Edinboro 30 Buffalo 14

EDINBORO, Pa. – The Edinboro wrestling team, ranked 24th by InterMat, 14th by NWCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, received pin fall victories from A.J. Schopp and Ernest James and came out victorious with a 30-14 win over the University at Buffalo on Saturday afternoon.

With the victory, Edinboro improves to 2-1 overall while UB falls to 2-9.

The Fighting Scots made an instant impact in their first home action after two months on the road. Edinboro established an early lead by taking victories in each of the first four matches of the day.

At 125, Kory Mines earned an 11-5 decision over Max Soria to start the day for the Scots.

A.J. Schopp pinned Taylor Golba in 1:30 at in the 133-lb match to move his record to 24-3. Schopp entered the match ranked No. 6 in the Amateur Wrestling News rankings and seventh according to InterMat.

Mitchell Port kept the Edinboro winning streak alive and pushed the Fighting Scots’ lead to 12-0 with his 4-3 decision over UB’s Kevin Smith at 141 lbs. Smith had been ranked 15th by WIN Magazine and 24th by WrestlingReport.com entering the day’s action and is a three-time national qualifier with a record of 109-40 following his loss to Port. Port pushes his season record to 16-6.

At the 149-lb bout, David Habat (above) posted a dominating 13-2 major decision victory over Chris Conti. Habat took an 8-2 lead following the first period and never relinquished control. Habat started the day ranked eighth in both the InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News. Habat’s win moves the redshirt freshman to 24-5 on the year.

Trailing, 16-0, UB mounted a rally beginning with a victory from Wally Maziarz by fall at 3:41 over Edinboro’s Casey Fuller at 157 lbs. The Bulls would follow that up with a win at 165 lbs thanks to an 11-0 major decision win from Mark Lewandowski over Ethan Saylor. At 174, Jake Waste posted an 8-0 decision over Chris Hrunka to pull UB within 16-14.

Vic Avery stemmed the tide, though, by getting Edinboro back into the win column. The 184-pound freshman came out on top in a nip and tuck match against Zach Ward, pulling out an 11-6 decision. From there, Edinboro never looked back.

The Fighting Scots then picked up a convincing victory from senior Chris Honeycutt at 197. Honeycutt, ranked second in both the InterMat and Amateur Wrestling News polls, led 8-0 after one period against Justin Heiserman and never relinquished control, finishing off a 16-0 win with a technical fall at 5:49. With the win, Honeycutt keeps his record for the year unblemished at a perfect 25-0.

Boro’s Ernest James wrapped up the matchup by scoring the heavyweight victory by fall in 1:36 against Jedd Mason. James improves to 21-6 on the year with the win.

Edinboro now holds a 16-1 series advantage against Buffalo. Saturday’s win marks a measure of revenge after UB squeaked out an 18-16 victory last season in the previous meeting between the two schools.

The Fighting Scots are back in action on Friday, Jan. 13 and Saturday, Jan. 14, competing in the Virginia Duals.

#24 EDINBORO 30, BUFFALO 14
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Edinboro, PA

EUP-UB
125 lbs. Kory Mines (EUP) dec. Max Soria (UB), 11-5 3-0
133 lbs. #7 A.J. Schopp (EUP) fall Justin Farmer (UB), 1:30 9-0
141 lbs. Mitchell Port (EUP) dec. Kevin Smith, 4-3 12-0
149 lbs. #8 Dave Habat (EUP) major dec. Chris Conti, 13-2 16-0
157 lbs. Wally Maziarz (UB) fall Casey Fuller (EUP), 3:41 16-6
165 lbs. Mark Lewandowski (UB) major dec. Ethan Saylor (EUP), 11-0 16-10
174 lbs. Jake Waste (UB) dec. Chris Hrunka (EUP), 8-0 16-14
184 lbs. Vic Avery (EUP) dec. Zach Ward (UB), 11-6 19-14
197 lbs. #2 Chris Honeycutt (EUP) tech. fall Justin Heiserman (UB), 16-0 (5:49) 24-14
Hwt. Ernest James (EUP) fall Jedd Mason (UB), 1:36 30-14

Records: Edinboro 2-1
Buffalo 2-9