Neff & Sprenkle NCAA Bound
Bald Eagles 3rd at EWL’s
LOCK HAVEN – Dan Neff (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) and Phil Sprenkle (Seven Valleys, Pa./Dallastown) punched tickets to the 2016 NCAA Championships, thanks to sensational efforts today at the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championships, hosted at LHU.
For the third straight season the Bald Eagles took third overall in the team standings.
Rider took home the team title today with 89 points and Edinboro was second (79.5 points). Lock Haven finished with 59 points, good enough for third.
Jake Field (South Elgin, Ill./Marmion Academy), Bobby Rehm(Lancaster, Pa./Penn Manor) and Cody Wheeler (Towanda, Pa./Towanda) all took second for Lock Haven.
Neff, the top-seed at 149 pounds, opened the day with a dominating tech fall and moved into the finals with a 2-1 decision in the semifinals.
In the finals, Neff locked up with Rider’s BJ Clagon in a battle of two returning All-Americans. With the title bout tied 7-7, Neff scored a takedown with just seconds left in the third period, giving him the thrilling 9-7 victory and the title.
It marked Lock Haven’s first individual EWL champion since 2010.
For his efforts, Neff was voted by the EWL head coaches as the tournament’s Most Outstanding Wrestler.
Neff’s 3-0 mark today extended his win streak to 19 matches. Since returning to 149 pounds, where he was an All-American last season on December 17, 2015, Neff has gone a perfect 19-0.
Sprenkle went 3-1 on the day, rebounding with a pair of clutch wins after falling in the semifinals. By way of the third-place finish, Sprenkle booked his first career trip to the NCAA Tournament.
Sprenkle grinded out a hard-fought 5-4 win over Clarion’s Dustin Conti in the third-place bout with the NCAA qualifying spot on the line.
Field and Rehm both went 1-1 on the day and finished second at 125 and 133, respectively. Wheeler went 2-1 and finished second at 141.
On Wednesday, the NCAA will announce an additional 46 at-large bids and release the whole field for the 2016 NCAA Division I Championships, which are set for New York City’s Madison Square Garden March 17-19.
Full Results/Bracket, click here.
LHU Results
125 – Jake Field (#3 seed), 1-1 second
First Round – bye into semifinals
Semifinals: Field pinned Patrick Dewitt (Clarion) 1:58
Finals: #1 Sean Russell (Edinboro) major dec. Field 20-8
133 – Bobby Rehm (#3 seed), 1-1 second
First Round – bye into semifinals
Semifinals: Rehm pinned Evan Cheek (Cleveland State 2:29
Finals: #1 Robert Deutsch (Rider) dec. Rehm 3-2
141 – Cody Wheeler (unseeded), 2-1, second
First Round: Wheeler pinned #3 Paul Kirchner (Rider) 1:26
Semifinals: Wheeler dec. Mike Carlone (Cleveland St.) 9-5
Finals: #1 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) dec. Wheeler 7-0
149 – Dan Neff (#1 seed), 3-0, first (NCAA qualifier)
First Round: Neff tech fall Brodie Zacherl (Clarion) 21-6 (7:00)
Semifinals: Neff dec. Blake Roulo (George Mason) 2-1
Finals: Neff dec. #3 BJ Clagon (Rider) 9-7
157 – Aaron McKinney (#4 seed), 0-2
First Round: #5 Brendon Colbert (Bloomsburg) dec. McKinney 7-5
Consolation Semifinals: #3 Gregory Flournoy (Cleveland State) dec. McKinney 5-4
165 – Cody Cordes (#4 seed), 1-2
First Round: Cordes major dec. Nathan Wynkoop (Cleveland State) 9-1
Semifinals: #1 Connor Brennan (Rider) dec. Cordes (Lock Haven) 3-2
Consolation Semifinals: Patrick Davis (George Mason) dec. Cordes 3-0
174 – Tyler Wood (#4 seed), 1-2
First Rounds: Wood dec. Curt Delia (Rider) 10-6
Semifinals: #1 Michael Pavasko (Clarion) dec. Wood 3-2
Consolation Semifinals: Ryan Forrest (George Mason) pinned Wood 2:18
184- Tristan Sponseller (#2 seed), 1-2
First Round: Sponseller major dec. Luke Ludke (George Mason) 14-2
Semifinals: #3 Michale Fagg-Daves (Rider) dec. Sponseller 5-4
Consolation Semifinals: #5 Xavier Dye (Cleveland St.) dec. Sponseller 6-5
197 – Phil Sprenkle (#3 seed), 3-1, third (NCAA qualifier)
First Round: Sprenkle tech fall Cameron Houston (George Mason) 15-0 (6:19)
