The victory was fueled by a dominating performance by Billy Miller at heavyweight. With Edinboro holding a 16-13 lead, the redshirt freshman clinched the win with a technical fall. Fellow redshirt freshman Sean Russell also picked up bonus points with a major decision at 125 lbs.
Russell got the night underway with a 20-9 major decision over Jake Field (13-14). He improved to 22-5 with the win. Anthony Rivera (7-9) followed with a 6-4 win in sudden victory over Lewis Williams at 133 lbs., giving Edinboro a 7-0 lead.
The Bald Eagles would close to 7-6 with decisions at 141 and 149 lbs. Cody Wheeler (5-7) posted a 5-3 decision over freshman Tyler Vath at 141 lbs., as Vath's late attempt at a tying takedown was unsuccessful. He fell to 7-12.
The 149 lbs. match featured nationally-ranked freshman Patricio Lugo against Dan Neff, an All-American a year ago. Lugo was looking for his third win over an All-American this year, but Neff would record a first period takedown and went on for a 7-3 decision. Lugo, ranked 14th by InterMat, fell to 24-4 while Neff is now 21-8 and has won 14 straight matches.
Austin Matthews rebounded from his first defeat as a Fighting Scot in his last match for an impressive 6-1 win over Aaron McKinney at 157 lbs. McKinney (23-13) won the PSAC championship earlier this year, with Matthews still recovering from knee surgery. Matthews, now 2-1 and ranked 15th, would score all the points he needed in the first period with a takedown and four near-fall points.
Redshirt senior Casey Fuller boosted the Fighting Scots' lead to 13-6 with a 3-0 decision at 165 lbs. over Cody Cordes (13-14), as he improved to 22-5. Ty Schoffstall (7-3), filling in for starter Patrick Jennings at 174 lbs., dropped a 15-6 major decision to Tyler Wood (16-14).
Like Matthews, Vic Avery returned recently from knee surgery and continues to round into form. The redshirt senior, ranked second at 184 lbs., improved to 3-0 with an impressive 11-6 win ov er Tristan Sponseller, who is now 20-6.
A pair of familiar foes in Vince Pickett and Phil Sprenkle hooked up at 197 lbs. Scoreless heading into the third period, Pickett turned in an impressive ride on Sprenkle, but the Bald Eagle would register a reversal with 20 seconds remaining for a 2-1 decision. Pickett fell to 17-12 while Sprenkle is 13-6.
That left Miller needing a win to clinch the match. He was more than up to the task, recording an early takedown and dominating his heavyweight bout with Adam Mackie (10-10) with a 15-0 (7:00) technical fall. Miller is now 23-7.
Edinboro doesn't have much time to celebrate the victory. The Fighting Scots will take part in the Edinboro Open on Saturday, February 6, with several starters slated to compete, followed by a home dual with tenth-ranked Virginia Tech on Sunday, February 7. The match gets underway at 1 p.m. at McComb Fieldhouse.
Results:
125 -- Sean Russell (EU) maj. dec. Jake Field (LHU) 20-9
133 -- Anthony Rivera (EU) dec. Lewis Williams (LHU) 6-4 sv
141 -- Cody Wheeler (LHU) dec. Tyler Vath (EU) 5-3
149 -- Dan Neff (LHU) dec. #14 Patricio Lugo (EU) 7-3
157 -- #15 Austin Matthews (EU) dec. Aaron McKinney (LHU) 6-1
165 -- Casey Fuller (EU) dec. Cody Cordes (LHU) 3-0
174 -- Tyler Wood (LHU) maj. dec. Ty Schoffstall (EU) 15-6
184 -- #2 Vic Avery (EU) dec. Tristan Sponseller (LHU) 11-6
197 -- Phil Sprenkle (LHU) dec. Vince Pickett (EU) 2-1
285 -- Billy Miller (EU) tech. fall Adam Mackie (LHU) 15-0 (7:00)
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