EDINBORO, Pa. – It wasn’t the first time
this year that a match has been left up to heavyweight Ernest James, and
it probably won’t be the last. On Friday night James came through with
flying colors to lead Edinboro to an 18-15 win over Michigan State. The
victory left the Fighting Scots at 9-2, while the Big Ten Spartans fell
to 3-10. A crowd of 1,314 took in the match on Military and First
Responders Appreciation Night.
With the match tied at 15-15, James took the mat against MSU’s Mike
McClure in a matchup of sophomore heavyweights. Following a scoreless
first period James took the 1-0 lead with a quick escape in the second,
but McClure matched it to start the third.
James nearly had the winning takedown with 25 seconds to go at the edge
of the mat, but the wrestlers were out of bounds. He followed with
another double leg shot seconds later and this time finished it for the
winning takedown with 15 seconds to go for a 3-1 decision. The win
boosted James to 27-8, while McClure is now 12-9.
Michigan State took advantage of wins at two swing weights to push the
match to the final bout. The only bonus points of the night were earned
by Edinboro’s A.J. Schopp, who picked up his 16th fall of the season at
1:53 over Terry Turner at 133 lbs. The sixth-ranked Schopp improved to
32-3 with his eighth straight triumph. It proved the difference as both
teams won five bouts.
One of those swing match wins came at 125 lbs., as Brenan Lyon (8-9)
edged Kory Mines (14-14) 9-7.
The Fighting Scots won the next three matches to take a 12-3 lead.
Following Schopp’s pin Mitchell Port won a 6-1 decision over Brian Gibbs
(16-14) at 141 lbs. Port, ranked 15th by InterMat, led just 2-1 after
two periods, but used an escape and takedown to pull away in the third
period. He owned 1:45 in riding time. Port is now 24-6 and has won his
last nine matches.
Dave Habat, ranked fifth by InterMat at 149 lbs., was forced into
overtime before coming away with a 4-2 decision over Dan Osterman in a
match that lived up to its advanced billing. Osterman took a 2-0 lead
with a reversal to start the second period, and a Habat escape made it
2-1 going into the third. Habat tied it with an escape to start the
third period. The redshirt freshman would come up with the winning
takedown 17 seconds into sudden victory to improve to 32-5 with his
11straight win and 20 in the last 21 matches. Osterman is now 19-13.
Michigan State would follow with four straight wins to take a 15-12
lead. Anthony Jones (18-6), ranked tenth by InterMat, held off freshman
Casey Fuller (19-17), 6-3, at 157 lbs. thanks to takedowns in the second
and third period.
David Cheza (14-7) followed with a 7-2 decision at 165 lbs. over another
Boro freshman, Jesse Swink (8-10). Cheza had takedowns in the first and
third, plus a second period reversal.
At 174 lbs., senior Chris Hrunka (16-14) turned in a strong showing
against 16th-ranked Curran Jacobs (21-9) before dropping a 70-3
decision. Following a scoreless first period Jacobs used a reversal and
takedown for a 4-2 lead after two periods. Hrunka closed to 4-3 with an
escape with 18 seconds to go, but Jacobs registered an insurance
takedown with eight seconds remaining. The Spartan had 2:51 in riding
time.
Vic Avery saw his four-match winning streak come to an end at 184 lbs.
as the freshman fell to 20-11 with a 6-5 loss to Ian Hinton in a match
that featured three penalty points for stalling or locked hands. Avery
led 5-4 following his lone takedown with 1:15 left in the match, but the
freshman was called for locked hands and Hinton escaped almost
instantaneously with a minute left for the winning points. Hinton
improved to 15-8.
Second-ranked Chris Honeycutt followed with a 6-2 decision against Nick
McDiamid at 197 lbs. The two had met earlier in the year with Honeycutt
prevailing 15-5, but the MSU redshirt freshman kept his distance
throughout this time around.
In improving to 32-0 for the season and 122-20 for his career, Honeycutt
had takedowns in the first and second periods, with McDirmiad escaping
twice in the second. An ugly third period saw Honeycutt gain points for
stalling and locked hands. The senior moved past Alex Clemsen for sole
possession of tenth place in career wins.
Edinboro returns to action next Friday, February 17 at Pittsburgh in a
match that could decide the EWL regular season title.
#20 EDINBORO 18, MICHIGAN STATE 15
Friday, February 10, 2012
McComb Fieldhouse
Edinboro, PA
EU-MSU
125 lbs. Brenan Lyon (MSU) dec. Kory Mines (EU) 9-7 0-3
133 lbs. #6 A.J. Schopp (EU) fall over Terry Turner (MSU) 1:53 6-3
141 lbs. #15 Mitchell Port (EU) dec. Brian Gibbs (MSU) 6-1 9-3
149 lbs. #5 Dave Habat (EU) dec. Dan Osterman (MSU) 4-2 SV 12-3
157 lbs. #10 Anthony Jones (MSU) dec. Casey Fuller (EU) 6-3 12-6
165 lbs. David Cheza (MSU) dec. Jesse Swink (EU) 7-2 12-9
174 lbs. #16 Curran Jacobs (MSU) dec. Chris Hrunka (EU) 7-3 12-12
184 lbs. Ian Hinton (MSU) dec. Vic Avery (EU) 6-5 12-15
197 lbs. #2 Chris Honeycutt (EU) dec. Nick McDiarmid (MSU) 6-2 15-15
Hwt. Ernest James (EU) dec. Mike McClure(MSU) 3-1 18-15