Jan. 12, 2008

Preliminary Round

First Round Consolations

Second Round Consolations

Cedar Falls, Iowa - The 16th-ranked Mercyhurst wrestlers faced a tough slate on the first day of competition at the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals. And despite knocking off No. 7 Ashland and receiving three impressive victories from 149 pounder Brian Pogel, the Lakers were bounced from the tournament after defeats against a pair of top-10 teams.

In the opening round, the Lakers put a scare into No. 2 Nebraska-Omaha before falling 21-13. After tripping Ashland 21-12, eighth-ranked Western State bounced Mercyhurst by a 23-12 score.

Against Nebraska-Omaha, the Lakers were without the services of 174-pound red-shirt freshman Josh Shields, forcing Don Cummings, Andy Lamancusa and Hudson Harrison to all wrestle up one weight class. Still, Mercyhurst received a 9-3 decision by Payne Lint at 125, and Lance Pitcel pinned Mario Morgan at 133.

At 149, Pogel, the nation's fifth-ranked wrestler, registered an 11-3 major decision against Division II's top-ranked Todd Meneely giving the Lakers a 10-3 lead after four bouts. But with several Laker wrestlers competing out of their weight class, Nebraska-Omaha won the final six bouts, all by decision.

Mercyhurst quickly rebounded, however. In the consolation bracket, Mercyhurst eliminated Ashland by winning seven of the 10 bouts. Lint and Pitcel both won by decision, and red-shirt sophomore Braxdon Scaletta won at 141 pounds by a 6-2 score. Pogel defeated Marcus Gordon 7-0 and 165-pound Hudson Harrison rolled past Tony Bradberry, 9-4.

Bryan Wolff notched a win at 184 and heavyweight Kenny Bluska defeated Ray Kent, 3-2.

The Lakers didn't fare as well against No. 8 Western State, however. Pogel pushed his season win total to 19 with an 8-6 win over Justin Morris. At 157 pounds, Andy Lamancusa made his first appearance of the duals and downed Neil Samples, 3-1. Freshman heavyweight Nathan Sharp won by fall at 2:27 over Andrew Skinner.

For complete coverage of the NWCA/Cliff Keen National Duals, visit the University of Northern Iowa web site.

Mercyhurst returns to the mats on Jan. 25-26 at the East Coast Duals in Pembroke, N.C.