Click here for more information about the 2011 EWL Championships.
The 36th annual EWL Tournament will be held at Bloomsburg University on March 6, 2011. Edinboro was crowned the champion of the 2010 EWL tournament, followed in placement order by Pittsburgh, Clarion, Bloomsburg, West Virginia, Lock Haven and Cleveland State. The Fighting Scots have claimed the EWL tournament out-right championship the past six years (2005 through 2010), following a tie with West Virginia in 2004.
This time around, however, we could see a change at the top. The University of Pittsburgh has a nationally ranked dual meet team this season, and won the 2011 EWL dual meet title, going 6-0 in league matches (13-6 overall). Coach Rande Stottlemyer's Panthers have a nice mix of young wrestlers and veterans, and appear to be the team to beat heading into the March 2011 EWL Tournament.
Edinboro and West Virginia tied for second place in the 2011 EWL dual meet race with each going 4-2 on the year. If the Panthers do not wrestle their best, look for either the Fighting Scots or the Mountaineers to secure the tournament crown. Also, keep an eye on the host team, the Huskies of Bloomsburg University. Coach John Stutzman has a young, but talented squad, very capable of cracking the tournament's top three. Three squads taking aim at the upper tier will be this year's PSAC champion Clarion, Lock Haven, and Cleveland State. All three of these teams have some excellent wrestlers, and are preparing to do well in the EWL championships and to build momentum for the future. Who wants it?
Below is a weight-by-weight preview of the 2011 EWL Tournament. Keep in mind that, in late February, the NCAA announced a total of 282 automatic-qualifier allocations for the Division I qualifying tournaments, including 20 for the EWL. The number of automatic EWL qualifiers is noted below for each EWL weight class.
Moreover, the NCAA will name 48 additional at large qualifiers prior to the March 16-18 tournament in Philadelphia. These at-large qualifiers will be in addition to the 282 automatic qualifiers from the qualifying tournament. Presumably the EWL will have a number of wrestlers who will be at-large selections and take their talents to the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The NCAA plan is to have exactly 33 wrestlers in each weight class at the 2011 NCAA's.
125 Pounds – (The top 2 finishers automatically qualify for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.)
The 2010 EWL champion at this weight, Anthony Zanetta of Pittsburgh, returns as does the 2010 runnerup Shane Young of West Virginia. Both Zanetta and Young are nationally ranked this season, and could meet again in the EWL finals. Two grapplers, who had solid seasons, and are poised to place high at the 2011 EWL's are Bloomsburg true freshman
Sean Boylan (Seaville, NJ/St. Marks) and Lock Haven senior Nick Hyatt.
Also, keep an eye on Ben Willeford of Cleveland State and Thomas Gowing of Clarion. Willeford is a true frosh from Louisiana and Gowing is a junior out of Oregon.
133 Pounds – (The top 2 finishers automatically qualify for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.)
John Trumbetti of Lock Haven won the EWL title in 2010, and he's back to defend his crown. Two wrestlers who have 2011 dual-meet wins over Trumbetti are Eric Morrill of Edinboro and Nate Pennesi of West Virginia. Morrill, a senior from New Hampshire, also has a recent win over Pennesi, and could be considered the slight favorite to win the weight class this weekend.
Two high potential true freshmen, who will be competing at 133 pounds, are Shelton Mack of the Pitt Panthers and
Nick Wilcox (Greene, NY/Greene Central) of the Bloomsburg Huskies. Mack is from Meadville, PA, while Wilcox hails from Greene, NY, and won the PSAC tournament this season. Clarion probably will enter either Devin Cook or Trey Hicks at this weight, both of whom have seen action this season, and Cleveland State's likely entrant is Nick Flannery, a true freshman out of Massachusetts.
141 Pounds – (The top 2 finishers automatically qualify for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.)
The 2009 and 2010 EWL champion at 141 pounds, and favorite to repeat, is Tyler Nauman of the Pittsburgh Panthers, a junior from Middletown, PA. Last season Nauman not only won the EWL's, he also placed fifth in the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Look for Matt Bonson of Lock Haven possibly to reach the EWL finals. Bonson, a transfer from the University of Virginia where he was a 2009 NCAA qualifier, has a high national ranking and is a pinner.
