Nov. 12, 2007

Contact: Brian McCann

EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Cleveland State wrestling team had a strong showing at the Michigan State Open on Sunday as six grapplers placed in the two brackets at each weight class.

"I'm really excited about the progress we have shown this season," head coach Jack Effner said. "We are getting the seasoning that we need as we prepare for the EWL schedule. We faced a lot of good competition at Michigan State and our guys wrestled really well."

Freshman Rob Michaels posted a perfect 4-0 mark in the 157 pound freshman/sophomore bracket to win the title. Michaels defeated Thomas Scotton of North Carolina, 6-4, in the finals. Michaels opened the tournament with an 8-2 decision over Robert Kellogg of Northwestern before handling Ben Boudro of Michigan State, 11-3, in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Michaels earned a 4-2 overtime victory over Aaron Hynes of Michigan.

In other action in the freshman/sophomore division, Alek Hughes went 4-1 to finish second at 197 pounds. He fell in the finals to Eddie Phillips of Michigan, 13-2. Eric Scwartz placed fourth at 285 pounds and both Josh Palivoda (133) and Shaun Mitchell (149) posted sixth place finishes in their respective weight classes.

Junior Marcus Effner was the lone Viking to place in the open brackets, finishing fifth at 165 pounds. Effner earned a 7-2 win over Joel Sherer of Manchester in the opening round before falling in the second round to Chris Brown of Old Dominion, 7-6. However, Effner rallied back to win four straight matches in the consolation bracket to earn fifth place.

CSU will return to action on Saturday, Nov. 17, when they compete at the Ashland Open. Action is slated to begin at 10:00 a.m.