Nov. 17, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

Contact: Ryan Mulford

Columbus, OH - Rashard Goff and Antonio Nicholson were perfect in their bouts as they led the Vikings to a split at the Ohio State Duals on Sunday (11/16) at St. John Arena located on the campus of Ohio State University.

The Vikings won their first dual meet, 24-19, over the University of the Cumberlands Patriots, which they dominated by winning six of the nine contested matches.

"We wrestled very hard today," head coach Ben Stehura said. "I am pleased with the progression that the team is making."

Dustin Doty got the Vikings out to an early lead with 5-3 decision, giving Cleveland State a 3-0 advantage.

After falling behind 16-3 the Vikings came storming back. Rashard Goff got things started with a pin over Jacob Brady at 3:59 to make it a 16-9 deficit. Jordan Keller tallied an 11-0 major decision against PJ Martinez and Josh Palivoda added his own 16-6 victory over Travis Sullivan to give the Vikings a 17-16 lead.

In a hard fought bout at 141, Lawrence Cavello and the Patriot's Tim Mitchum were tied at zero going into the third period. After falling behind 3-0, Cavello battled back but was unable to escape in the closing seconds, losing 3-2.

With the Vikings trailing 19-17, team captain Antonio Nicholson stepped up. After two periods the score was tied at two, when Nicholson was able to execute a reversal from the defensive position with under 10 seconds left to secure a 4-2 victory.

The last match of the meet put Corey Carlo against Justin Swilling. Carlo got out to a quick start and never looked back earning a 15-4 major decision giving the Vikings a 24-19 victory.

In the nightcap, the Vikings dropped a hard fought match against the fourth ranked Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 35-13.

Team captain JT Miller got the first Viking win of the match defeating the 18th ranked Dave Rella by an 8-5 decision.

Goff collected the last Viking win of the day with an 11-0 major decision against Jason Cook.

In other action Jordan Keller was edged out by a 5-6 decision against the 14th ranked Nikko Triggas. Lawrence Cavello also put up a strong battle against the number one ranked J Jaggers.

"I issued a challenge to the team this week," Stehura said. "We fought hard every second of every match. I am pleased with the direction we are headed."

The Vikings are back in action on Tuesday Nov. 25 when they travel to University Heights, Ohio to take on cross town rival John Carroll. The match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m.