Bloomsburg Third After First Day of EWL Competition

CLARION—After day one of wrestling at the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championships, 22nd ranked Bloomsburg is in third place with 73 points. Edinboro is in first place with 87.5 points, while West Virginia is second with 77 points.

The Huskies advanced nine of its 10 wrestlers to Sunday's action and have placed four wrestlers in the finals. Mike Sees (Northumberland/Shikellamy), Jim Bertulis (Aston/Garnett Valley), Bryce Hasseman (Franklin, IN/Franklin), and Chad Hoare (Reynoldsville/Dubois) all advanced to the championship match, while Tony Curto (Easton/Wilson), Brad Forbes (Downingtown/Downingtown), George Hickman (Wilmington, NC/Riverside), Jesse Hasseman (Franklin, IN/Franklin), and Mike Spaid (Perkiomenville/Boyertown) will wrestle in tomorrow's consolation round.

The top three finishers in each weight class will advance to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national tournament in St. Louis on March 17th-19th. Six wildcards will also be chosen to compete at NCAA's.

In the second session, 125-pounder Mike Sees, who had a first round bye, got Bloomsburg off on the right foot as he dominated Cleveland State's Joe Wornoff, 14-3. Sees scored a takedown 17 seconds into the match and added another takedown midway through the first period to lead 4-1. After choosing the bottom position to start the second period, Sees scored a quick escape and added a takedown for the 7-1 lead. After cutting Wornoff loose to make the score 7-2, Sees gained control and scored his fourth takedown of the match. Sees would add two, third-period takedowns and a point for riding time to pick up the 14-3 major decision.

Sees faces West Virginia's Shawn Cordell in tomorrow's final. Sees scored a 20-10 major decision over Cordell in their only meeting this season.

Tony Curto nearly pulled the upset of the tournament against the nation's top 133-pounder, Edinboro's Shawn Bunch. With the match tied at 2-2 late in the second period, Curto worked in on a single leg and pulled in Bunch for the takedown. However, Bunch was awarded a point for a locking hands call against Curto, and escaped with four seconds remaining to make the score 4-4 heading into the final period. In the third period, Bunch scored a quick escape followed by a takedown 30 seconds into the period. After allowing Curto to escape, Bunch added another takedown with three bonus points to pick up the 13-5 win.

Curto will take on Lock Haven's Jim Collins in tomorrow's consolation round. Curto beat Collins 15-4 earlier this season.

At 141 pounds, Brad Forbes led 1-0 heading into the third period, but could not hold off Clarion's Frank Edgar, losing 6-2. After a scoreless first period, Forbes scored an escape 55 seconds into the second period to take a 1-0. Leading 1-0 heading into the third, Forbes gave up an escape to Edgar to even the match at 1-1. Edgar then scored a takedown 55 seconds into the third to take a 3-1 lead. Forbes escaped 20 seconds later and nearly took down Edgar. Edgar, however, circled around Forbes and scored the takedown with 15 seconds remaining in the match. Edgar added a point for riding time to pick up the 6-2 decision.

Forbes faces West Virginia's Vince Giolella in tomorrow's consolation round. Forbes had not faced Giolella this season.

George Hickman hung tough versus Lock Haven's Josh Medina, but lost by fall 1:16 into the third period. Medina piled up six takedowns and was leading 15-5 at the time of the fall.

Hickman falls into tomorrow's consolation round where he will wrestle Pittsburgh's Mike Ciotti. Hickman has not faced Ciotti this season.

In the most exciting match of the semifinal round, 165-pounder Jim Bertulis trailed 1-0 to Pittsburgh's Justin Nestor with 59 seconds remaining but used a Granby roll to score a reversal and take a 2-1 lead. Bertulis then caught Nestor and held top control to score three back points en route to a 5-1 decision.

Bertulis faces Edinboro's Nate Yetzer in the finals. Bertulis has lost to Yetzer twice this season.

Bryce Hasseman scored 10 points in the final two periods to pick up the 10-2 major decision over West Virginia's Ryan Wilman at 174 pounds. After a scoreless first period, Hasseman scored a reversal 52 seconds into the second period to take the 2-0 lead. After a Wilman escape to start the third period, Hasseman scored a takedown and added three bonus points. Hasseman added a takedown late and a point for riding time to pick up the 10-2 major decision.

In the finals, Hasseman will face Edinboro's Eric Ring. Hasseman is a perfect 3-0 versus Ring this season.