There are three true freshmen capable of placing high in our 2011 event. They are: Mike Morales of West Virginia; Kasey Davis of Edinboro; and
Derek Shingara (Shamokin/Shamokin) of the host Huskies. Mr. Shingara is from near by Shamokin, PA, and is PSAC champion at 141. Clarion probably will enter true freshman Hunter McGraw at this weight, and look for the CSU Vikings to mat senior Josh Palivoda, who twice placed in the EWL tournament down at 133 pounds.
149 Pounds – (The top 2 finishers automatically qualify for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.)
Edinboro's Torsten Gillespie won the 2010 EWL title at this weight, and Mr. Gillespie is aiming for a repeat performance. Gillespie, now a senior, is an NCAA All-American, having placed sixth at the 2010 big dance. One of the other top 149 pounders in the EWL this season is Brandon Rader of West Virginia. Mr. Rader placed sixth at both the 2006 and 2007 NCAA tournaments, while competing at 141 pounds. Brandon suffered a knee injury that side-lined him three years, and this season he's making a come-back at 149 pounds, competing on an NCAA sixth-year waiver.
Three warriors also capable of making it to the finals are Clarion true freshman Anthony White, Pittsburgh frosh Dane Johnson, and Lock Haven senior Owen Wilkinson. From Michigan, the dangerous Wilkinson had dual meet wins over both Gillespie and White this season. Cleveland State's veteran competitor at 149 is Lawrence Cavello, from Willard, Ohio.
The Huskies have been alternating 149 pounders this season, sometimes matting
Josh Roosa (Mountaintop/Crestwood), a sophomore out of Mountaintop, PA, and other times going with
Matt Hicks (Allentown (Annapolis, MD)/St. Mary's, MD), a true freshman from Annapolis, MD. Does the surname “Hicks” ring a bell? Matt's father is Wayne Hicks, former EIWA champion and NCAA finalist for the Naval Academy.
157 Pounds – (The top 3 finishers automatically qualify for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.)
The 2010 EWL champion at 157 pounds,
Matt Moley (Phoenixville/Spring-Ford) of Bloomsburg, has graduated. The favorite to win the EWL's this season is Clarion's James Fleming, who is a sophomore out of West Mifflin, PA. This season “Snapper” Fleming, nationally known for his side-headlock, has won the Clarion Open, placed second at the Oklahoma Gold tournament, won Cornell's BodyBar event, finished first at the PSAC's, and placed fourth at the powerful Midlands.
Also looking to make the finals will be a trio of sophomores - Bloomsburg's
Frank Hickman (Castle Hayne, NC/E.A. Laney), Pittsburgh's Donnie Tasser and Edinboro's John Greisheimer. Further, Ryan Goodman of West Virginia, Seth Creasy of Lock Haven, and Matt Donohoe all aim to place high.
165 Pounds – (The top 2 finishers automatically qualify for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.)
Edinboro's Jarrod King, who won the 2010 EWL title at this weight, has graduated. The leading candidate to succeed King as champion at 165 pounds this year is West Virginia's Donnie Jones. Jones is a three-time EWL runnerup and is competing this season on a sixth-year waiver. He's out of Greenberg-Salem (PA), and went undefeated in EWL dual-meet competition this season. The battle behind Jones likely will be between University of Pittsburgh's Ethan Headlee, Cleveland State University's Rob Michaels, Bloomsburg University's
Josh Veltre (Rochester, NY/Greece Olympia), and Clarion University's Bekzod Abdurakhmanov. Abdurakhmanov is from Uzbekistan, and transferred into Clarion from Colby Community College, where he was a two-time national juco finalist.
174 Pounds – (The champion automatically qualifies for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.)
The 2010 EWL champion at 174 pounds, Phil Moricone, has graduated, and this year's field looks wide open. The leading contenders for the 2011 EWL crown probably are Alex Meade (WVU),
Mike Dessino (Middlesex, NJ/Middlesex) (Bloomsburg) and Mike Khoury (LHU). All three wrestled well through the EWL dual meet season, and any one of the three could take home the 2011 title. Meade is a sophomore from Delaware, who transferred to WVU from Oklahoma State, where he was a 2010 NCAA qualifier for the Cowboys at 165 pounds. Dessino is a sophomore from New Jersey, who won the PSAC title this season. Khoury is a true freshman, out of Edgewater, NJ, who placed sixth at the early season Cornell BodyBar tournament, won Mat-Town, and grabbed third at the PSAC's.
