Dec. 7, 2007

Contact: Gene Natale, Jr.

CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Cleveland State Wrestling program has had a fruitful early signing period thus far with three outstanding recruits making commitments to bring their talents to the team, head coach Jack Effner announced late Thursday evening.

"We got three really awesome recruits," Effner said, "I have to give a lot of credit to my assistant coach Anthony Coleman for really building solid relationships with these kids and for ultimately bringing them in."

The recruits include Jordan Keller, an outstanding student and wrestler from Bishop Carroll Catholic in Wichita, Kan., Jared Lijoi of Lake High in Uniontown, Ohio, and Corey Carlo, of Fairview Park High in Fairview Park, Ohio.

Keller, who went 38-1 a season ago in winning a state championship at 112 pounds, leads the group. He has qualified for the state tournament for three consecutive years and is currently working on a fourth, and has compiled a 101-26 record through three seasons. His success has led to a top 100 ranking amongst the top wrestling recruits in the nation, according to intermat.com. In addition to his credentials on the mat he excels in the classroom, compiling a 4.05 GPA throughout high school.

"Keller is very impressive all-around and he's a guy who we feel can come in and contribute right away," Effner said.

Meanwhile, Jared Lijoi has some impressive credentials as well, as his most recent accomplishment is his fifth place finish in the Ohio Division I tournament at 147 pounds last season. In only three years he has compiled 94 wins despite missing parts of his freshman and sophomore seasons due to injury.

Corey Carlo of nearby Fairview Park rounds out the signees. Competing at 147 pounds last season, he qualified for the Ohio state tournament, finishing sixth overall.

"Jared and Corey are a couple of local guys we have had on our radar for some time now," Effner stated, "Another couple of really good kids, students, and wrestlers that will help us in a big way down the line."

The Vikings have the weekend off, and will return home next weekend as Cleveland State hosts the annual CSU Open, Dec. 15 at the Woodling Gym.