Gillespie Falls Lead to 40-4 Win over Cleveland State
EDINBORO, Pa. (Feb. 6, 2009) – Led by falls from the brothers Gillespie, Edinboro won its 23rd straight Eastern Wrestling League match in convincing fashion on Friday night, handing Cleveland State a 40-4. The victory leaves the 12th-ranked Fighting Scots with an 11-4 overall record and 4-0 in the EWL. The Vikings fall to 4-11 and 0-4, respectively.
All told Edinboro received bonus points in five matches, with Torsten (left) and Gregor Gillespie leading the way with falls at 149 and 157 lbs., respectively. Torsten Gillespie held a 5-0 lead over Antonio Nicholson in the second period when he registered his fourth fall of the season to improve to 23-13.
Gregor wasn’t about to be outdone by his younger brother, as he made short work of freshman Corey Carlo. The three-time All-American recorded a takedown 48 seconds into the match, put Carlo in a cradle won his second match by fall at exactly one minute. Gillespie is the top-ranked wrestler at 157 lbs. and boosted his season record to 31-0. In addition, he moved within four wins of eclipsing Jason Robison’s career record of 145 wins. Gillespie is 142-10 in his career.
The best match of the evening came at heavyweight, as 13th-ranked Joey Fendone (right) squared off against Rashard Goff, who is ranked 20th. There was no scoring in the first two periods, although Fendone rode out Goff in the second period. Goff chose neutral to begin the third, but Fendone recorded the only takedown of the match with 35 seconds remaining. Goff would receive a point for stalling with 14 seconds left, but Fendone had a riding time advantage of 2:35 for the 3-1 decision. Fendone is now 22-5 and is fast approaching 100 career wins with a 97-37 ledger. Goff dropped to 26-8 and failed in his bid for his 99th career win.
The match got underway at 184 lbs., with 17th-ranked Chris Honeycutt winning by major decision over J.T. Miller, 10-1. Honeycutt picked up a pair of takedowns in the first period for a 4-1 lead, boosted it to 7-1 after two periods with three near-fall points, then closed it out with a takedown in the third and a point for 3:47 in riding time. Honeycutt is now 23-6.
Pat Bradshaw followed with a win by forfeit at 197 lbs., boosting his record to 21-5.
Paul Donahoe, top-ranked at 125 lbs., put away a game Jordan Keller via a 12-4 major decision. Donahoe used a takedown and two back points for a 4-1 lead after one period. An escape and another takedown made it 7-1 after two periods. He would add two more takedowns in the third along with a point for riding time. That leaves Donahoe with a perfect 25-0 record and a 111-18 career record, including his three seasons at Nebraska. Keller is now 22-15.
Ricky Deubel continued his resurgence at 133 lbs. with his 11th win in his last 12 matches, a 9-4 decision over Josh Palivoda. Like Fendone, he is nearing 100 career wins at 96-47. The senior jumped out to a 4-2 lead with a pair of first-period takedowns. Deubel rode out Palivoda in the second period, then added a reversal to start the third, plus a third takedown. He had 3:30 in riding time.
Steve Waite improved to 7-2 at 141 lbs. with a 7-2 decision over Lawrence Cavello. The sophomore won the starting job earlier in the week in a wrestleoff against Joel Webster. After a scoreless first period, Waite opened the second with an escape, then spun around Cavello for a takedown with 34 seconds left in the period. Cavello closed the match to 3-2 with a reversal with 27 seconds left in the third period, but Waite would escape and then register an insurance takedown at the buzzer. He had a riding time advantage of 1:39.
After the Gillespie pins boosted the lead to 35-0, the Vikings picked up their lone win at the night at Rob Michaels won by major decision over Chris Hrunka at 165 lbs., 17-5. Michaels had five takedowns in the match, the only CSU takedowns all night. Hrunka, who is filling in for injured starter Jarrod King, fell to 4-10.
Paul Paddock ended the night with an 18-2 technical fall over Derek Cummins at 174 lbs., ending the match as the second period concluded. The redshirt freshman had a 1-0 lead before the match even started as Cummins came out with a rubber band on his wrist and was penalized a point. It only got worse for Cummins. He trailed 6-2 after one period as Paddock come up with a takedopwn and two back points. Cummins chose down to begin the third, and Paddock tilted the Viking four times for a total of 11 points in the second period. Paddock improved to 10-14 with the win.
The Fighting Scots will once again wrestle on back-to-back nights next Friday and Saturday. On Friday, February 13 they will travel to the University at Buffalo, then return home to face 23rd-ranked Hofstra on Saturday, February 14 at 7 p.m. at McComb Fieldhouse.