The pre-seeding for the tournament has been completed with the top four seeds at each weight class announced on Friday morning. Clarion has two, number 1 seeds in the tournament with #4 ranked James Fleming (Jr. West Mifflin) at 157 and #5 ranked Bekzod Aburakhmonov (Sr. Tashkent, Uzbekistan) at 165-pounds leading the way. The completed brackets for each weight class will be announced Saturday evening around 9pm.
The EWL is comprised of seven league members including Bloomsburg, Clarion, Cleveland State, Edinboro, Lock Haven, Pittsburgh and West Virginia. An eighth team, Millersville, was assigned by the NCAA, in agreement with the EWL, to compete at the EWL Championships.
EWL CHAMPIONSHIP HAS 2 SESSIONS
The 2012 EWL's will be hosted at Clarion’s Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium with Session 1 starting at 10a.m. That round will feature quarterfinal action, followed by semi-finals and Round 1 consolations. Session 2 starts at 5pm and will have the consolation semi=s, followed at 7pm by the championship finals and matches for third and fifth places. The EWL Hall of Fame Class and Parade of Champions begins at 6:45 p.m.
Tickets will be available at the door. All Session Adult passes are $30, while All-Session Senior and Student passes are $15. Individual session tickets will also be available.
Clarion’s #4 ranked Fleming enters the EWL’s with a season record of 24-2. He is the defending EWL champion at 157 and was Co-OW of the 2011 tournament. In 2012 he won the Nittany Lion Ope, placed second at PSAC’s and placed third at the Midlands. He finished 2011 with a 31-4 record, qualified for D-I Nationals, was 1-2 at nationals, and won at PSAC’s and EWL’s. In 2010 at 149-pounds he was 28-8 overall, 2nd at EWL’s and 4th at PSAC’s. He has a career record at clarion of 83-16 with 26 falls.
Abdurakhmonov is currently ranked #5 in the nation at 165 and has a season record of 28-4. He has already won the PSAC title and placed 4th at Midlands. In 2011 Bekzod placed third at EWL’s and won the PSAC title at 165. An NCAA National qualifier, he was 3-2 at nationals and missed A-A status by one match. He posted a 38-12 overall record. In two seasons he has a combined record of 66-16 with 15 falls.
Other Clarion wrestlers gaining seeds were Alex Thomas (Jr. Seaford, De.) at 197 and Quintas McCorkle (Sr. Alexandria, Va.) – heavyweight – who were seeded fourth. Thomas currently has a record of 22-14 this season while McCorkle is 22-10.
EWL TOURNAMENT FACTS: Pitt leads the pre-seeds with four #1 seeds… West Virginia is next with three, Clarion has two and Edinboro one … Edinboro has four - #2 seeds; with Pittsburgh and Bloomsburg three each… Pitt is the defending EWL Team champion and also won the 2012 regular season dual meet title. Edinboro has won or tied for first place in 12 of the last 14 EWL Tournaments including titles in 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, the tie in 2004, a win in 2003, and a string of four straight from 1998-2001. West Virginia tied for first in 2004 and won the title in 2002, while Lock Haven won in 1997, West Virginia in 1996 and Clarion won back-to-back titles in 1994 and 95.
The top 4 seeds in the EWL’s are as follows:
125:
1. Anthony Zanetta Pittsburgh
2. Sean Boylan Bloomsburg
3. Shane Young West Virginia
4. Kory Mines Edinboro
133:
1. Shelton Mack Pittsburgh
2. A.J. Schopp Edinboro
3. Nathan Pennesi West Virginia
4. Nick Wilcox Bloomsburg
141:
1. Mike Morales West Virginia
2. Mitchell Port Edinboro
3. Matthew Bonson Lock Haven
4. Travis Shaffer Pittsburgh
149:
1. Tyler Nauman Pittsburgh
2. David Habat Edinboro
3. Owen Wilkinson Lock Haven
4. Bryce Busler Bloomsburg
157:
1. James Fleming Clarion
2. Frank Hickman Bloomsburg
3. Donnie Tasser Pittsburgh
4. Aaron Fry Lock Haven
165:
1. Bekzod Abdurakhmonov Clarion
2. Tyler Wilps Pittsburgh
3. Chris Smith Bloomsburg
4. Kyle Eason West Virginia
174:
1. Ethan Headlee Pittsburgh
2. Mike Dessino Bloomsburg
3. Lance Bryson West Virginia
4. Chris Hrunka Edinboro
184:
1. Matt Ryan West Virginia
2. Andy Vaughan Pittsburgh
3. Vic Avery Edinboro
4. Fred Garcia Lock Haven
197:
1. Chris Honeycutt Edinboro
2. Matthew Wilps Pittsburgh
3. Richard Perry Bloomsburg
4. Alex Thomas Clarion
285:
1. Brandon Williamson West Virginia
2. Ernest James Edinboro
3. Henry Turner Lock Haven
4. Quintas McCorkle Clarion
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