Marsteller Paces 4 Bald Eagle Placewinners at Scuffle
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Chance Marsteller (New Park, Pa./Kennard-Dale) finished second at 165 pounds and led the No. 14 Lock Haven University wrestling team to its best ever team finish at the prestigious Southern Scuffle tournament.
Marsteller headlined the Wednesday night finals as his championship match with Penn State’s Vincenzo Joseph served as the main event and final bout of the championship round. It more than lived up to the hype as Marsteller and Joseph locked up in a thriller. In the end, Joseph edged Marsteller, 6-5 for the title.
Marsteller was one of four Bald Eagle placewinners at the tournament. Luke Werner (Bethlehem, Pa./Liberty) finished fourth at 125 pounds. The Bald Eagles showed their depth at 141 pounds as both Kyle Shoop (Boiling Springs, Pa./Boiling Springs) and DJ Fehlman (Warren, Pa./Warren) placed. Shoop was fifth and Fehlman placed eighth.
Marsteller’s spot in the finals marked the Bald Eagles’ first Southern Scuffle finalist since 2006 when Seth Martin won the title, the only individual Southern Scuffle title in LHU history.
The Bald Eagles finished sixth overall in the team standings with 71.5 points. Penn State topped the deep field, while second-place Oklahoma State and third-place Iowa State rounded out the top-three team finishers. Stanford was fourth and Navy placed fifth, one spot ahead of Lock Haven.
This marked Lock Haven’s ninth appearance at the Southern Scuffle and the sixth-place finish is the best in school history, topping the Bald Eagles 10th place finish last season.
In Wednesday’s semifinals, Marsteller used a last-second takedown in the third period to seal a hard-fought victory over No. 3 seed Chandler Rogers of Oklahoma State.
Marsteller entered the tournament ranked third nationally while Joseph, a two-time NCAA champion, is ranked No. 1 the nation at the weight class. With top-two seeds at 165 advancing to the finals, it was decided that Marsteller and Joseph would cap the night and the 165-pound championship match would serve as the final bout of the championship finals session. It did not disappoint.
Joseph, the No. 1 seed for the tournament edged Marsteller 6-5. Marsteller trailed 2-1 after one period and trailed 4-3 after two, but starting the third period down, Marsteller scored on a quick escape to tie the match at 4-4 early in the final period. A late Joseph-takedown stretched the lead to 6-4 and ultimately led to him slipping by Marsteller despite Marsteller’s relentless effort and ability to push the pace down the stretch.
Marsteller, the No. 2 seed at 165, was 2-0 Tuesday and finished the two-day tournament at 3-1 overall. He entered the tournament undefeated at 7-0 and the loss in the finals marked his first loss the season. Marsteller will leave the Southern Scuffle with a 10-1 record.
Tuesday, Werner went 3-0 to earn his spot in the semifinals. In the semis, Werner – unseeded at 125 – fell to top-seed Nick Piccininni of Oklahoma State (MD, 13-2). Werner bounced back in a big way and picked up this fourth win of the Scuffle with a 5-2 win over Alonzo Allen (Chattanooga). The win pushed Werner into the third-place match.
In a battle for third, Werner fell to Jakob Camacho (UNA, NC State), 10-4.
Werner (125) finished the two days at the Scuffle 4-2. He is now 8-2 in his last 10 matches after going 4-0 at the Lock Haven Classic on December 29.
Shoop, the No. 5 seed at 141, fell to top-seed Nick Lee (MD, 18-4) of Penn State in the semifinals. In the consolation semifinals, Shoop got pinned by Cameron Kelly of Ohio. The consolation semifinal loss moved Shoop into the fifth-place match.
In the fifth-place match, Shoop cruised by Chris Debien of Chattanooga 8-3 to finish fifth overall in the strong 141-pound bracket. Shoop (141) finished his two days of work at the Scuffle with a 4-2 record.
Fehlman, the No. 6 seed at 141, started his second day of action in this morning’s consolation round after a loss in the quarterfinals. He advanced with a win over Dukes Josh Finesilver, 3-2, before a consolation loss dropped him to the seventh-place match.
In the seventh-place match, Fehlman fell to No. 8 seed Cole Matthews, wrestling unattached for Pittsburgh, 2-0 in a hard-fought match. Fehlman (141) finished his two days at the Southern Scuffle at 3-3 overall in the deep and talented field.
The Bald Eagles will return to action at the 2019 Virginia Duals (Friday & Saturday, January 11-12, 2019).
