LHU battles Division II No. 15 Mercyhurst College, and will face either No. 8/8 Lehigh University or Williamson Trade School.
The first four duals take place at 10 a.m., with the semifinals and consolation match-ups starting at 12 p.m. The championship match and all placing duals, third through seventh, will then take place at 2 p.m. Tickets will go on sale at the Rec Hall ticket windows beginning at 9 a.m. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for youth and senior citizens.
Select Duals and Championships will be broadcast on the "Voice of Lock Haven Athletics" ESPN 1050 WLYC out of Williamsport, Pa., with a simulcast on WBPZ out of Lock Haven, Pa.
Scouting Mercyhurst
The Lakers and head coach Tony Cipollone enter the contest ranked No. 15 in Division II. 149-pounder Don Cummings sits No. 7 in the nation. Senior Will Tedder pulls in a No. 8 ranking at 157.
Scouting Lehigh
No. 8 Lehigh University comes in the highest-ranked Division I program in the tournament. Lehigh boasts five ranked matmen, including No. 2/2 Troy Letters at 165, No. 3/3 Cory Cooperman at 141, No. 6/7 Travis Frick at 174, No. 10/12 Derek Zinc at 157 and No. NR/20 Matt Ciasulli at 149.
Scouting Williamson
This year's Williamson Trade School is the lone NJCAA representative, and will have a tough task against Lehigh in the first round.
Scouting Clarion University
Lock Haven could get an early look at Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) foe Clarion University. While the Golden Eagles don't have any ranked wrestlers, ninth-year head coach Ken Nellis brings his troops to battle.
Scouting York College
York is a perennial Division III powerhouse, and head coach Russ Dudrey enter at No. 19 in the national rankings. Duane Bastress leads the Panthers with a No. 2 ranking at 184, aided by James Russial at No. 7 in 149.
Scouting Penn State University
The host school is blessed with a No. 13/12 ranking, and head coach Troy Sunderland is in his eighth year guiding the Nittany Lions. Seven ranked grapplers dot the starting lineup for PSU, including unanimous No. 1 Eric Bradley at 184, No. 5/6 Phillip Davis at 197, No. 11/10 Nathan Galloway at 157, No. 11/19 Joel Edwards at Heavyweight, No. 14/NR Bryan Heller at 133, No. NR/14 James Woodall at 149, and No. NR/16 DeWitt Driscoll at 141.
Scouting University at Pitt-Johnstown
UPJ is No. 3 in the latest Division II rankings, the highest-ranked program in this year's tournament. Four Mountain Cats picked up championships at the Slippery Rock Open earlier this year, so the team is no stranger to victory. The team boasts No. 1 Ryan Mazzocco at 125 and No. 1 Thad Benton at 141.
Last Time Out for the Bald Eagles
The 2005-06 edition of Lock Haven University wrestling got started Oct. 29 at the SRU Open, hosted by Slippery Rock University. With many of the Bald Eagle starters waiting until the Nov. 13 Pennsylvania State Duals to don the singlet for the first time this season, the Bald Eagle reserves were given their chance to shine at SRU.
With no team results, LHU picked up four individual place-winners, led by a pair of second-place finishes at 149 for returning national qualifier Matt Fittery (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) and at 174 for junior Derrick Morgan (Milan, Pa./Athens) who missed most of last season with injuries.
Bumping up from last year's class of 141, Fittery was competing in his first event at 149. He made a strong showing, picking off Mercyhurst's Don Cummings 15-5 before falling to Cleveland State University's Victor Crenshaw by fall in the finals.
Morgan made short work of most of his opponents, including the University of Pitt-Johnstown's Eli Garshnick by an 8-4 margin in the semifinals before losing the championship bout by injury default.
Sophomore Ben Hepburn (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock) picked up a third-place finish at 197 by topping John Carrol University's Ryan Summers 3-2 in the consolation bout.
True freshman Troy Charles (Muncy, Pa./Hughesville) surprised some with a fourth-place finish at 197. The big rookie decisioned Bloomsburg University's Eric Shaw in the championship quarterfinals before his teammate Blaine Cohick got the better of Charles in the third-place bout by forfeit.
Another impressive performance came from sophomore Casey Moore (Beech Creek, Pa./Central Mountain) as he picked up four wins on the day at 133.
Preseason Wrestle-Offs
Winners:
125- Sophomore Obe Blanc (Naples, Fla./Lely) defeated freshman Mark Armstrong (Sugar, Pa./Wyalusing) 18-10.
133- Sophomore Casey Moore (Beech Creek, Pa./Central Mountain) beat freshman Shane Hyman (Coalport, Pa./Glendale) 7-1
141- Freshman Clint Shirk (Julian, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) pinned freshman Matt Barnett (Lancaster, Pa./Hempfield) in 1:45
149- Senior Joshua A. Medina (Las Vegas/Pima C.C.) won over sophomore Matt Fittery (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) by forfeit
157- Junior Seth Martin (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) defeated sophomore Jameik Matthews (Seaford, Del./Laurel) 7-2
165- Freshman Sobhan Namvar (Needham, Mass./Needham) defeated junior Jamie Varner (Glendale, Ariz./Pima C.C.) 6-5
174- Junior Derrick Morgan (Milan, Pa./Athens) beat junior Carlos Ponce (Hialeah, Fla./Hialeah Miami Lakes) 8-7
184- Junior Josh Fisk (Wyalusing, Pa./Drexel University) defeated sophmore Ben Hepburn (Williamsport, Pa./Loyalsock) 4-2
197- Freshman Monty Rockey (Port Matilda, Pa./Bald Eagle Area) pinned junior Troy Charles (Muncy, Pa./Hughesville) in 3:40
285- Senior Tim Meyers (Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain) beat sophomore Jamie Nagel (Shade Gap, Pa./Mount Union Area) 3-2 in overtime
Up Next
The Bald Eagles host No. 15/15 University of Wisconsin Saturday, Nov. 19 at 7:30 p.m.
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