Bald Eagle Wrestlers Open Sunday at Clarion Open
LOCK HAVEN – The Lock Haven University wrestling team is set to open the 2019-20 season on Sunday, Nov. at the Clarion Open. The Bald Eagles begin the season ranked No. 23 in the national rankings. A handful of key returnees will not be competing in the season-opener.
The upcoming season marks a new era for the Bald Eagles as they’ve said goodbye to the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL), and now, LHU finds itself a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC), a well-respected Division I conference, and one that produces strong wrestling.
Action will start Sunday at Clarion’s Student Recreation Center at 9 a.m.
Lock Haven is coming off back-to-back top-20 finishes at the NCAA Division I National Championships, and under the direction of seventh year head coach Scott Moore, the Bald Eagles show no signs of slowing their rise on the national scene.
FIVE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
ONE: For the fifth consecutive year, LHU will open the season at the Clarion Open. Last year, returning All-American Kyle Shoop got things rolling early in the season with an individual title at the Clarion Open. Shoop’s title marked LHU’s fifth in four seasons at the Clarion Open, as the Bald Eagles have crowned at least one champion there in each season from 2015-2018. Current rostered Bald Eagles Alex Klucker and Corey Hazel have previous Clarion Open titles to their name. Klucker won a title at Clarion in 2017 and will be in action again this weekend.
TWO: Last season, Lock Haven sent a total of six Bald Eagles to the 2019 NCAA Division I National Championships in Pittsburgh. Four of those six return this season in the form of DJ Fehlman (133), Kyle Shoop (141), Alex Klucker (157) and Corey Hazel (184). Shoop, a returning All-American (7th, 141), is a three-time national qualifier. Fehlman, Klucker and Hazel are all two-time NCAA qualifiers.
THREE: A total of five individuals head into the new season holding preseason national rankings. TrackWrestling listed returning national qualifiers DJ Fehlman (No. 9, 133), Kyle Shoop (No. 5, 141), Alex Klucker (No. 31, 157) and Corey Hazel (No. 10, 184) in the preseason rankings, along with redshirt-freshman Isaac Reid, who is listed at No. 30 at 285. Shoop, LHU’s returning All-American is listed in all six major media national preseason individual rankings and he’s ranked as high as No. 4.
FOUR: The watch for 100 wins is on, as DJ Fehlman, a two-time NCAA qualifier, enters the 2019-20 season with 88 wins. He went 36-8 last season and 36 wins were the most of any Bald Eagle last year. After dropping back down to 133 pounds in late January, Fehlman went on an absolute tear, which included an individual EWL title.
FIVE: Will the school record for career wins go down? That’s a question being asked, as three-time NCAA qualifier and returning All-American Kyle Shoop enters the season with 108 wins. Last season, Shoop picked up his 100th career win and became the 21st wrestler in LHU history to reach the 100-win club as a Bald Eagle. Shoop won 35 times last season and the all-time career record for wins is 146. Last year, marked the second straight season where Shoop led all NCAA Division I wrestlers in tech falls. He will enter his senior season with 40 techs, which is already a career school record.
Live coverage:
On Sunday, live results and live video of the Clarion Open will be provided by FloWrestling.
A look at the Bald Eagles Clarion Open lineup:
141: Garrett Rigg
141: Imran Heard
149: Brock Port
157: Alex Klucker
157: Collin Glorioso
165: Caleb Clymer
165: Larry Brown
174: Jared Siegrist
174: Austin Bell
174: Brinton Simington
184: Ray Bernot
197: Parker McClellan
197: Blake Reynolds
Unattached:
125: Luke Werner
133: Brandon Loperfido
157: Jonathan Ross
157: Farouq Muhammed
Preseason national rankings:
Team Rankings:
National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA), #23
InterMat Team Tournament Ranking, #24
InterMat Team Dual Ranking, #25
Individual Preseason National Rankings:
TrackWrestling
133: DJ Fehlman, #9
141: Kyle Shoop, #5
157: Alex Klucker, #31
184: Corey Hazel, #10
285: Isaac Reid, #30
Additional Individual Preseason National Rankings:
133: Fehlman Flo #14, WIN #17, InterMat #9, Open Mat #8 & Amateur Wrestling News #15
141: Shoop Flo #5, WIN #4, InterMat #6, Open Mat #6 & Amateur Wrestling News #5
157: Klucker Amateur Wrestling News #20
184: Hazel Flo #11, WIN #10, InterMat #11, Open Mat #30 & Amateur Wrestling News #10
A new home, new beginnings:
Last March (2019), it was announced that Lock Haven, along with the other current members of the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL), would be joining the Mid-American Conference (MAC) for the sport of wrestling this season. It was a historic moment for college wrestling and one that made the MAC, the second largest wrestling conference in the country. FULL RELEASE – –
Looking to dominate the MAC early:
On October 30, The Mid-American Conference (MAC) announced the 2019-20 preseason rankings and LHU was picked to finish third in its first ever season in the MAC. The Bald Eagles were ranked individually in eight of 10 weight classes with returning national qualifiers DJ Fehlman and Kyle Shoop sitting at No. 1 in their respective weight class. As a team, Lock Haven was picked to finish third overall at the 2019-20 MAC Championships. Seven-time defending champion Missouri was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the team race with Old Dominion slotted in the No. 2 spot.
