It didn't matter. Despite featuring a lineup that had four true freshmen and three redshirt freshmen, Edinboro successfully defended its crown, even to the amazement of its veteran coach, Tim Flynn.
"We weren't favored," Flynn pointed out after winning his 16th PSAC championship in 19 years. "I'm a pretty realistic guy. I thought we were in the top three mix. To get a win is rewarding. Last year, we had nine champions. We knew we were good. This one was earned."
Edinboro would finish with 136.5 points to outdistance Lock Haven in the 12-team field. The Bald Eagles totaled 118 points, while Mercyhurst came in third with 108.5 points, the exact order of finish a year ago, as well. Clarion finished with 95 points and Pitt-Johnstown had 92. Pitt-Johnstown's Travis McKillop was named the Outstanding Wrestler after winning his second championship at 184 lbs.
Six wrestlers won individual titles and eight wrestlers placed. Casey Fuller and Vince Pickett led the way as both won their second straight PSAC championships at 165 and 197 lbs., respectively. Fellow senior Patrick Jennings won his first crown at 174 lbs.
The other three champions were freshmen, with redshirt freshmen Sean Russell (125 lbs.) and Billy Miller (hwt.) winning, along with true freshman Patricio Lugo at 149 lbs. In addition, two more true freshmen placed, with Spencer Nagy taking third place at 157 lbs. and Nate Hagan finishing fourth at 141 lbs.
Russell, the number one seed at 125 lbs., got the finals started with a 7-3 decision over Pitt-Johnstown's Evan Link, the third seed. The redshirt freshman grabbed a 2-1 lead after one period thanks to a takedown, then added another for a 4-2 lead after two periods. He closed out the match with an escape and an insurance takedown with a minute left.
While winning all four of his matches, Russell recorded 26 total takedowns. He improved to 12-2 on the season.
After Hagan (12-9) took the mat and dropped a 13-3 major decision to Sam Hanau of Pitt-Johnstown to finish fourth at 141 lbs., Lugo continued his impressive freshman campaign as he won a 10-2 major decision over Mercyhurst's Jeremy Landowski at 157 lbs. in a battle of one- vs. two seeds. Lugo is now 15-0. He won four matches on Saturday, one by fall, one by technical fall, and two by major decision.
Lugo grabbed a 2-0 lead after one period, then added a second takedown for a 4-1 lead after two periods. He would add an escape and two more takedowns in the final period for his major over Landowski, a Division II All-American.
Nagy (15-8), yet another of the freshmen in the lineup, won his third place match by a 5-2 decision over Brendan Colbert of Bloomsburg. The win came after he had lost twice to Colbert in the last three days.
Fuller made it back-to-back 165 lb. championships thanks to a hard-earned 3-2 decision over second-seeded Francis Mizia in a battle of undefeated wrestlers. Fuller, the top seed, would join Lugo at 15-0. He led 2-1 after one period, with a Mizia escape knotting the score after two periods. A quick escape to start the third period was the difference for Fuller.
The 174 lb. final pitted Jennings, seeded third, against fourth-seeded Tyler Wood of Lock Haven. Jennings, now 10-4, prevailed via an 8-4 decision as he jumped out to a 6-1 lead after one period on a takedown and a four-point near fall move.
Pickett and Miller closed out Edinboro's fifth straight championship with dominating performances at 197 and 285 lbs. Pickett, the top seed, won his second straight PSAC title on the strength of a 12-0 major decision over Brandon Clark of Kutztown, the fourth seed. Pickett is now 10-4 while earning bonus points in all three of his matches.
After a tough 8-4 decision over Clarion's Zach Deluca in the semifinals, top-seeded Miller faced Pitt-Johnstown's Damon Sims, the third seed, in the finals. Sims was coming off a fall over second-seeded Andrew Welton of Mercyhurst, but Miller put an exclamation point on the day with a fall at 2:04 to improve to 13-1. It was his second fall of the day.
Flynn was impressed with the performance of his entire team. "The guys are competing hard," he noted. "So far it's been nice. Even when they're losing they're fighting hard. They're high-level kids."
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