than 125 is here at 184. Millersville’s Mark Knock (15-7) was 6th here last year, while Clarion’s Dave Gardner (7-11) was 5th at 174 in 2003 but may not be able to wrestle. Edinboro’s Jim Gibson (14-9), Kutztown’s Brett Wade (Ranked #5 in D-II; 15-7), SRU’s Charlie Pienaar (18-7) and Lock Haven’s Justin Johnson (8-12) could all possibly get to the top.
        197: The top two return here from last year with Bloomsburg’s Chad Hoare (21-6) back as the defending champion and runner-up Mike LaBella (13-14) of Edinboro. Hoare defeated LaBella 3-2 in the finals. Shippensburg’s Corey Jacoby (20-1), ranked #6 in D-II and was second at 184 last year, will be strong here as well. Millersvile’s Cody Becker (10-9), Lock Haven’s Matt Fittery (9-12) and Clarion’s Charlie Cilinski (2-12) could place.
        HWT: Defending champion Joe Hennis (19-6) of Edinboro and 20th ranked Stan Foster (13-3) of East Stroudsburg expect to battle in the finals. Hennis pinned LH’s Steve Itterly in the finals last year. Foster was third last year and lost to Hennis in the semi’s 2-1 tie breaker. Kutztown’s Andy Freas (10-10) was fourth last year and Millersville’s Mike Davidowich (15-11) was fifth. Shipp’s Jared Dubbs (6-5) was 3rd at 197 in 2004, while Clarion’s John Fager (10-11), Bloom’s Mike Spaid (6-15) and LH’s Tim Meyers (2-12) round out the field.