ERIE, Pa. -- After one year away from the podium, the 19th-ranked Edinboro wrestling team emerged victorious at the PSAC Championships at Mercyhurst on Saturday for the sixth time in seven years. The Fighting Scots won six of the 10 individual weight classes and finished with 163.5 points to hold off Bloomsburg (150 points) and Clarion (124). This was Edinboro's 12th overall PSAC title.
A.J. Schopp (133 lbs), Mitchell Port (141), David Habat (149), Vic Avery (184), Chris Honeycutt (197) and Ernest James (285) all won individual titles. Aside from Honeycutt, who won at 184 lbs last season, all were first-time champions. In addition, Kory Mines (125 lbs) and Casey Fuller (157 lbs) finished in third place, while Ethan Saylor finished in fifth at 165 lbs.
“We circle this date every year,†Edinboro head coach Tim Flynn said. “Our team takes a lot of pride in it and our kids wrestled really hard.â€
Honeycutt , ranked third in the nation, maintained his undefeated 18-0 record and avoided a scare early in third period as Clarion's Alex Thomas briefly put him on his back to pull out a 12-6 decision at 197 lbs. Immediately following Honeycutt's win, James finished off his dominant day by pinning Lock Haven's Henry Turner in 49 seconds for his third fall in less than a minute of the event.
“I've just worked real hard,†James said. “After last season, I know it was my first year starting, but I've just worked really hard to improve myself out there.â€
Schopp, ranked eighth in the nation, continued his stellar season and capped off his day with a 17-2 technical fall victory over Bloomsburg's Nick Wilcox to improve to 17-1. At 141 lbs, 18th-ranked Port overcame a 0-2 deficit to accumulate nine straight points and eventually earn 12-4 decision. His record is now 12-4.
The Fighting Scots picked up their third straight individual title as Habat, after trailing 2-0 for much of the match, took control late in the third and won by fall at the 3:52 mark. At 184 pounds, Vic Avery also earned his first PSAC title with a 7-3 decision over Clarion's Steven Cressley. Edinboro's only loss in a title bout came at 174 lbs as Chris Hrunka was pinned at the 6:14 mark.
Outside of title bouts, Saylor avenged a loss to East Stroudsburg's Braden Turner in the opening round by taking a 2-1 decision in the third-place match at 157 lbs. In addition, Mines won third place by fall over Kutztown's Desmond Moore after four minutes and 36 seconds, while Saylor earned fifth place at 165 lbs by medical forfeit over Gannon's Adam Greenman.
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