LHU wrestlers fall to Broncos in EWL opener
LOCK HAVEN – The Lock Haven University wrestling team (1-3, 0-1 EWL) got wins from nationally-ranked Ronnie Perry (Christiana, Pa./Solanco), Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs), Corey Hazel (Spring Mills, Pa./Penns Valley) and nationally-ranked Thomas Haines(Quarryville, Pa./Ohio State), but it wasn’t enough to spark the Bald Eagles past Rider University (1-0, 1-0 EWL) as the Broncs won the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) opener for both teams, 20-14.
Rider, the defending EWL Tournament Championships started quick and won 6 of 10 bouts in the dual.
Rider opened the match with wins at 125 and 133 and the Broncs led 7-0.
At 125, RU’s J.R. Wert downed Jake Field (South Elgin, Ill./Marmion Academy) 4-1. Wert led 3-0 after two periods and tacked on a riding-time point. At 133, Rider’s Anthony Cefolo picked up a major decision victory and Rider led 7-0.
At 141, Perry – ranked No. 20 – put on a clinic and earned a dominating 17-2 tech fall in 6:12. Perry led 11-0 after one period and 13-2 after two.
At 149, Shoop put LHU up 8-7 thanks to a thrilling 6-3 decision. Rider’s Jesse Rodgers led 2-1 after two, but Shoop scored two third-period takedowns including one at the buzzer to seal the victory.
Rider regained the lead at 157 thanks to a 6-0 win from No. 15 B.J. Clagon. Clagon’s win put RU up by two – 19-8 – after the first five bouts.
Clagon’s win sparked a three-bout win streak for Rider as the Broncs added a major decision at 165 and a decision at 174, and RU led 17-8 after seven bouts.
At 184, Hazel brought the Thomas Fieldhouse crowd to its feet after securing a last-second takedown and victory. Hazel trailed 3-2 after two periods, but earned a quick escape in the third to tie the match at 3-3. With just seven seconds left in the bout, Hazel earned a takedown and picked up the thrilling win.
After Hazel’s win at 184, Rider led 17-11, but RU extended the team lead to 20-11 after No. 11 Ryan Wolfe posted an 8-3 decision at 197. Despite a loss at 197, Tristan Sponseller (East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs) gave Wolfe all he could handle. Wolfe led 4-3 after two periods, but pulled away in the third thanks to a takedown.
Haines capped the match in a big way for Lock Haven as he grinded his way to a solid 10-4 decision over Mauro Correnti. Haines, ranked No. 19 at 285, earned a late second-period escape and led 5-4 after two periods. In the third however – after Correnti started on bottom – Haines went to work and racked up four quick near-fall points. A riding time point pushed Haines to the clinical victory, as the Bald Eagles closed the dual on a high note.
The Bald Eagles will return to action tomorrow (Sunday, December 4) at 12 p.m. when they host George Mason in another EWL dual.
Rider 20 – Lock Haven 14
125: J.R. Wert (RU) dec. Jake Field (LHU) 4-1; RU leads 3-0
133: Anthony Cefolo (RU) major dec. Joe Ghione (LHU) 13-2; RU leads 7-0
141: #20 Ronnie Perry (LHU) tech fall Evan Fidelbus (RU) 17-2 (6:12); RU leads 7-5
149: Kyle Shoop (LHU) dec. Jesse Rodgers (RU) 6-3; LHU leads 8-7
157: #15 B.J. Clago (RU) dec. Kyle Hammond (LHU) 6-0; RU leads 10-8
165: #7 Chad Walsh (RU) major dec. Jared Siegrist (LHU) 10-1; RU leads 14-8
174: Wayne Stinson (RU) dec. Tyler Wood (LHU) 7-3; RU leads 17-8
184: Corey Hazel (LHU) dec. Michael Fagg-Daves (RU) 5-3; RU leads 17-11
197: #11 Ryan Wolfe (RU) dec. Tristan Sponseller (LHU) 8-3; RU leads 20-11
285: #19 Thomas Haines (LHU) dec. Mauro Correnti (RU) 10-4; RU wins 20-14
