Old Dominion (4-8, 2-2 MAC) at Edinboro (9-5, 3-2 MAC)
Match Info – Friday, January 24 at 7 p.m.
Location – McComb Fieldhouse (Edinboro, Pa.)
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Old Dominion (4-8, 2-2 MAC) vs. Clarion (8-3, 5-2 MAC)
Match Info – Sunday, January 26 at 2 p.m.
Location – Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium (Clarion, Pa.)
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NORFOLK, Va. – After a quick two-match home stand this past weekend, the Old Dominion wrestling team will hit the road again and head to Pennsylvania to compete against Mid-American Conference (MAC) foes Edinboro and Clarion, on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, respectively.
The wrestling Monarchs played their first two matches of the season in Chartway Arena this past weekend when they took on Lock Haven and No. 25 Rider. ODU got the better of Lock Haven, 28-7 on Friday night, but fell to Rider, 22-10 on Sunday afternoon in the two MAC duals.
Shane Jones was the star of the weekend for Old Dominion, as he was the only Monarch wrestler to go 2-0 in his bouts, managing to beat his opponents by a combined score of 24-3. While facing Austin Bell of Lock Haven, Jones was ridden the entire second period, but caught a second wind and rode Bell the entire third period and collected two four-point near-falls to earn an 8-0 major decision victory. Against Rider's Joe Casey, the 165-pounder continued his dominating weekend by earning another major decision victory, 16-3.
Three Monarchs earned ranked victories in this past weekend's battles, as Sa'Derian Perry beat No. 15 Kyle Shoop at 141 pounds and Larry Early took down No. 15 Alexander Klucker at 157 pounds in the Monarch victory over Lock Haven. On Sunday, Killian Cardinale earned a 7-5 win by decision over No. 19 Jonathan Tropea to start the contest against the Broncs at 125 pounds. Both Early and Cardinale lead the team with four victories over ranked opponents each this season.
Early, Perry and Cardinale are all currently featured in the national polls, as Early checks in at No. 14 in Intermat's rankings, while both Perry and Cardinale top out at 18th in TrackWrestling's poll.
About Edinboro
The Fighting Scots are in their first season in the MAC, as they were members of the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) a season ago. Last week, Edinboro also faced off against two MAC opponents, as they earned a tight 19-16 victory over Bloomsburg on Thursday night, but fell to Rider the following night, 20-12 to bring their record to 9-5, 3-2 against MAC teams.
Two Fighting Scots can be found in the latest national polls, as Jacob Oliver checks in at No. 17 at 174 pounds, and Jon Spaulding earned TrackWrestling's No. 30 spot at 285 pounds. Both Oliver and Spaulding each pace the team with 17 wins. In duals, Spaulding has a team-high 12 wins, while Oliver and Lucas Rodriguez at 125 pounds are hot on his trail with 11 wins each.
In the last MAC rankings that came out on January 9, Edinboro cracked the top-10, coming in ninth with 11 points. Spaulding earned the second spot in the heavyweight vote and Oliver nabbed third at 174 pounds. Freshman Tye Varndell also made an appearance in the MAC rankings, rounding out the top-five at 133 pounds.
Series History
The Fighting Scots have won seven of the eight prior meetings against ODU. The Monarchs snapped a string of seven-straight losses to Edinboro in their last meeting, which took place in 2015, when they earned a 16-15 victory over the Fighting Scots, who were then ranked 10th in the nation at the time.
About Clarion
Like Edinboro, Clarion is in its first season in the MAC, also coming over from the EWL. The Golden Eagles, currently on a seven-match winning streak, sit at 8-3 on the season and are in second place in the MAC East Division with a 5-2 record in league play. Last week, Clarion earned two MAC victories, one over Buffalo, 17-16 and the other on the road against Bloomsburg, 16-15.
The Golden Eagles also have three wrestlers featured in the national rankings. Brock Zacherl checks in as high as No. 10 at 149 pounds, Greg Bulsak is ranked No. 15 at 197 pounds and in the 285-pound weight class, Ty Bagoly comes in at No. 27.
Bulsak paces Clarion with 18 total wins, while Zacherl has 15 victories under his belt this season. In duals, Bagoly boasts a pristine 10-0 record. All three Golden Eagles were also featured in the latest MAC rankings on January 9, as Zacherl and Bulsak were both voted as the second-best in the conference in their respective weight classes. Bagoly checked in at fifth in the heavyweight division. As a team, Clarion came in tied for seventh with 12 points.
Series History
The Monarchs and the Golden Eagles have only had two previous encounters with each other, with the Golden Eagles coming away victorious in both. They first met 35 years ago in the 1984-1985 season, with the Golden Eagles winning, 40-6. Their last meeting in 2010 ended much closer, as Clarion squeaked by with a 20-18 victory.
Probable Starters Against Edinboro
125 lbs. – #18 Killian Cardinale OR Michael McGee vs. Lucas Rodriguez
133 lbs. – Shannon Hanna II OR Steven Simpson vs. Tye Varndell OR Richie Gomez
141 lbs. – #18 Sa'Derian Perry OR Yarhoski Aldiva vs. Nate Hagan
149 lbs. – Kenan Carter OR Kevin Budock vs. Tyler Vath
157 lbs. – #14 Larry Early OR Cole Smith vs. Peter Pappas
165 lbs. – Shane Jones OR Kellen Ekern OR Jacob Curling vs. Derek Ciavarro
174 lbs. – Alex Cramer OR Luke Drugac vs. #17 Jacob Oliver
184 lbs. – Antonio Agee OR Noah Bushman OR Dean Drugac vs. Cody Mulligan
197 lbs. – Timothy Young vs. Dylan Reynolds
285 lbs. – Will Hilliard OR Jacob Bullock vs. #30 Jon Spaulding
Probable Starters Against Clarion
125 lbs. – #18 Killian Cardinale OR Michael McGee vs. Cam Butler
133 lbs. – Shannon Hanna II OR Steven Simpson vs. Seth Koleno
141 lbs. – #18 Sa'Derian Perry OR Yarhoski Aldiva vs. Alex Blake
149 lbs. – Kenan Carter OR Kevin Budock vs. #10 Brock Zacherl
157 lbs. – #14 Larry Early OR Cole Smith vs. Avery Shay
165 lbs. – Shane Jones OR Kellen Ekern OR Jacob Curling vs. Mike Bartolo
174 lbs. – Alex Cramer OR Luke Drugac vs. Max Wohlabaugh
184 lbs. – Antonio Agee OR Noah Bushman OR Dean Drugac vs. Luke Funck
197 lbs. – Timothy Young vs. #15 Greg Bulsak
285 lbs. – Will Hilliard OR Jacob Bullock vs. #27 Ty Bagoly
Wrestling Heads to Pennsylvania for Two Conference Matches
