Red Raiders Finish Seventh at PSAC Championships; Place Three in Top Four
Jan. 28, 2005
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – On the strength
of three top-four finishes, the Shippensburg University wrestling team
finished in seventh-place
at the 63rd annual Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Wrestling
Championships on Saturday at Slippery Rock University's Morrow Field House.
After near victories in the 197-pound championship in each of the last two
seasons, Red Raider senior Corey Jacoby (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic) raced
all the way into the final round for a third consecutive year.
After opening with a 12-3 victory over Kutztown University’s Curtis
Beardsell, Jacoby recorded a technical fall over Bloomsburg University’s
Jesse Hasseman 16-1 to advance into the championship.
Despite gaining an early 3-0 lead in the championship, Jacoby’s competition,
Joe Fendone of Edinboro University, recorded a takedown to cut his deficit
to 3-2. After Jacoby attempted an escape late in the third period, Fendone
recorded a second takedown and would hold on to win, 4-3.
“
We can learn from this and worry about March,” said head coach Don
Tabar. “This is just another tournament and things didn’t work
out this time, but it doesn’t have anything to do with where we want
to be in March.”
For the season, Jacoby is now 20-5.
Red-shirt senior Jake Lininger (Camp Hill, Pa./Lower Dauphin) entered the
championships seeded second at heavyweight and quickly reached the finals
after recording a fall in 1:38 over Millersville University’s Mike
Davidovich and a 12-0 shutout over East Stroudsburg’s Adam Karacevicz.
In the championship, Lininger wrestled Bloomsburg’s Mike Spaid, the
2005 runner-up, and Spaid utilized his size advantage to quickly record a
takedown and a 2-0 advantage. Spaid continued to apply the pressure and would
record two more takedowns en route to a 6-0 victory.
The defeat ends a 12-match winning streak for Lininger, currently 22-3, who
was shut out for the first time all season.
At 184 pounds, junior Mark Murphy (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern York) was defeated
in the opening round by Bloomsburg’s Nate Shirk, 3-1 in sudden victory.
In the consolation bracket, Murphy defeated Millersville’s Tim Rice
11-2 before an 8-2 decision over Clarion University’s Dominic Ross.
Red-shirt sophomore Dan Nauman (Middletown, Pa./Middletown) advanced to the
consolation quarterfinals for the Red Raiders at 149 pounds after posting
a 1-2 record in this year’s championship.
In the consolation semifinals, Murphy recorded a fall in 2:15 over Brett
Wade of Kutztown to advance into the third-place match against Lock Haven’s
Derrick Morgan where he was edged 8-2 to finish fourth.
After near misses in the last few conference championships, Shippensburg
is still looking for its first PSAC champion since 1978 when Drew Knapf and
Glenn Burkett both won individual championships at 118 and 126 pounds, respectively.
The Red Raiders, ranked eighth in NCAA Division II, are scheduled to return
to action on Tuesday, February 7 at East Stroudsburg University.
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