Semifinals: #2 Sam Wheeler (Cleveland St.) dec. Sprenkle 3-1
Consolation Semifinals: Sprenkle dec. #5 Dominic Carfagno (Bloomsburg) 8-3
Third-place: Sprenkle dec. Dustin Conti (Clarion) 5-4
285 – Brad Emerick (unseeded), 1-2
First Round: Mauro Correnti (Rider) dec. Emerick 3-2
Round 1 Wrestlebacks: Emerick dec. Saul Wilkins (Bloomsburg) 7-1
Consolation Semifinals: #4 Matt Voss (George Mason) dec. Emerick 9-4
Final Team Scores
1. Rider, 89 pts.
2. Edinboro, 79.5 pts.
3. Lock Haven, 59 pts.
4. Cleveland State, 55 pts.
5. Clarion, 41.5 pts.
6. George Mason, 32.5 pits.
7. Bloomsburg, 5.5 pts.
Semifinal Results
125: #1 Sean Russell (Edinboro) major dec. #4 John Martin (Cleveland St.) 27-13
125: #3 Jake Field (Lock Haven) pinned Patrick Dewitt (Clarion) 1:58
133: #1 Robert Deutsch (Rider) dec. #4 Andy Schutz (Bloomsburg) 6-3
133: #3 Bobby Rehm (Lock Haven) pinned Evan Cheek (Cleveland St.) 2:29
141: #1 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) dec. #4 Tejon Anthony (George Mason) 6-2
141: Cody Wheeler (Lock Haven) dec. #2 Mike Carlone (Cleveland St.) 9-5
149: #1 Dan Neff (Lock Haven) dec. #5 Blake Roulo (George Mason) 2-1
149: #3 BJ Clagon (Rider) dec. Patricio Lugo (Edinboro) 9-6
157: #1 Chad Walsh (Rider) major dec. #5 Brendon Colbert (Bloomsburg) 10-1
157: #2 Austin Matthews (Edinboro) major dec. #3 Gregory Flournoy (George Mason) 12-4
16 5: #1 Connor Brennan (Rider) dec. #4 Cody Cordes (Lock Haven) 3-2
165: #2 Casey Fuller (Edinboro0 dec. #3 Evan Delong (Clarion) 3-1 SV-1
174: #1 Michael Pavasko (Clarion0 dec. Tyler Wood (Lock Haven) 3-2
174: #3 Gabe Stark (Cleveland St.) pinned #2 Patrick Jennings (Edinboro) 2:41
184: #1 Vic Avery (Edinboro) dec. #4 Dominic Riguos (Clarion) 9-4
184: #3 Michale Fag-Daves (Rider) Tristan Sponseller (Lock Haven) 5-4
197: #1 Ryan Wolfe (Rider) dec. #4 Vincent Pickett (Edinboro) 5-0
197: #2 Sam Wheeler (Cleveland St.) dec. #3 Phil Sprenkle (Lock Haven) 3-1
285: #1 Billy Miller (Edinboro) dec. #4 Matt Voss (George Mason) 6-1
285: #2 Riley Shaw (Cleveland St.) pinned #3 Mauro Correnti (Rider) 3:41
Third-Place Results:
125: Zach Valcarce (Rider) dec. #2 Ibrahim Bunduka (George Mason) 5-0
133: Evan Check (Cleveland St.) dec. #2 Vincent Rodriguez (George Mason) 4-2
141: #3 Paul Kirchner (Rider) major dec. #2 Mike Carlone (Cleveland St.) 14-6
149: #2 Patricio Lugo (Edinboro) major dec. #5 Blake Roulo (George Mason) 11-2
157: #3 Gregory Flournoy (George Mason) dec. #5 Brendon Colbert (Bloomsburg) 10-3
165: #1 Connor Brennan (Rider) major dec. Casey Fuller (Edinboro) 11-3
174: Ryan Forrest (George Mason) #2 Patrick Jennings (Edinboro) 5-3
184: #5 Xavier Dye (Cleveland St.) major dec. Dominic Rigous (Clarion) 11-2
197: #3 Phil Sprenkle (Lock Haven0 dec. Dustin Conti (Clarion) 5-4
285: #3 Mauro Correnti (Rider) dec. #4 Matt Voss (George Mason) 7-3
Finals Results
125: #1 Sean Russell (Edinboro) major dec. Jake Field (Lock Haven) 20-8
133: #1 Robert Deutsch (Rider) dec. #3 Bobby Rehm (Lock Haven) 3-2
141: #1 Brock Zacherl (Clarion) dec. Cody Wheeler (Lock Haven) 7-0
149: #1 Dan Neff (Lock Haven) dec. #3 BJ Clagon (Rider) 9-7
157: #2 Austin Matthews (Edinboro) major dec. #1 Chad Walsh (Rider) 17-6
165: #3 Evan Delong (Clarion) dec. Patrick Davis (George Mason) 1-0
174: #1 Michael Pavasko (Clarion) dec. #3 Gabe Stark (Cleveland St.) 7-3
184: #1 Vic Avery (Edinboro) pinned #3 Michael Fagg-Daves (Rider) 1:08
197: #1 Chad Walsh (Rider) dec. #2 Sam Wheeler (Cleveland St.) 5-2
285: #2 Riley Shaw (Cleveland St.) dec. #2 Billy Miller (Edinboro) 5-4 TB-2
True Second-Place Match (*for NCAA bids)
157: #1 Chad Walsh (Rider) major dec. #3 Gregory Flournoy (George Mason) 8-0
285: #1 Billy Miller (Edinboro) dec. #3 Mauro Correnti (Rider) 5-3
# = EWL Championship seeds
