The win is ESU's first over a nationally-ranked team since knocking off No. 18 Kutztown, 29-11, on February 16, 2010.
The Warriors were without redshirt senior Braden Turner (26-5), ranked No. 3 in DII at 165 pounds, but produced two victories over regionally-ranked opponents at 184 and 197 to spring the upset.
Both teams gave up one forfeit, with ESU gaining six points at 133 and Kutztown getting them back at 165. Kutztown led 16-15 at that point before the Warriors won three straight bouts to take control.
Marino opened the night with a fall in 1:55 at 125, decking Nick Lamoreaux for a 6-0 lead. Senior Nick Kaiser picked up a forfeit victory at 133 to make it 12-0.
Kutztown's Mitch Voelker won an 8-0 major decision over freshman Joey Kratochvil, wrestling up at 141, to get the Golden Bears on the board.
Redshirt sophomore Eric Howey, who hadn't wrestled in exactly a month due to injury, pulled out a key 8-3 decision over Jackson Stabile to make it 15-4 after the 149-pound bout.
Kutztown got a first-period pin from Matt Martoccio at 157 and Bo Candelaria received a forfeit at 165 for KU's first and only lead of the night.
ESU went back in front at 174, where redshirt senior Brendan McKeown, ranked No. 5 in DII, posted a 10-5 decision over Justin Heller. McKeown improves to 13-2 on the season and has won 10 straight since returning to the mat on January 5. His 10-0 dual mark this year is ESU's best since Jason Peters went 18-0 in 1996-97.
The Warriors two biggest wins came at 184 and 197.
DeLuise trailed 1-0 but had a riding time edge of 1:08 entering the third period against Giovanni Ortiz, ranked No. 5 in the region. Ortiz rode DeLuise for almost a minute before a reversal and two back points gave DeLuise a 4-1 lead, and he finished it with a fall at exactly 6:00 to put the Warriors in front 24-16.
Sophomore Tyson Searer, ranked No. 3 in the region, sealed it with a 4-1 decision over Brandan Clark, ranked No. 2 in the region, at 197 pounds.
It was scoreless after one period, but Searer gained a reversal six seconds into the second period and led 2-0 with a 1:48 riding time advantage going to the third. The only scoring in the period was an escape from Searer, and a stalling point awarded to Clark, with Searer locking up the 4-1 decision with a riding time edge of 1:40.
At 285, Kutztown's Ziad Haddad, ranked No. 1 nationally, improved to 18-0 with an 11-2 major decision over freshman Tyler Richardson.
The Warriors concluded their dual schedule and will compete at the Super Region 1 Championships on March 1-2 at Pitt-Johnstown to determine the region's national qualifiers, with the top three at each weight class advancing.
ESU has three returning national qualifiers in Turner, McKeown and Searer. Turner and McKeown are both two-time qualifiers and have earned All-America honors – Turner in 2012 at 157, and McKeown at 174 last year.
Results:
125 - Anthony Marino (ESU) pinned Nick Lamoreaux, 1:55 ... ESU 6-0
133 - Nick Kaiser (ESU) won by forfeit ... ESU 12-0
141 - Mitch Voelker (KU) maj. dec. Joey Kratochvil, 8-0 ... ESU 12-4
149 - Eric Howey (ESU) dec. Jackson Stabile, 8-3 ... ESU 15-4
157 - Matt Martoccio (KU) pinned Joseph Hoy, 2:48 ... ESU 15-10
165 - Bo Candelaria (KU) won by forfeit ... KU 16-15
174 - #5 Brendan McKeown (ESU) dec. Justin Heller, 10-5 ... ESU 18-16
184 - Luke DeLuise (ESU) pinned Giovanni Ortiz, 6:00 ... ESU 24-16
197 - Tyson Searer (ESU) dec. Brandan Clark, 4-1 ... ESU 27-16
285 - #1 Ziad Haddad (KU) maj. dec. Tyler Richardson, 11-2 ... ESU 27-20
Recommended Comments
There are no comments to display.
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now