12th Ranked Fighting Scot Grapplers Open Season At EMU Open
EDINBORO, Pa. – The Edinboro wrestling team will officially begin the 2009-10 campaign on Saturday, November 7 at the EMU Open hosted by Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The action gets underway at 9 a.m. at Bowen Field House with two divisions, an open division and a freshman/sophomore division.
As always, the hopes are high after the Fighting Scots finished sixth at Nationals a year ago. That tied for the highest Division I finish in school history. Although head coach Tim Flynn had to replace All-Americans Gregor Gillespie (157 lbs.) and Paul Donahoe (125 lbs.), he received good news this summer when Jarrod King and Phil Moricone were awarded sixth years by the NCAA. Five other wrestlers with considerable experience in the lineup, plus transfer Chris Birchler provide further hope for the veteran coach. The end result is the Fighting Scots are ranked 12th in InterMat’s Preseason Top 25.
King became Edinboro’s fourth Division I national champion last March when he posted several upsets and came away with the title at 165 lbs. He finished the year with a 32-5 record and now begins defense of his crown in a very talented weight class. King is ranked second by InterMat, but is first according to Amateur Wrestling News, WIN Magazine and WrestlingReport.com.
Birchler is actually the next highest-rated Fighting Scot. The transfer from East Stroudsburg is ranked seventh at heavyweight by InterMat, along with eighth by Amateur Wrestling News. A year ago he fell just shy of All-American status, losing to top-seeded David Zabriskie of Iowa State and fourth-seeded Jared Rosholt of Oklahoma State at nationals, both losses coming in sudden victory. He ended the year with a 27-7 record.
Here’s a look at the rest of the anticipated starters. Note that Flynn will take a large contingent to Eastern Michigan.
125 lbs. – junior Eric Morrill redshirted a year ago after qualifying for Nationals in 2007-08. He was 20-11 that year, and is currently ranked 11th by InterMat and 12th by Amateur Wrestling News.
133 lbs. – Kyle Fluke spent the first half of the 2008-09 season as the starter at 125 lbs. before Donahoe became eligible. The senior went 18-9 during that period. Fluke comes in ranked 20th by Amateur Wrestling News and 32nd by WrestlingReport.com.
141 lbs. – like Fluke, Joel Webster was a starter for the first half of the season, and even posted a win over two-time national J Jaggers of Ohio State. The senior was 17-9.
149 lbs. – a redshirt candidate at one point, Torsten Gillespie will now seek his third trip to Nationals. The junior was up-and-down a year ago while finishing with a 27-19 record.
157 lbs. – filling the shoes of four-time All-American Gregor Gillespie won’t be easy, but Flynn has a pair of outstanding recruits in John Greisheimer and Matt Laird. Greisheimer was a two-time New York state champion at Wantagh High School. Laird was a two-time PIAA place winner for Conneaut Lake High School who finished his career with a 139-25 record. Laird defeated Greisheimer in the wrestleoffs, 7-5 in overtime, and placed third at the UB Open a day later.
174 lbs. – Moricone gained the extra year of eligibility after missing all but the first event last season. He is still battling injuries issues and will not compete this weekend. A year ago Paul Paddock, a former blue-chip recruit, filled in for Moricone before going down with a knee injury. He is also still recovering. That leaves redshirt freshman Joe Loffredo, who defeated Chris Hrunka in the wrestleoffs, 7-2. Loffredo was the 2008 PIAA state runnerup at 171 lbs. while competing for Jersey Shore High School.
184 lbs. – With Chris Honeycutt redshirting at 184 lbs., Pat Bradshaw will move down to 184 lbs. The senior, a two-time national qualifier, is ranked 20th by Amateur Wrestling News, 13th by WrestlingReport.com, and 16th by WIN Magazine. Bradshaw was 26-9 a year ago at 197 lbs.
197 lbs. – Bradshaw’s move to 184 lbs. paves the way for Shawn Fendone, the younger brother of former Boro heavyweight Joey Fendone, to take over at 197 lbs. The junior was 7-4 last year. He’s ranked 30th by WrestlingReport.com.