Edinboro won their fourth consecutive PSAC titleBLOOMSBURG, Pa. -- It was a record-setting day for the Edinboro wrestling team at the 72nd annual PSAC Championship. For starters, the Fighting Scots made it four championships in a row, nine in the last ten years, and 15 in head coach Tim Flynn's 18 years as head coach. The Fighting Scots had champions in nine of the ten weight classes, also a PSAC record, and won the first nine weight classes. The previous record of seven champions was set by Edinboro in 2007-08 and 2008-09, along with Clarion in 1982-83.
Individually, the redshirt senior trio of A.J. Schopp (133 lbs.), Mitchell Port (141 lbs.), and Dave Habat (149 lbs.) won their fourth PSAC championships. It marks the first time in PSAC history that a team has had three four-year champions in its lineup. When the day started just 14 former wrestlers had won four conference crowns.
Schopp, a two-time All-American and ranked number one at 133 lbs., won his first two matches by fall then won a 19-5 (7:00) technical fall over Ronnie Perry of Lock Haven in the finals.
Port, also a two-time All-American and ranked second at 141 lbs., also won all three of his matches by bonus points. He won by fall and major decision before pinning Lock Haven's Bobby Rehm at 2:30. Rehm is a two-time PSAC champion at 125 lbs.
Habat made it three four-time champions as he won by fall, technical fall, and finally major decision with a 15-6 win over Jeremy Landowski of Mercyhurst. He earned All-American honors last year and is ranked as high as fourth at 149 lbs.
Kory Mines (125 lbs.), Kasey Burnett-Davis (157 lbs.), and Vic Avery (184 lbs. won their second PSAC championships. Mines won for the second straight year, as did Burnett-Davis, although KBD claimed the title at 165 lbs. a year ago. Avery previously won the 184 lb. title in 2011.
Casey Fuller (165 lbs.), Zach Towers (174 lbs.), and Vince Pickett (197 lbs.) all won their first PSAC championships. Warren Bosch made it ten wrestlers to earn All-PSAC recognition as he finished third at heavyweight.
Edinboro finished with an incredible 189.5 points to easily out-distance second-place Lock Haven. The Bald Eagles had 130 points. Mercyhurst came in third in the 12-team field at Bloomsburg's Nelson Field House with 95.5 points.
So dominant were the Fighting Scots that they won 35 of 36 matches, with Bosch losing in the opening round but then coming back to win five in a row. Of those 35 wins, 27 were by bonus points, with 14 falls, 4 technical falls, and 9 by major decision.
Towers led the way as he won all four of his matches by fall – all in the first period. Mines, Schopp, Port, and Habat also won all of their matches by bonus points.
The lone champion not wearing an Edinboro singlet was Kutztown's Ziad Haddad, who won the title at heavyweight. The 2014 Division II national champion was also named the Outstanding Wrestler.
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