Clarion’s Teague Moore has his first victory under his belt as a Division I wrestling coach as the Golden Eagles came from behind to edge Millersville in the Pennsylvania Duals at Lock Haven.
The first-year Clarion leader hopes there will be many more as he tries to restore the Golden Eagles as one of the elite programs in college wrestling. Last season Clarion was 0-17 and didn’t qualify anyone for the national tournament.
Moore, who comes to Clarion after a stint as an assistant at Harvard, knows his task is a big one.
“We have 23 kids in the room and 21 of them are freshmen and sophomores. We not only have to teach them wrestling, we have to teach them how to win, “the new coach said.
Moore sure has the mat credentials to bring about a turnaround at Clarion, one of the top teams on the mat during the reign of Hall-of-Fame Coach Bob Bubb from 1967-1992. Bubb had a dual record of 322-121-4 and his team finished in the top 20 in the Division I championships a dozen times during that time.
Moore, who is operating with less than the 9.9 scholarships allowed by the NCAA, said he’s limited by less than state of the art facilities and finances. But he’s not crying. “Hey, life’s tough – get a helmet, “Moore said.
Moore knows wrestling as evidenced by his NCAA championship at 118 pounds for Oklahoma State in 1999 and by his U.S. National Championship and gold medal in the World University Games.
“I know I can teach them how to wrestle, “he said. “I hope we can attract the kind of athletes that Clarion has had in the past – tough kids who sacrifice. The interest will return with a winner. People like winners.”
It may not be too long before other teams will learn to “fear the bird “once again.
Early season woes
David Craig came out of the Brandon, Fla. High School program as the nation’s top recruit.
Lehigh was the lucky school who won the 184-pounder.
After a 1-2 weekend at the Pennsylvania Duals at Lock Haven, Craig is now 2-3 for the season.
Craig didn’t exactly lose to nobodies on Sunday at Lock Haven. He fell in overtime to Alex Clemsen of Edinboro, ranked No. 5 by W.I.N. Magazine. But he was majored by UPJ’s Mike Corcetti, last year’s runnerup in Division II and top-ranked in D-II by W.I.N. His win came by fall over Lock Haven’s Ben Hepburn.
The jump to college for a true freshman is always a big one — but especially for a wrestler in the upper weights.
Craig’s too good to have a losing record for long.
Tourney time
The weekend was chock full of tournaments, and there were some interesting results.
A look:
Navy Classic at Annapolis. Navy took the team title with 148.5 with Bloomsburg second at 141.5. The winners: 125, Mike Sees, Bloomsburg; 133, Rickey Donald, Bloomsburg; 141, Brandon Rader, West Virginia; 149, John Cox, Navy; 157, Zac Fryling, West Virginia, West Virginia; 165, Andy Rendos, Bucknell; 174, Matt Stolpinski, Navy; 184, Antonio Miranda, Navy; 197, Jared Villers, West Virginia; and 285, Ed Pendergast, Navy.
Kaufman/Brand at Nebraska-Omaha. No team title; this is list of elite winners. 125, Jason Ness, Minnesota; 133, Mike Rowe, Nebraska; 141, Manuel Rivera, Minnesota; 149, Brent Metcalf, Iowa,unattached; 157, C. P. Schlatter, Minnesota; 165, Nick Biama, Northern Iowa (defending NCAA champion Johnny Hendricks did not wrestle in final); 174, Gabe Dretsch, Minnesota; 184, Duke Burk, Northern Illinois; 197, Jacob Marrs, Nebraska-Omaha; 285, Tervel Diagnev, Nebraska-Kearney.
East Stroudsburg Open. 125, Christian Smith, Liberty; 133, Tim Haas, Penn State; 141, Robbie Preston, Harvard; 149, Michael Parziale, Hofstra; 157, James Strouse, Hofstra; 165, Eric Decker, Virginia Tech; 174, Lucas Alton, Hofstra; 184, Joe Rovelli, Hofstra; 197, Mark Thompson, The Citadel; 285, Matt Pellar, Old Dominion.
Body Bar at Cornell. Cornell wins title 115 to 114 over Michigan. 125, Whitt Dunning, Army; 133, Drew Headlee, Pitt; 141, Charlie Pinto, Maryland; 149, Jordan Leen, Cornell (Leen, ranked 15th, dec. Michigan’s Josh Churella, ranked 4th, 3-1); 157, Ryan Hluschak, Drexel; 165, Eric Tannenbaum; 174, Steve Luke, Michigan; 184, Tyrel Todd, Michigan; 197, Jerry Rinaldi, Cornell; 285, Zach Hammond, Cornell.
Keystone Classic at Penn. Columbia, with 149, wins over Penn with 136. 125, Mark Eveleth, Penn; 133, Terreyl Williams, Appalachian State; 141 Derek Francavilla, Boston U.; 149, Scott Ervin, Applacachian State; 157, Matt Dragon, Penn; 165, Mike Cannon, American; 174, Doug Umbehauer, Rider; 184, Justin Barent, Columbia; 197, T.J. Morrison, Rider; 285, Adam LoPiccolo, American.
Missouri Open. 125, Gabe Flores, Illinois; 133, Matt Keller, UT- Chattanooga; 141, Kyle Evans, Central Oklahoma; 149, Kurt Kinser, Indiana, unattached; 157, Mike Poeta, Illinois; 165, Justin Wood, Central Oklahoma; 174, Matt Pell/Ben Askren, both Missouri, shared title; 184, Raymond Jordan, Missouri; 197, Max Askren, Missouri (Askren beat Joel Flaggert, Oklahoma, ranked 4th by W.I.N. 2-1 in final); 285, Daver Herman, Indiana, Josh Bucck, Indiana, both unattached, shared title.
Top duals last weekend: Purdue 24, North Carolina State 12; Wisconsin 24, North Carolina State 9; Northwestern 24, Virginia 12; Wisconsin 30, Virginia 7; Wisconsin 35, North Carolina 9; Northwestern 37, North Carolina 9; Purdue 15, Virginia 16.
Top upcoming events: Saturday: Arizona State at Iowa; Oklahoma hosts Oklahoma Open; Minnesota, Hofstra, Central Michigan at Northeast Duals, Albany; Mat Town Open at Lock Haven; Nebraska at Maryland; Indiana hosts Hoosier Duals; Sunday: Arizona State at Iowa State; Ohio State at Cornell.
Hard to believe: Edinboro holds an 8-2 margin in dual meets over Lehigh including a win Sunday in the Pennsylvania Duals.
John Huckaby writes a weekly college wrestling column for the Centre Daily Times.
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