Jan. 8, 2007

Contact: Josh Rattray

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Cleveland State Wrestling

Dual Meet # 6 - at Eastern Michigan

Date: Saturday, Jan. 13, 2007

Time: noon

Site: Convocation Center - Ypsilanti, Michigan

Last Meeting: CSU 29, EMU 12 (1/8/06)

Series: CSU leads, 8-3

SETTING THE SCENE: Following a stretch of four dual meets in four days, the Cleveland State wrestling team competes just once this week, traveling to Eastern Michigan for a dual contest on Saturday, Jan. 13 at noon. The Vikings, now 3-2 on the season, have won eight of their 11 all-time meetings against the Eagles.

RECAPPING LAST WEEK: The Vikings registered a 2-2 dual meet record last week, defeating Appalachian State and Eastern Illinois and falling to Kent State and Purdue. Here is a brief look at how CSU fared last week.

                Kent State 29, CSU 9 (Jan. 3, 2007 - Woodling Gym)

Sophomores Victer Crenshaw (157) and Marcus Effner (165) each posted decisions to give the Vikings a 6-0 lead but everything else went to the Golden Flashes, as the Vikings dropped the next seven bouts. Senior Ryan Hurley (149) won by decision in the meet's final match.

                PURDUE DUALS - CSU goes 2-1 (Jan. 6, 2007 - West Lafayette, Ind.)

                Crenshaw and junior David Armstrong (133) were each perfect in three matches to lead CSU to a 2-1 mark at the Purdue duals. The Vikings defeated Appalachian State (25-18) and Eastern Illinois (32-12) before falling to host Purdue (30-6). Sophomore Chris Hahn (197) was also 2-0 for CSU.

PREVIEWING THE VIKINGS: Now heading into the dual meet-heavy part of the schedule, Cleveland State finds itself set at eight of the 10 weight classes.  Juniors Ryan Riggs (3-10) and David Armstrong are CSU's only options at 125 and 133, respectively, and the Vikings have four potential NCAA bid contenders at the next four weight classes. Brothers Mike Hurley (12-7) and Ryan Hurley (17-7) are returning NCAA qualifiers at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively, and are aggressive, athletic wrestlers with a lot of experience. Sophomores Victer Crenshaw (18-5 at 157) and Marcus Effner (16-10 at 165) have been successful and are capable of competing for EWL titles. Senior David Gilkey (13-11 at 184) and sophomore Chris Hahn (5-3 at 197) are each over .500 on the year and sophomore heavyweight Rashard Goff (18-9) is a returning NCAA qualifier.

The Head Coach

Jack Effner (Indiana State `86)

At CSU: 60-77-3

Overall: 147-119-8

Head coach Jack Effner is in his ninth season at the helm of the Vikings. During his tenure, he has coached 32 NCAA qualifiers and five Eastern Wrestling League Champions.  The Vikings sent five wrestlers to the NCAA Championships last season, the fifth straight year that four or more CSU wrestlers have qualified for the national tournament.  Additionally, Effner has instilled an emphasis on academic success in his teams, as the Vikings have finished among the nation's leaders in team grade point average in seven of Effner's eight seasons, with the 2000 squad posting the highest ranking when it finished seventh out of nearly 100 teams.

CRENSHAW NAMED WRESTLER OF THE WEEK: On On Jan. 8, Victer Crenshaw became the first Viking to be named EWL Wrestler of the Week after going 4-0 last week. Crenshaw opened the week with a 3-1 sudden victory against Kent State and then reeled off three straight wins at the Purdue Duals, including one tech fall and one major decision. He concluded his perfect week with a 7-1 victory in CSU's loss to Purdue.

...MORE ON VICTER: Crenshaw now leads the team with an 18-5 record. Crenshaw has been one of CSU's most physically dominant wrestlers, winning four times each by fall, tech fall and major decision. The Cincinnati native has won seven of his last eight bouts dating back to the Midlands Invitational on Dec. 29, with his only loss coming to Iowa State's Jason Knipp (4-3) on Dec. 30.

ARMSTRONG GOING STRONG: David Armstrong won all three of his bouts at the Purdue Duals, joining Victer Crenshaw as the only Vikings to achieve that feat. Armstrong posted three decisions on the day, beating Appalachian State's Corey Hulsey (13-6) and Lenny Grodoski of Eastern Illinois (9-2) before posting a 3-1 sudden victory over Purdue's Sean Schmaltz. Armstrong was just 40 seconds away from a perfect week, falling 4-3 in the final seconds to Kent State's Danny Mitcheff on Jan. 3.

TAG TEAM: Brothers Mike and Ryan Hurley are a combined 29-14 with six pins and five tech falls this season at 141 and 149 pounds, respectively. Mike (12-7) led the Vikings with five wins at the Penn State Open on Dec. 3 but has battled a variety of injuries in recent weeks. Ryan (17-7) is third on the team in wins and owns an open tournament title, winning the Ashland Open on Nov. 18. The brothers from Akron, Ohio (Mike is 18 months older) are both returning NCAA qualifiers and are a combined 86-77 for their careers.

VIKINGS GET LIFT FROM TRANSFER: CSU added redshirt sophomore Antonio Nicholson, a transfer from West Liberty State, to its roster for the spring semester. Nicholson (141), a native of Solon, Ohio, won his first bout as a Viking, 4-2, over Appalachian State's Clinton Swango on Saturday. He lost by pin in his second match against Purdue.

ON THE `MARC'-US: After losing most of last year to a knee injury, 165-pounder Marcus Effner has been among the team's top wrestlers all season, going 16-10 with a team-high five pins. Effner, an NCAA qualifier in 2005, posted a 3-0 win over Kent State's Sli Bostelman on Jan. 3 and pinned Billy Gallo of Eastern Illinois on Saturday at Purdue.

NATIONAL CHAMPION ON STAFF: The Vikings have the advantage this season of working every day in practice with a former NCAA national champion. First-year assistant coach Brian Dolph won the national title at 150 pounds in 1990 while wrestling at Indiana, finishing his career 127-9. He also competed on the U.S. National Team four times and barely missed out on a spot in the 2000 Sydney Olympics.

EWL TOURNEY AT OUR PLACE: For the third time in school history and the first time since 1999, Cleveland State will be hosting the EWL Championships on March 3-4, 2007 in CSU's Woodling Gymnasium. The Vikings will be hoping their home turf will help them win their first EWL team championship since 1979.

UP NEXT: The Vikings travel to nearby Ashland University for the Ashland Duals on Sunday, Jan. 21. CSU will compete three times on the day, beginning with Air Force at 10:00 a.m. The Vikings will take on the host Eagles at 2:00 p.m. and Ohio at 4:00 p.m.