Shoop Champ as LHU Wrestling Opens at Clarion Open
CLARION – The No. 20 Lock Haven University wrestling team opened the 2018-19 season Saturday at the Clarion Open and Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs) took home the title at 141 pounds.
It marked the fourth straight season the Bald Eagles have officially opened their season with the Clarion Open and thanks to Shoop’s title, it extended Lock Haven’s streak to four straight years with at least one champion at the Clarion Open.
DJ Fehlman (Warren, Pa./Warren), Jonathan Ross (Dillsburg, Pa./Liberty) and Alex Klucker (Summerdale, Pa./East Pennsboro) all placed second as the Bald Eagles opened the season by flexing their dominance early in the deep tournament field.
Fehlman was second at 141 as the Bald Eagles showed their depth at the weight. Ross was second at 149 pounds and Klucker was second at 157.
Shoop went a perfect 5-0 on the day. In the 141-pound finals, Shoop downed teammate-Fehlman by tech fall, 18-2. Shoop picked up a pair of tech falls, running his career total to 27, just one away from the No. 2 spot on the Bald Eagles career list. The school record is 32 as Shoop, the nation’s leader in tech falls last season, will look to break that mark this year. Fehlman was 4-1on the day.
Klucker, ranked No. 18 at 157 pounds, had a big day. He powered his way to the finals, thanks to a 4-0 record. Klucker opened the day with back-to-back pins (0:30, 2:30), before a 15-1 major in the quarter finals, and a 6-5 decision in the semis. In the finals, No. 14 Tyler Marinelli (Gardner-Webb) defeated Klucker, 6-3.
Ross posted a big day at 149 and finished second overall. His only loss of the day came in the finals vs. No. 9 Brock Zacherl of Clarion by a 10-4 score. Ross won his first three bouts of the day by way of a 16-0 tech fall and a pair of decisions.
Competing unattached at 174 pounds, Jared Siegrist (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) placed third overall. He was 4-1 on the day and opened the day at 2-0. After a loss in the semifinals, Siegrist won in the consolation-semifinals, before winning the third-place bout 6-1 over Tommy O’Brien (UNA, Pittsburgh).
Luke Werner was fourth at 125 after going 3-2 on the day. After opening the day with a loss, Werner bounced back in big a way and rattled off three wins before a loss in the third-place bout.
In all, LHU sent nearly 20 student-athletes to the mats to compete both attached and unattached. Included in the lineup were three of Lock Haven’s six returning national qualifiers including Shoop, Fehlman and Klucker.
Saturday marked the start of a much anticipated season for the Bald Eagles. Last year, LHU finished 16th at NCAA Championships. Lock Haven opened the season ranked No. 20 (tie) in the National Wrestling Coaches’ Association (NWCA) national team rankings and the Bald Eagles were tabbed No. 19 in InterMat’s preseason team rankings.
LHU will return to action Sunday, Nov. 11 at the Journeymen Collegiate Classic at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York. All six of Lock Haven’s returning national qualifiers on the roster are expected to be in action next weekend including the nationally-ranked trio of Chance Marsteller (New Park, Pa./Kennard-Dale), Corey Hazel (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) and Thomas Haines (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco), who will make their season debut next week.