LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Riley Shaw won his second straight Eastern Wrestling League heavyweight title and Sam Wheeler finished as the runner-up at 197 pounds as the duo earned spots at the NCAA Championship during Saturday’s EWL Championship.
Shaw, who qualified for the NCAA Championship for the third time in his career, won his 100th career match in the heavyweight finals. He also qualified for nationals as a freshman and last year after winning the EWL title.
Shaw and Wheeler will now represent the Vikings at the NCAA Championship from March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York.
Gabe Stark had a runner-up finish at 174 pounds, while Xavier Dye (184 pounds) and Evan Cheek (133 pounds) both placed third and Mike Carlone finished fourth at 141 pounds.
The six placewinners helped CSU score 55 points and finish fourth overall.
Rider won the team title with 89 points, while Edinboro was second with 79.5 points. Lock Haven was third with 59 points and was followed by CSU, Clarion (41.5), George Mason (32.5) and Bloomsburg (5.5).
Shaw opened the tournament with a 4-0 decision against Saul Wilkins of Bloomsburg and moved to the championship round with a pin in 3:41 over Mauro Correnti of Rider in the semifinals. In the championship match, Shaw claimed a 5-4 tiebreaker win over William Miller of Edinboro to claim his second straight title and avenge his lone EWL loss of the season.
Wheeler, who is in his first season at CSU, will join Shaw at nationals after a runner-up finish at 197 pounds. He claimed a 6-1 decision in the quarterfinals and moved to the finals with a 3-1 decision over Phil Sprenkle of Lock Haven before falling, 5-2, to Ryan Wolfe of Rider.
Wheeler and Shaw will both enter nationals with 28 wins.
Stark had a bye to the semifinals and moved to the championship match at 174 pounds with a fall in 2:41 over Patrick Jennings of Edinboro. However, the junior came up just short in a bid to nationals with a 7-3 setback to Michael Pavasko of Clarion in the title match.
After losing his quarterfinal match, Dye came back with three straight wins at 184 pounds to finish third, including an 11-2 major decision over Dominic Rigous of Clarion in the third place match. Cheek, a freshman, advanced to the semifinals of the 133 pound bracket with a 3-0 win in the quarterfinals and after a loss in the semis, he rallied to win two matches in the consolation round to finish third.
Cheek claimed a 10-0 major decision in the consolation semifinals and a 4-2 win in the third place match.
CSU’s final placer was Carlone who earned a spot in the semfinals with a pin in 2:00 over Sam Holandez of Bloomsburg. After falling in the semifinals, Carlone earned an 8-6 decision in the consolation semfinals before falling, 14-6, in the third place match.
Shaw to compete in NCAA tournament at MSG in NYC
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The 2016 NCAA Wrestling Championship brackets were announced on. Wednesday evening with Cleveland State seniors Riley Shaw and Sam Wheeler receiving their draws.
Shaw, a heavyweight, and Wheeler, a 197-pounder, will attempt to become CSU’s first All-American since 1995.
The NCAA Championship will run from March 17-19 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Shaw, who went 28-5 this season and was ranked as high as seventh in the nation, will compete against No. 4 seeded Austin Marsden of Oklahoma State in the first round. Marsden went 27-1 this year.
Shaw, who is making his third appearance at the NCAA Championship, won the EWL title at heavyweight for the second consecutive year.
Wheeler, who posted a 28-8 record during his first season as a Viking, will open nationals against sixth-seeded Jared Haught of Virginia Tech. Haught went 17-7 this year.
Wheeler was the runner-up at 197 pounds at the EWL Championship this year.
