Edinboro finished with 126.5 points to easily outdistance second place West Virginia, who finished with 95.5 points. Bloomsburg took third (88.5 points) with Pittsburgh fourth (84.5 points). Lock Haven was fifth with 80 points, followed by Cleveland State with 62 points, and Clarion (60.5 points) rounded out the seven-team field.
Jarrod King picked up his second EWL title at 165 lbs. with a fall over West Virginia's Donnie Jones in 23 seconds. King defeated Jones in last year's final, as well.
Edinboro's other three champions were all first-time winners. Paul Donahoe, who also has a Big 12 title to his credit, breezed through the 125 lb. field, winning by technical fall over Clarion's Jay Ivanco, 24-9 (7:00). Donahoe, the top-rated wrestler at 125 lbs., remained undefeated with a 31-0 record. Chris Honeycutt won the 184 lb. crown after losing in last year's finals. The sophomore came away with a 5-4 decision over Zac Thomusseit of Pittsburgh. Finally, Pat Bradshaw outlasted Lock Haven's Ben Hepburn in overtime, 3-1, in the 197 lbs. final. The junior came up with his winning takedown with 23 seconds remaining in overtime.
The one wrestler missing from the top step of the awards stand was Gregor Gillespie. In search of becoming just the sixth wrestler to win four EWL crowns, the senior was knocked off by long-time rival Matt Moley of Bloomsburg at 157 lbs. Gillespie had defeated Moley three times this year (3-0, 5-1 and 5-0) and was 9-0 against him. But Moley set the stage with a takedown just ten seconds into the match, and would add another for a 4-1 lead after one period. He would add a third takedown in the second period, and while Gillespie would rally, he eventually lost 8-5. For his efforts, Moley was named the Outstanding Wrestler.
The loss was the first of the season for the top-ranked Gillespie, who is now 37-1. It snapped a 38-match winning streak.
Two other Fighting Scots joined Gillespie with second place finishes. Ricky Deubel dropped a 5-2 decision to Pittsburgh's Jimmy Conroy at 133 lbs., but it was still the senior's best-ever showing at the conference tournament. Joey Fendone suffered a 5-4 loss to Rashard Goff of Cleveland State in the heavyweight bout.
John Foley may have been Edinboro's biggest surprise. After joining the team just over a month ago and coming into the EWL's with an 0-4 record at 174 lbs., he would take home fourth place thanks to a 2-2 showing.
Steve Waite, who was third at 141 lbs. while wrestling for West Virginia a year ago, placed fifth this year. Finally, Tortsen Gillespie suffered through a disappointing showing at 149 lbs., finishing sixth while losing all three of his matches.
The loss leaves the younger Gillespie in a precarious situation in terms of qualifying for the NCAA Division I National Championships in St. Louis on March 19-21. Edinboro qualified seven wrestlers for Nationals today – the four first place finishers (Donahoe, King, Honeycutt and Bradshaw), along with Deubel, Gregor Gillespie and Fendone. The NCAA Division I Coaches Selection Committee will meet to decide 52 remaining qualifiers. Those selections will be announced on March 11.
Gregor Gillespie, Donahoe and Fendone will be making their fourth trip to Nationals, with Gillespie and Donahoe in search of their second national titles. Gillespie is a three-time All-American and Donahoe was on the stand twice while competing for Nebraska. Deubel heads to Nationals for the third time, with Bradshaw, Honeycutt and King all going for the second time.
Here's a look at how the Fighting Scots fared in Lock Haven.
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