2006-2007 WRESTLING PREVIEW

CLARION WRESTLERS OPEN AT PA STATE DUALS IN L.H. NOV. 19TH

Clarion University=s NCAA Division I Wrestling team is ready to roll out the mats on a new season featuring first year head coach Teague Moore and a very young Golden Eagles squad on Sunday, November 19th when the team travels to Lock Haven to participate in the Pennsylvania State Duals.

Held at Lock Haven’s Thomas Fieldhouse, Clarion will square off against #8 ranked Penn State at 10am, then take on host Lock Haven at Noon and Millersville at 2pm.

Starting with the Clarion Duals on December 17th all of the Golden Eagles dual meets will be broadcast on either WCCR-FM or WWCH-AM in Clarion and on Red Zone media on the internet. Rich Herman and former legendary head coach Bob Bubb will provide the play by play and color commentary.

TEAGUE MOORE STARTS FIRST SEASON/5TH COACH AT CLARION SINCE 1960

The Golden Eagle wrestling program is embarking on a new era Sunday with Moore at the helm in his first official contests. He is only the fifth Clarion coach since the program was re-started in 1960 under Frank Lignelli. Lignelli coached from 1960-66, Bob Bubb from 1967-92, Jack Davis from 1993-97 and Ken Nellis from 1998-2005. A proud tradition of wrestling since 1960 and Division I wrestling since Bubb’s arrival in 1967, Clarion has a dual meet record of 473-256-12 over 47 years with 8 Division I Nationals Champions, 43 D-I All-Americans, 51 EWL winners and 106 PSAC champs.

Last year Clarion slipped to an 0-17 dual meet record, an 8th place finish at PSAC’s and 7th at EWL’s. Moore’s mission is to bring the Golden Eagles back to prominence, but Clarion fans know that will likely happen in stages.

The 2007 outlook? “We’re a young, rebuilding team, but a team that will also set high, yet realistic goals for the season” echoed Moore. “The hallmark of this team will be to have each wrestler go all out for 7 minutes while challenging their opponents to stay with us. We want Clarion to be known as a third period team that excels in the final minute of its matches. We need to be mentally and physically prepared to take advantage of our conditioning, self-confidence and heart to win the close matches. We also expect to improve as the season progresses since the ultimate goal is to peak in March for EWL’s and nationals. Patience, continued teaching and setting high goals for each wrestler is what we’ll dedicate ourselves to this season. If we can stay healthy, and that’s a big factor, we believe our fans will see big improvements along the way.”

5 STARTERS RETURN TO PROVIDE LEADERSHIP

            Moore will look to five returning starters to try and pave a path to success. Top returnees include A.J. Brooks (So. Lewes, De/Sussex Tech.) at heavyweight, Greg Lewis (So. New Providence/Lampeter-Strasburg)

at 141, Toby Seger (Jr. Glenshaw/Shaler) at 125, Lucas Christopher (S. McMurray/Peters Twp.) at 157 and Dominic Ross (So. Sharon) at 165.

            Brooks posted a 14-18 record at heavyweight last year as a true freshman and came on at the end of the season winning 11 of his last 17 matches.

            Lewis, also a true freshman, notched a 14-13 mark at 141-pounds while Seger was 11-10 overall at 125-pounds, but missed the final month with an injury.

            Christopher was pulled off a red-shirt in 2006 to wrestle as a true freshman and went 6-18 gaining valuable experience, as did Ross, who was 2-21 mostly at 184-pounds. Ross will wrestle this season at 165.

            “Our veterans need to provide his team with leadership on and off the mat,” said Moore. “They’ve been through the war and know what to expect.”

            Returnees from last year’s roster that will be battling for time will be Brenton Awa (So. Kaneohe, Hi.) at 149, Nick Billups (So. Princeton, Iowa) at 157, Dane Fuhrman (R-Fr. Moberly, Mo.) at 157 and Brian Thomason (R-Fr. Wernersville/Schuylkill Valley) at 165.