The Pitt Panthers have been wrestling three different guys at 174 pounds this semester. All Pennsylvania natives, they are - Andy Vaughan (a senior), Karl DeCiantis (a junior), and Adam Counterman (a senior). Edinboro's hard-scrabble 174 pounder is Chris Hrunka, a junior out of Washington, NJ. Clarion has been matting both senior Scott Joseph and sophomore Steve Cressley at this weight, and Cleveland State's 174 pounder is Aric Thurn.
184 Pounds – (The top 3 finishers automatically qualify for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.)
Pat Bradshaw of Edinboro won this weight class last year, but he had graduated. On the other hand, Edinboro has brought Chris Honeycutt off redshirt this season, and he likely will be the successor to the crown. Honeycutt, a junior out of Ohio, is a fabulously gifted athlete who is undefeated this season (24-0) and carries the number one ranking in the nation at this weight.
Also aiming for the finals this season at 184 will be Bloomsburg senior
Nate Graham (Selkirk, NY/Ravena), and Pittsburgh true frosh Max Thomusseit. West Virginia junior, Matt Ryan, is a very good wrestler who could be the spoiler at this weight.
Clarion has wrestled Scott Joseph, Steve Cressley, and Josh Saddler (sophomore from NJ) at 184 pounds this semester. The LHU Bald Eagles will probably enter either Jake Bachman or Derek Caldwell at this weight, while the CSU Vikings' 184 pounder is Corbin Boone.
197 Pounds – (The top 2 finishers qualify for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.)
Matt Wilps, who won the 2010 EWL Tournament at 197 pounds for the Pitt Panthers, is redshirting this season. The other excellent Panther 197 pounder, however, Zac Thomusseit, has been competing this year. Thomusseit holds a high national ranking and is carrying a won/lost record of 19-2, but has been out with injury the past two months. If Thomusseit is able to compete this weekend, we certainly might see him in the finals.
This is a rather wide-open weight. After Thomusseit, the next best four warriors at 197 this season in the EWL perhaps are, in take-your-pick order:
Richard Perry (Meriden, CT/Middletown) of Bloomsburg; Alex Thomas of Clarion, Shawn Fendone of Edinboro and Kyle Rooney of West Virginia. Further, if Thomusseit is unable to compete, the Panthers will enter Phil Sorrentino at 197. Sorrentino is a junior and a 2007 PIAA AA champion out of South Alleghany High School at 152 pounds. He has bumped up from 174 this season to wrestle 197 in Thomusseit's absence, and performed quite well. It's not the size of the dog in the fight?
Lock Haven's entry likely will come from the trio of Jake Bachman, Travis Stem and Derek Caldwell. Cleveland State's 197 pounder is Nick Anthony, a sophomore from Ohio.
285 Pounds – (The champion automatically qualifies for the 2011 NCAA Tournament.)
The 2010 champion (and OW) at 285 pounds, Ryan Tomei of the University of Pittsburgh, is returning to defend his title. Mr. Tomei is a senior from Irwin, PA. This season he has marauded undefeated through the Panthers' EWL dual-meet schedule, racking up a total of 30 team points in the process, and gaining the EWL award for most team points scored.
The next best EWL heavy weights this season probably are the PSAC quartet of Ernest James (Edinboro), Quintas McCorkle (Clarion), Harry Turner (Lock Haven) and
Zac Walsh (Denville, NJ/Morris Knolls) (Bloomsburg). They're listed alphabetically by surname. We'll discover their accurate pecking order this weekend.
Cleveland State's heavy weight is Chris Weber, who is a sophomore from New Berlin, Wisconsin. The West Virginia 285 pounder is Phil Mandzik, who transferred into WVU from Iowa Central, where he was a two-time national juco qualifier.
The EWL has a ton of athletic heavyweights, and the big guys will settle it on the mat March 6 at the 2011 EWL Tournament at Bloomsburg University.
We hope all you fans enjoy the EWL Tournament, and we wish all the wrestlers the very best! Thank you.
