LHU Rolls by Rider, 23-9
LOCK HAVEN – The No. 22 Lock Haven University wrestling team (7-3, 4-0 EWL) won seven of 10 bouts and rolled by visiting Rider University (7-4, 4-1 EWL) to remain perfect in Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) action Friday night. The Bald Eagles held a 20-10 advantage in takedowns on the way to the 23-9 victory.
With the win, Lock Haven moved to 4-0 in EWL action.
Lock Haven got wins from Luke Werner (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty), DJ Fehlman (Warren, Pa./Warren), Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs), Alex Klucker (Summerdale, Pa./East Pennsboro), Chance Marsteller (New Park, Pa./Kennard-Dale), Corey Hazel (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) and Thomas Haines (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco).
All four of the Bald Eagles nationally-ranked wrestlers won including Shoop who added another quick tech fall.
It was all Lock Haven from the start as Rider didn’t score a takedown until the fourth bout of the night.
With the win, the Bald Eagles also snapped another long losing streak. Rider entered the dual on an eight-match win streak vs. LHU. Lock Haven hadn’t downed Rider since December 2002.
The early dominance paid off as the Bald Eagles set the tone with three straight victories at 125, 133 and 141. After three bouts, Lock Haven led 11-0.
At 125, Werner took control early and led Jonathan Tropea 4-2 after one period, thanks to a pair of first-period takedowns. Werner scored a late escape in the second and led 5-2. Werner put the match away and added an exclamation mark with a late takedown, which pushed the final score to 7-3.
At 133, Fehlman continued to shine, and used two second-period takedowns in a victory over Rider’s talented Anthony Cefolo.
At 141, Shoop – ranked No. 20 – did his thing and picked up another tech fall. It came in dominating fashion as he led 14-0 after the first period. With Shoop in absolute control, the match ended on a stall call on Rider’s Travis Layton early in the second period (3:41).
For Shoop, the tech fall marked his NCAA Division I best 13th of the season. Already the school record holder in career techs, this one marked the 38th of Shoop’s career.
Despite a sensational effort and tough ride in the third, Brock Port (Bellefonte, Pa./Bellefonte) was edged 6-4 by Evan Fidelbus. Port trailed 6-2 after two periods and started the third on top where he was able to tilt Fidelbus late for two points. Despite another late rally, Port just couldn’t draw even.
At 157, Klucker took Gino Fluri down 10 seconds into the match and put it away from there. Klucker led 5-2 after two and racked up 3:38 of riding time on the way to the win over Fluri.
The 165-bout was the only match of the night that featured two nationally-ranked wrestlers and Marsteller – ranked No. 5 – outdistanced himself from No. 16 Jesse Dellavecchia early, thanks to two first-period takedowns. In all, Marsteller scored four takedowns on the way to the solid 11-5 win.
At 174, Jared Siegrist (Manheim, Pa./Manheim Central) and Rider’s Dean Sherry combined for nine takedowns and 34 total points. Despite a six-takedown effort, Seigrist was edged out 18-16.
No. 17th ranked Hazel used a late takedown and put things away in the third period at 184. The late takedown stretched Hazel’s lead to 6-3 and he tacked on a riding-time point for the hard-fought 8-5 win. Hazel’s late flurry thrilled the home crowd and pushed the Lock Haven lead to 20-6, putting the dual away.
Parker McClellan (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) was downed by Ethan Laird, 7-2 at 197.
Haines – ranked No. 11 at 285 – ended the match in style. Haines scored an early takedown and led 2-0 after one period with 2:08 of riding time. In the end, Haines won 4-0.
The night also marked milestone wins for Werner who recorded his 50th win at LHU and Shoop with his 98th career win. Shoop is looking to become LHU’s 21st 100-match winner.
The Bald Eagles will host longtime league rival Clarion University on Sunday (Feb. 10) at 2 p.m. Sunday marks Lock Haven’s 2019 LHU Wrestling Alumni Day.
#22 Lock Haven 23 – Rider 9
125: Luke Werner (Lock Haven) dec. Jonathan Tropea (Rider) 7-3 / LHU, 3-0
133: DJ Fehlman (Lock Haven) dec. Anthony Cefolo (Rider) 6-4 / LHU, 6-0
141: #20 Kyle Shoop (Lock Haven) tech fall Travis Layton (Rider) 15-0 (3:41) / LHU, 11-0
149: Evan Fidelbus (Rider) dec. Brock Port (Lock Haven) 6-4 / LHU, 11-3
157: Alex Klucker (Lock Haven) dec. Gino Fluri (Rider) 8-4 / LHU, 14-3
165: #5 Chance Marsteller (Lock Haven) dec. #15 Jesse Dellavecchia (Rider) 11-5 / LHU, 17-3
174: Dean Sherry (Rider) dec. Jared Siegrist (Lock Haven) 18-16 / LHU, 17-6
184: #17 Corey Hazel (Lock Haven) dec. Michale Fagg-Daves (Rider) 8-5 / LHU, 20-6
197: Ethan Laird (Rider) dec. Parker McClellan (Lock Haven) 7-2 / LHU, 20-9
285: #11 Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) dec. Ryan Cloud (Rider) 4-0 / LHU 23-9
