Huge wins from James Fleming at 149, Hadley Harrison at 157, and a decision from Nick Milano at 165 helped Clarion trample The University of North Carolina this past Saturday night 25-19 at Waldo S. Tippen Gym.
Clarion’s Alex Thomas takes on North Carolina wrestler Dennis Drury at 197 pounds, falling by decision. (Neal Henry / The Clarion Call)
With the big win, Clarion improved its record to 7-8 overall and 3-2 in the Eastern Wrestling League.
The victories started with Greg Lewis at 141 with a victory by injury default at 3:43 over Mike Rappo narrowing UNC’s lead to 20-12. James Fleming recorded a 16-1 technical fall at 7.00 over Jon Burns.
Fleming dominated Jon Burns posting a 16-1 technical fall. Fleming lead 13-0 at the end of the first with a takedown and four near falls. The margin was provided by a two point near fall and riding time.
Hadley Harrison sparked excitement, as the No. 17 ranked wrestler in the nation upset No. 10 ranked Thomas Scotten and pinned the Tar Heel Junior at 2:17. In the middle of a takedown, Harrison caught Scotten on his back and slapped on a half nelson pinning Scotten to give Clarion its first lead at 23-20.
Clarion sealed the win when its Nick Milano won 5-2 over Kyle Kiss, making it Eagles 25 to UNC’s 19. In the second period, Milano turned Kiss to his back using a bar arm.
The official whistled a potentially dangerous call before the near fall points were registered. Both coaches sprinted to the center of the mat. Both benches received a team point penalty, pushing the team score back to 22-19. Milano chose neutral to start the third.
He scored a takedown with about one minute left for a 2-1 lead. The crowd was on its feet when Milano scored a counter takedown with only 15 seconds to go in the match, giving Milano a big 5-2 win.
Harrison said that Clarion had a solid showing against Cleveland State, their first match, shutting Cleveland out 49-0 and continued that momentum into the UNC match with whole team performance, winning 25-19.
“This has been one of our team’s biggest wins this season along with beating Bloomsburg and WVU. We have one last dual meet this season. It’s against Lock Haven Friday, February 19,” Harrison said.
Clarion’s Jay Ivanco wrestles against Cleveland State’s Zach Huff at 133 pounds were he won by technical fall. (Neal Henry / The Clarion Call)
Clarion also crushed Cleveland State 49-0 in an EWL dual meet. In the Cleveland match, Clarion had 5 pins against the Vikings.
Wins for the Golden Eagles came from Joe Waltko over Ron Butler at 6:34 at 125 pounds: Lewis at 1:44 over Mike Mencini at 141 pounds; Harrison at 2:50 over Corey Carlo at 157 pounds; Quintas McCorkle at 4:38 over Chris Weber at heavyweight and Alex Thomas at 16 – seconds fall over Gahad Suleiman at 197 pounds, with the second fastest fall in Clarion’s long wrestling tradition.
Clint Podish, Clarion’s sophomore a 184 pounder, was injured against Cleveland State and forfeited his match against UNC.
