2005-2006 WRESTLING PREVIEW

GOLDEN EAGLE WRESTLERS OPEN AT PENN STATE DUALS SUN. NOV. 13

        Clarion University’s NCAA Division I Wrestling team is ready to roll out the mats on a new season on Sunday, November 13th when the Golden Eagles travel to State College to participate in the Penn State Duals at Rec Hall.
        Clarion will square off against York at 10am, while the other participating teams will show Penn State versus UPJ, Lock Haven vs Mercyhurst and Lehigh vs Williamson also at 10am.
        The winners will proceed in the winners bracket, while the losing teams will have a chance to come back and get as high as third in the losers bracket. The semi’s are at Noon and the finals at 2pm.
        Starting with the Clarion Duals on December 18th the Eagles dual meet schedule will be on either WCCR-FM or WWCH-AM in Clarion and on Red Zone media on the internet. Rich Herman and former coach Bob Bubb will provide the play by play and color commentary throughout the season.
        Head coach Ken Nellis begins his ninth season directing the program having posted a eight-year dual meet record of 47-72-3. Last year the Golden Eagles were 3-13-1 overall, 5th at PSAC’s and 6th at the EWL tournament. At the D-I Nationals in St. Louis, Missouri Clarion placed 33rd scoring 12 team points.
        The 2004 Golden Eagles were 4-8 overall, 5th at PSAC’s, 6th at EWL’s and 55th at the NCAA Division I Nationals in St. Louis, Missouri.
        In 2003 the Eagles were 9-8 dual meet record while placing 4th at PSAC’s, 6th at EWL’s and 26th at the NCAA Division I Nationals in Kansas City, Missouri.
        The 2002 Eagles were 6-11 overall, third at PSAC’s, sixth at the EWL Tournament and 41st at the nationals, while the 2001 the Eagles were 11-3 overall and finished the EWL regular season in third place with a 5-2 league mark. Nellis’ Eagles went on to place 4th at the PSAC’s, 4th at the EWL’s and 42nd at the NCAA Division I Nationals at Iowa.
        “We’re looking forward to getting our season underway,” said Clarion’s coach Nellis. “We have a team that will feature some veterans that need to provide us with leadership, but also some fresh faces with plenty of talent. Those new faces should be competitive and be a sign of things to come. The team is working very hard and I’ve been pleased with their progress in the pre-season. Our fans will see an aggressive, hard nosed lineup that gives 100% every match. We really need to stay away from key injuries this year.”
                                                                    WILCOX & McCANCE LEAD 2006 EAGLES
        Sophomore 197-pounder Matt Wilcox (Guys Mills - Maplewood) and junior 149-pounder T.J. McCance (Butler) are expected to provide some veteran leadership up front.
        Wilcox, an NCAA Division I Qualifier in 2004 at heavyweight, will drop to 197 this year after red-shirting the 2005 campaign. Wilcox was 12-14 as a freshman, placed third at EWL’s and won 9 of his last 12 regular season bouts.
        McCance, a two year starter, was 12-10 last year at 149 and 10-17 in 2004.
        Other veterans back in 2005-06 include David Gardner (Jr. 174 - North Huntingdon, Norwin), Charlie Cilinski (Sr. 184 - Gainesville, Va.), Toby Seger (So. 125 - Glenshaw - Shaler), Chris Lape (Jr. 133 - Coraopolis - West Allegheny), John Gerring (Fr. 149 - Gainesville, Va.) and Chris Goings (So. 165 - Centerville, Va.).
        Newcomers include Matt Myers (Fr. 125 - Waldorf, Md.), Robert LaBrake (Fr. 133 - N. Bennington, Vt.), Sean Farley (Fr. 133 - Saylorsburg), Greg Lewis (Fr. 141 - New Providence), Derrick Smith (Fr. 141 - Mexico, N.Y.), Brenton Awa (So. 149 - Kaneohe, Hi), Robert Hermo (Fr. 149 - Montague, N.Y.), Nick Billups (Fr. 157 - Princeton, Iowa), Ron Haywood (Jr. 157 - Sharpsville), Lucas Christopher (Fr. 157- McMurray), Logan Downes (Fr. 165 - New Kensington), Dane Fuhrman (Fr. 165 - Moberly, Mo.), Dominic Ross (Fr. 165 - Sharon), Brian Thomason (Fr. 165 - Wernersville) and A.J. Brooks (Fr. HWT - Lewis, De.)
        The 2006 Golden Eagles have 23 wrestlers on the official roster including one senior, four juniors, five sophomores and 13 freshmen.
        Here’s a look at the 2006 Eagles by weight class:
        125: Freshman Matt Myers is expected to start at 125. He was a two-time Maryland State Champ as a junior at 125 and a senior at 130. He was 37-0 last year and had a career record of 132-11. Sophomore Toby Seger was 4-15 last year as a freshman. Seger posted a 135-26 record at Shaler High. Sean Farley will try and challenge for time in January. He was 70-25 in his career at Pleasant Valley.
        133: Junior Chris Lape was the starter here a year ago and posted a 15-17 overall record. Chris placed fourth at PSAC’s and sixth at EWL’s. Battling to start here is freshman Robert LaBrake. He wrestled at Mount Anthony Union High and was a 4-time Vermont State Champion. His senior year he was 56-1 and had a career record of 216-10.
