College Wrestling
Edinboro University 20, Rider University 16
LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ—The Broncs took 15th ranked Edinboro to the final bout before losing an Eastern Wrestling League dual meet Saturday afternoon.
“Edinboro is an outstanding team,” said Rider head coach Gary Taylor. “They placed fifth at the NCAAs last year. We felt it would be a good match and it was. Unfortunately they won all three of the close matches.”
Edinboro (10-4, 3-0 EWL) won two matches that went into overtime (184 and heavyweight) along with a 4-3 decision at 174.
For Rider (7-5, 1-1 EWL), ranked 23rd by InterMat and 25th in the coaches' poll, junior Rob Deutsch (Cherry Hill, NJ/Eastern Regional) won by fall to give Rider a 6-4 lead. “Rob got us off to a good start,” Taylor said. “He knew it was important to get that pin and try to get us some extra points.” Deutsch is now 47-12 in less than two seasons at Rider.
Junior Conor Brennan (Brick, NJ/Brick Twp.) won a major decision at 157 to give the Broncs a 13-11 lead. “Conor looked great,” Taylor said. “He wrestled smart and tough.”
Freshman Chad Walsh (Cherry Hill, NJ/Camden Catholic), ranked 18th in the nation, won at 157 to cut the Edinboro lead to 11-9. “Chad continues to win,” Taylor said. Walsh improved to 20-5 on the season, 10-2 in dual meets. “That was a match where there was a lot of strategy going on. Chad did what he needed to do to get the win.”
Senior Donald McNeil (Plainville, Mass./Wyoming Seminary) won at 197 to cut the Edinboro lead to 17-16. “Don did a good job,” Taylor said. “He was patient today.”
Senior Clint Morrison (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cedar Cliff) took 13th ranked Vic Avery to overtime before losing 3-2.
Freshman B.J. Clagon (Toms River, NJ/Toms River South), ranked 19th in the nation, gave second ranked Dave Habat a close battle at 157 before losing 9-6. “B.J. is very talented and obviously so is Habat,” Taylor said. “That was the type of match that is good for the fans because the two wrestlers really went at it and battled the whole time.”
For Edinboro (10-4, 3-0 EWL), ranked 15th by the coaches and 16th by InterMat, second ranked Dave Habat won at 149 for an 11-6 lead. Second ranked Mitchell Port won a major decision at 141 and 17th ranked Kory Mines won a major decision at 125.
Heavyweight Warren Bosch won in overtime for the final score.
Rider competes again Sunday at George Mason, taking on Mason at 1pm and North Carolina at 3pm. “Those two teams are both very improved,” Taylor said. “That is going to be two tough matches.”
Edinboro 20, Rider 16
125 #17 Kory Mines-E major dec. J.R. Wert-R 9-1 4-0
133 Rob Deutsch-R wbf Anthony Rivera-E 4:50 4-6
141 #2 Mitchell Port-E major dec. Chuck Zeisloft-R 15-4 8-6
149 #2 Dave Habat-E dec. #19 B.J. Clagon-R 9-6 11-6
157 #18 Chad Walsh-R dec. Kasey Davis-E 1-0 11-9
165 Conor Brennan-R major dec. Casey Fuller-E 12-4 11-13
174 Patrick Jennings-E dec. Ryan Wolfe-R 4-3 14-13
184 #13 Vic Avery-E dec. Clint Morrison-R 3-2 ot 17-13
197 Don McNeil-R dec. Vince Pickett-E 5-2 17-16
Hwt Warren Bosch-E dec. Greg Velasco-R 2-1 ot 20-16