            Newcomers include Brett Skonieczny (Fr. Pgh – Fox Chapel), Jay Ivanco (Fr. Monroeville – Gateway) and Patrick Feeley (Fr. Johnston, R.I.) at 125; Sal Lascari (So. Gray – North Star/Slippery Rock U.), and Tyler Leljedal (Fr. Towanda) at 133; Doug O’Meara (Fr. Brussells, Belgium) at 141; Hadley Harrison (Fr. McKean – General McLane) at 149; Mario Morelli (Fr. DuBois) at 165; Scott Joseph (Fr. Export – Kiski Area) at 174; Nick Weaver (Fr. Lithia, Florida) and A.J. Graves (R-Fr. Jeannette) at 184; Jake Kurant (Fr. New Alexandria – Greensburg-Salem) and Dixon Jordan (Fr. Cheverly, Md. – Parkdale) at 197. 2006 starter Rob LaBrake (So. N. Bennington, Vt./Mt. Anthony Union), who was 10-21 last year at 133-pounds, is red-shirting this season.

            On this year’s roster the Golden Eagles have 14 freshmen, 8 sophomores and 1 junior.

Here=s a look at the 2007 Eagles by weight class:

125: Junior Toby Seger who was 11-10 last year, might have the inside track at 125, but plenty of challenges will come from Jay Ivanco, Brett Skonieczny and Patrick Feeley. Seger, a tri-captain for 2007, was also 4-15 in 2005 as a freshman. Seger posted a 135-26 record at Shaler High. Ivanco is battling to start at 125 and is a freshman from Gateway. He was a three-time PIAA placewinner and a three-time Section champ. Skonieczny, from Fox Chapel, was a PIAA Qualifier, a WPIAL placewinner last year and has the school record for career wins at 125. Feeley, who is still recovering from a Summer surgery, could challenge the starters when he gets healthy. Patrick, who did not wrestle his senior year at Bishop Headricken, was a 2-time State Champion and a 3-time New England champ with a record of 134-2. More importantly he was a Jr. National Champ and a prep school national runner-up.

133: Sal Lascari, a tri-captain, transferred to Clarion from Slippery Rock. Last year at The Rock he was 14-14 overall with a second place finish at the East Regionals and a fifth place ending at PSAC’s at 133. The well rounded wrestler has impressed Moore with his toughness. Backing up Lascari will be freshman Tyler Leljedal from Towanda. He had a career record of 140-35 and wrestled his last two seasons at 130 pounds. He was a 2-time State Qualifier. 2006 starter Rob LaBrake is red-shirting this season. Moore is excited about

LaBrake’s possibilities in the coming seasons with a year of dedicated work this year. LaBrake was 10-21 as a

true freshman at 133 last year. 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: Starter Greg Lewis returns at 141 to anchor this weight class. Lewis had a promising freshman year in 2006 and posted a 14-13 overall record with a fourth place finish at PSAC’s and a sixth place ending at EWL’s. He is 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. Freshman Doug O’Meara, who went to high school in Europe and has mostly freestyle experience, is learning the collegiate style and backs up at 141.

149: Freshman Hadley Harrison is expected to anchor 149 throughout the 2007 season. From nearby General McLane High School, Harrison was 5th at PIAA’s in 2006 at 140 pounds and had a season record of 48-6. A 4-year starter with a career mark of 130-23, Harrison was also a State Qualifier in Track and Cross Country. Coach Moore believes Harrison is one of the top athletes on the team this year and will make an immediate impact. “He’s a full seven minute wrestler,” complimented Moore. Also looking for time is Brenton Awa. From Hawaii, he red-shirted two years ago and gained some collegiate experience last year. Awa was  second in OIA, 5th at States in high school.


 

157: This could prove to be an interesting weight class in 2007. Sophomores Nick Billups and Lucas Christopher are battling to start. Billups was 1-5 last season before an injury ended his season early. From  North Scott HS, Billups wrestled at 160-lbs in high school and was second in 2005 at Iowa States with a 30-2 record. Also 6th at States as a junior, Nick was 120-27 in high school. Christopher meanwhile stepped in a year ago and started at 157 posting a 6-18 record. Considered a team leader and battler, Christopher is a tri-captain for 2007. Christopher is from Peters Twp. High School. Also vying for time is red-shirt freshman Dane Fuhrman from Moberly High. Fuhrman missed all of 2006 with an injury, but is starting his comeback. Furhman was a State Champion at 160 in 2005 with a senior record of 44-1. A second place finisher as a junior, he was 147-27 during his career and class valedictorian.

165: Sophomore Dominic Ross and red-shirt freshman Brian Thomason are battling to start. Ross, normally a 165-pounder, moved up to 184 last year to fill a starting role and was 2-21 overall. Back in his own weight class he will be competitive. He was a regional qualifier at Sharon High in 2005 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 and red-shirted at Clarion last season. Also ready to battle here is freshman Mario Morelli, son of former Clarion standout 118-pounder Pete Morelli. Mario will likely red-shirt this season but has impressed the coaching staff with his wrestling skills. From nearby DuBois, he was 42-4 his senior year and put together a 127-32 career record.

