Ohio State 19 Edinboro 12
Early Upsets Not Enough for 17th-Ranked Fighting Scots to Overcome
6th-Ranked Ohio State
EDINBORO, Pa. (Dec. 14, 2008) – The Edinboro wrestling team posted a pair of early surprises in Sunday’s match against sixth-ranked Ohio State, but the Fighting Scots fell short of upsetting the Buckeyes. Ohio State’s Corey Morrison ultimately sealed the 19-12 win with a 5-3 decision over Joey Fendone (Salem, NH/Central Catholic (Mass.)) in the heavyweight match. The loss drops Edinboro to 5-2, while Ohio State is now 3-0. A crowd of 1,457 took in the match at McComb Field House.
The match got off to a surprising start when Kyle Fluke (State College, PA/State College) upset 16th-ranked Nikko Triggas in the 125 lb. bout. Fluke used an early takedown and then rode out Triggas the rest of the first period. He then rode Triggas the entire second period for over four-and-a-half minutes of riding time.
In the third period, Triggas turned Fluke for two near-fall points to tie the match at 2-2, but Fluke would escape with just over a minute left, and then registered a takedown with 25 seconds left for a 5-2 lead. He had 4:09 in riding time for the 6-2 decision, boosting his record to 8-7. Triggas fell to 13-5.
Eighth-ranked Reece Humphrey used five takedowns and a reversal to record a 14-6 major decision over Ricky Deubel (Chagrin Falls, OH/Kenston) at 133 lbs. Humphrey is now 12-0, while Deubel saw his record even at 7-7.
The biggest upset of the day came at 141 lbs., as Joel Webster (Norfolk, CT/Northwestern Reg.) (above) shocked defending national champion J Jaggers, claiming a 5-4 decision. Jaggers came in ranked eighth, and took an early lead with a takedown at 2:20 of the first period. Webster evened the match at 2-2 with a reversal with just three seconds left in the period.
The lone scoring in the second period was a Webster escape to make it 3-2, although Jaggers owned riding time. In the third period, Jaggers would escape with 1:07 left to make it 3-3. Then with just 12 seconds left Webster registered the wining takedown, holding off Jaggers in the final seconds for the biggest win of his career. The junior is now 7-2, while Jaggers falls to 6-5.
Ohio State retook the lead at 7-6 on a 7-1 decision by fourth-ranked Lance Palmer over 15th-ranked Torsten Gillespie (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder). The 149 lb. bout marked the first of five matches between ranked grapplers, with Ohio State ultimately winning four of them. Palmer, a two-time All-American, had just one takedown, but had a two-point near-fall plus gained a pair of stalling points. He is now 9-2 while Gillespie falls to 12-5.
Edinboro went back ahead when Gregor Gillespie (Webster, NY/Webster Schroeder) picked up his 125th career win with a 6-2 decision over Jason Johnstone at 157 lbs. Gillespie came in ranked second while Johnstone is 15th. He improved to 14-0 and is now 125-10 for his career. Gillespie would post the only takedown of the match with 1:45 left in the first period and rode out the Buckeye senior.
He would take the top to start the second and eventually turn Johnstone for three back points with a minute left. Johnstone would escape to make it 5-1, and another escape in the final seconds of the third period made it 5-2. Gillespie had 5:18 in riding time.
In the feature bout of the match, sixth-ranked Colt Sponseller handed third-ranked Jarrod King (Connellsville, PA/Connellsville) his first loss of the season at 165 lbs., capturing a 4-1 decision. Sponseller grabbed a single leg and walked King around the mat for almost forty seconds before finishing the takedown with 24 seconds left in the first period. A King escape made it 2-1 after one period.
King took down to start the second and Sponseller rode him out. With Sponseller down to start the third, the Buckeye sophomore would escape with 1:45 left, and added a point for riding time. That gave Ohio State the lead for good at 10-9. King is now 12-1, while Sponseller improved to 16-1.
At 174 lbs., a pair of fill-ins matched up, with OSU’s Sean Nemec handing Paul Paddock (Warsaw, NY/ Warsaw Central) a 7-4 defeat. That left Paddock, filling in for injured Phil Moricone, a 3-6 record. Nemec is 13-1.
Defending 184 lb. national champion Mike Pucillo made his 2008-09 debut for the Buckeyes in impressive fashion, disposing of 10th-ranked Chris Honeycutt (North Ridgeville, OH/St. Edward), 8-1. The top-ranked wrestler at 184 lbs., Pucillo jumped to a quick 4-0 lead with a takedown at 2:42, followed by two near-fall points with just under two minutes left. He would add a takedown midway through the second period. Honeycutt falls to 8-2.
Edinboro closed the match to 16-12 thanks to Pat Bradshaw’s (Saegertown, PA/Saegertown) 3-0 win over Cody Gardner at 197 lbs. Following a scoreless first period, Bradshaw registered an escape just seconds into the second period for a 1-0 advantage after two periods. Gardner chose down to begin the third and could never escape. With a stalling point and 1:57 in riding time, Bradshaw improved to 11-3. Gardner is now 13-3.
Fendone, ranked eighth, needed bonus points to win the match, and with nine for the year, it was a possibility. But Morrison never gave Fendone the chance. Ranked 14th, the junior took the lead with a takedown less than thirty seconds into the match. He would add another for a 4-2 lead after one period. Fendone took the top to begin the second but could never tilt the Buckeye. Morrison would escape to make it 5-2, and the only scoring in the third period was a stalling point for Fendone, giving Morrison the 5-3 decision.