Chad Hoare picked up his 30th win of the season as he topped Cleveland State's Joe Phillips, 2-1, at 197 pounds. Neither wrestler scored in the first two periods as Hoare rode Phillips the entire second period. With the score tied at 0-0 heading into the final period, Hoare chose the defensive position and scored an escape seven seconds into the period. Phillips was awarded a point late, as Hoare was warned for stalling twice in the third. However, Hoare had 1:53 of riding time and was awarded a point and the 2-1 decision.

Hoare faces Lock Haven's Morgan Horner in tomorrow's 197-pound final. Hoare is 2-0 versus Horner this season.

Mike Spaid wrestled well but dropped a 5-3 decision to Cleveland State's Joe Dennis. Spaid led 1-0 after an escape to start the second period. After a Dennis takedown 15 seconds into the second period, Spaid scored another escape to even the score at 2-2. Dennis chose defensive position to start the third and escaped 20 seconds into the period. Spaid then shot in on a leg but Dennis countered the shot and gained control for the takedown with 50 seconds remaining in the match. Spaid scored an escape with 25 seconds remaining but could not takedown Dennis.

Spaid falls into tomorrow's consolation round where he wrestles Clarion's John Fager. Spaid is a perfect 2-0 versus Fager this season.

At 157 pounds, Chris Tate (Boothwyn/Garnett Valley) was eliminated from the tournament as he fell to Lock Haven's Seth Martin in the first consolation round, 17-2. Tate trailed 5-0 before scoring an escape to cut Martin's lead to 5-1 heading into the second period. In the second, Martin scored a reversal to start the period before giving up an escape to Tate. Martin then scored a takedown with two bonus points to lead 11-2 heading into the final period. In the third period, Martin scored another takedown with three backpoints and added a point for riding time to pick up the win.

Tate finishes the 2005 season with a record of 13-22.

Bloomsburg had an impressive showing at the Saturday morning session of the EWL Championships, advancing eight wrestlers through to the semifinal round. Curto, Forbes, Hickman, and Bryce Hasseman all picked up wins while Sees, Bertulis, Hoare, and Spaid received first round byes. Bloomsburg finished the morning session in fourth place with 40 points while Edinboro led with 52 points.

Tony Curto got the Huskies off to a quick start as he topped Clarion's Chris Lape, 9-4 in Bloomsburg's opening match at 133 pounds. Curto, a 20-match winner this season, used three, first-period takedowns to lead 6-2 going into the second period. Lape chose bottom position to start the second and scored an escape to cut Curto's lead to 6-3. In the third however, Curto scored on a reverse early to increase his advantage. Lape scored on an escape but it wasn't enough as Curto picked up the 9-4 decision.

Brad Forbes scored a first period takedown and never trailed as he topped Lock Haven's Matt Fittery, 6-1 in a 141-pound bout. Leading 2-1 heading into the second period, Forbes used an escape to start the period and a late takedown to take a 5-1 lead into the third. Neither wrestler scored in the final period and Forbes added a point for riding time to pick up the 6-1 decision.

George Hickman scored the Huskies third straight win at 149 pounds as he topped Nathan Geesaman of Clarion, 6-1. Hickman scored a quick takedown to lead 2-0 after the first. Geesaman scored a second period escape but Hickman counted with a takedown at the buzzer to lead 4-1. After choosing bottom position to start the third period, Hickman added a reversal for the 6-1 win.

At 157 pounds, Chris Tate wrestled hard but lost 10-2 to top-seeded Matt Lebe of West Virginia. Tate trailed 4-2 before surrendering a second period takedown to make the score 6-2 in favor of Lebe. In the third, Lebe used an escape followed by a takedown and a point for riding time for the major decision.

Top seeded Bryce Hasseman scored a 4-2 decision over Lock Haven's Carlos Ponce at 174 pounds. Hasseman scored the match's only takedown, early in the first period. Ponce escaped midway through the first period to make the score 2-1 after one. Hasseman scored the second period's only point as he escaped after starting from the bottom position. In the third, Ponce scored an escape with five seconds remaining but could not score again. Hasseman added a point for riding time to pick up the 4-2 decision.

At 184 pounds, Jesse Hasseman fought hard but dropped a 12-3 major decision to Cleveland State's Ron Howard. Howard scored the match's first takedown but Hasseman quickly countered with a reversal to tie the score 2-2. Howard scored on an escape with 13 seconds remaining in the first to take the 3-2 lead. After allowing Hasseman to escape to tie the score at 3-3, Howard scored on a takedown and later added three bonus points to lead 8-3 after two periods. He would later added three, third-period bonus points and a point for riding time to pick up the win.

The Huskies return to action tomorrow in the second day of the EWL Championships. Consolation matches begin at 10:00 a.m. with the finals to follow at 2:00 p.m.