        141: With 4-time NCAA Qualifier Frank Edgar graduated, the Eagles will look to freshmen Greg Lewis and Derrick Smith to step right in and wrestle. Lewis, from Lampeter-Strasburg HS, was 5th at PIAA’s in 2005 at 140-pounds with a 41-4 record. He had a career mark of 95-23. Smith meanwhile comes to Clarion from Mexico HS where he placed third at NY States as a senior with a record of 50-2. He was also 8th at high school nationals and had a career mark of 208-28.
        149: Junior T.J. McCance (Butler) will start for the Eagles at 149. McCance was 12-10 into January last year, but missed the final two months of the season. He was 10-17 as a freshman. Also looking for time will be Brenton Awa and Robert Hermo. Sophomore John Gerring was 1-5 last year as a freshman. From Stonewall Jackson High (Va.) he had over 100 career wins and was 43-8 his senior year while placing 6th at states.
        157: Chris Horning, who earned All-America status with an 8th place finish, will not wrestle this year but hopes to return in 2007. Freshman Nick Billups (North Scott HS) will start the season here. Billups wrestled at 160-lbs in high school and was second last year at Iowa States with a 30-2 record. Also 6th at States as a junior, Nick was 120-27 in high school. Freshman Dane Fuhrman (Moberly HS) is also expected to battle for time when he is healthy. Furhman was a State Champion at 160 last year with a senior record of 44-1. A second place finisher as a junior, he was 147-27 during his career and class valedictorian. Also vying for time will be Lucas Christopher (Peters Twp.) and Ron Haywood (Sharpsville). Christopher was 25-5 his senior year at 160, while Haywood transferred to Clarion from Edinboro. He was a 3-time PIAA Qualifier at Sharpsville.
        165: Marcus Surin has graduated and this weight class will have Logan Downes (Valley), veteran Chris Goings and freshmen Dominic Ross and Brian Thomason looking for time. Downes wrestled at 171-pounds at Valley and placed second at PIAA Class AA States with a record of 44-5. As a junior he was third at Class AAA States and was 148-24 in his career. Goings is out the first semester but should battle Downes when he is healthy to wrestle. Chris was 8-25 last year and placed fourth at 174-pounds at EWL’s. Ross, a freshman, was a regional qualifier last year and a three-time District qualifier. Thomason, who wrestled at Schuylkill Valley, placed 6th at PIAA States his senior year at 160. He was 43-8 as a senior.
        174: Junior Dave Gardner is ready to have his best season in 2006. Dropping from 184 to 174 will be an advantage. He was 8-15 last year at 184 and was 10-25 overall in 2003 while placing 5th at PSAC’s at 174-pounds. Gardner red-shirted 2004. From Norwin High, Gardner placed fourth at PIAA’s in 2002 with a 38-5 overall record at 160-pounds. He posted a career record of 109-23 with 60 falls
        184: Co-Captain Charlie Cilinski will drop from 197 to 184 in the hopes of having his best season to date. A strong, physical wrestler, Cilinski was 2-21 last year at 197 pounds and 2-19 in 2004. He was 0-13 at 184 as a freshman.
        197: The starting spot belongs to Matt Wilcox, who has dropping from heavyweight to 197. In 2005 Matt finished his season strong by winning 9 of his last 12 matches. He was 12-14 overall, third at EWL’s and qualified for the NCAA Division I Nationals.
        HWT: Clarion welcomes talented freshman A.J. Brooks to the heavyweight spot. Brooks attended Sussex High and was the Delaware State Champion as a senior with a 35-4 overall record. He was a State runner-up as a junior and compiled a career record of 127-25.

CLARION NOTES: Coach Nellis, a native of Pittsburgh, Pa. and Shaler High, was a 4-time NCAA Division I National Qualifier at Clarion (1982-84, 86), 3-time PSAC Champion, 4-time EWL runner-up and compiled a career record of 113-28-5 ... Nellis is 13th on the all-time win list at Clarion ... Nellis has a 8-year dual meet record of 47-72-3 at Clarion and has coached 7 All-Americans... Nellis replaced Jack Davis as head coach...In 5 seasons Davis was 43-34-5 ... Clarion was 14th at the NCAA's in 1997, 12th in 96, and 15th in 1995 and 94... Legendary coach Robert "Bob" Bubb directed the Golden Eagles for 26-seasons and compiled a record of 322-121-4 and led Clarion to top 10 team finishes at the NCAA's in 1992 (8th), 1987 (6th), 1973 (4th) and 1972 (6th)...Since Clarion re-started wrestling in 1959-60, the Golden Eagles have an overall dual meet record of 473-239-12...Clarion has won 13 PSAC titles, 3 EWL crowns and placed in the top 20 at Division I Nationals 16 times...Individual wrestlers have won 105 PSAC titles, 51 EWL crowns, 8 Div.I National Champions and 43 All-Americans.