174: True freshman Scott Joseph will likely anchor 174 this season. Moore feels Joseph will be an exciting wrestler to watch and will definitely wrestle a full seven minutes. From Kiski Area, he was 30-1 last year and 30-2 as a junior mostly at 189. He was 4th at States as a junior and has been a Southwest Region and WPIAL Champion with 4 years of varsity experience.

184: True freshman Nick Weaver anchors the 184-pound weight class to start the season. From Newsome High he earned 4 wrestling letters and placed 4th at States his senior year. Potentially wrestling in January here could be A.J. Graves. Graves who is rounding into wrestling shape after coming over from football, could give the Eagles a stopper here. Graves was a PIAA State Champion two years ago at Jeannette

High  SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1 at 171-pounds with a 41-0 record. He was a 2004 PIAA Runner-up at 160

197: Freshmen Jacob Kurant and Dixon Jordan are looking to start at 197. Kurant, from Greensburg Salem High, has the inside track in the pre-season. He was 37-5 last year and won the Section title. He had 112 wins in high school, while also being a two-time all-conference football player. Jordan, a physical wrestler, is from Cheverly, Maryland and wrestled at Parkdale High.

HWT: The Golden Eagles are looking for big things from athletic heavyweight A.J. Brooks. Last year Brooks was fourth at EWL’s and PSAC’s and narrowly missed a trip to nationals. This year he hopes to make that trip and beyond. Brooks was 14-18 last year but 11-6 in his final 17 matches. 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: Clarion visits Duquesne on December 10, then opens the home season hosting the Clarion Duals on Dec. 17th starting  at 11am against Drexel, then at 1pm versus East Stroudsburg and 3pm against Pitt-Johnstown… 5 home duals dot the schedule in the second semester including Jan. 21st against West Virginia, Feb. 2 versus Bloomsburg, Feb. 3 against Rider, Feb. 6 versus Pitt and Feb. 9 against Eastern Michigan… EWL’s will be March 3-4 at Cleveland State and nationals are in Detroit at Auburn Hills March 15-17… New head coach Teague Moore came to Clarion from Harvard where he was an assistant coach. He was also an assistant at Oklahoma State (03-04), Oklahoma (02-03) and Pitt (2000-01)… A native of Pittsburgh and a 1995 grad of North Allegheny High, Teague was a three-time PIAA placewinner including a second in 1993, third in 94 and state Champion in 1995… A 3-time PA. State Freestyle Champ and Junior National Freestyle Champ, he went on to Oklahoma State and was a 4-year starter under John Smith … A 3-time NCAA D-I All-American he was third in 1999, fourth in 1997 and NCAA National Champion at 118-pounds in 1998… He was 118-25 in his collegiate career and went on to wrestle for the USA … He was third at the Olympic Trials in 2000, won US Open at 55kg in 2002 and was a national team member and runner-up at the World Team Trials … National Team member in 2003 Teague was a Silver Medalist at the World Cup and was third at the World Team Trials and US Open Nationals… In 2004 he was third at the US Olypmic Trials and at the US Open… Moore replaces Ken Nellis who was 47-89-3 from 1998-2005… Nellis 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 under Davis ... Legendary coach Robert "Bob" Bubb directed the Golden Eagles for 26-seasons (1967-92) and compiled a record of 322-121-4 … He led Clarion to top 10 team finishes at the NCAA's in 1992 (8th), 1987 (6th), 1973 (4th) and 1972 (6th)... Bubb was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame on June 4, 2005 in Stillwater, Oklahoma … His wrestlers won 7 D-I individual titles, 3 college division titles, 27 All-America placings, 29 EWL champs and 68 PSAC winners… His 1986 team went 17-0-1, ranked third in the nation in the final poll behind Iowa and Iowa State… The NCAA selected its 75th Anniversary Team in 2005 – naming the top 15 collegiate wrestlers of All-Time… Clarion had two named to that team in Wade Schalles (71-74) and Kurt Angle (88-92)… Schalles was a 2-time NCAA Champ with an amazing 153-5-1 record including 106 pins … Angle also was a two-time champion, was 116-10-2 in his career and of course won an Olympic Gold Medal in the 1996 Olympic Games…  Coach Frank Lignelli re-started the wrestling program in 1960 and coached through 1966 … He was 61-12-0.