Jacoby Wins 197-Pound Championship at ESU Open, Lininger Second
Nov. 19, 2005
EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. - Three Shippensburg University wrestlers placed in the top four in their respective weight classes at the largely Division I-laden East Stroudsburg Open on Saturday. Defending NCAA Division II champion at 197 pounds, senior Corey Jacoby (Hanover, Pa./Delone Catholic), took home a first-place finish while senior Jake Lininger (Camp Hill, Pa./Lower Dauphin) finished second at heavyweight.
In his first action since last year’s national championship, Jacoby posted a perfect 5-0 record to win his first tournament championship this season. Last year, he took home three tournament championships, including the NCAA title.
Jacoby advanced to the second round after a default victory over Scott Smith of the University of Virginia. He then defeated East Stroudsburg University's Charles Deighton 16-3 in the second round and continued to the quarterfinals with a 6-4 sudden victory in overtime over the University of Hofstra’s Mike Pucillo. Jacoby then ousted University of North Carolina’s David Dashiell, 8-3.
In the finals, Jacoby faced Hofstra’s Chris Weidman, who had beaten Arizona State University’s Ryan Bader in the semifinals. At the end of regulation, the two had wrestled to a 4-4 tie. In overtime, Jacoby picked up two points for his second sudden victory of the day, giving him a first-place finish and extending his winning streak to nine matches in a row.
At heavyweight, Lininger, in his first season with the Red Raiders after transferring from Minnesota, posted four victories on the day, including two falls, but could not wrestle in the finals due to medical reasons, giving Cain Velasquez of Arizona State first-place.
To reach the finals, Lininger defeated Brendan Herlihy of Penn State University by technical fall, 15-0 in the first round. In the second round, Lininger edged North Carolina's Spencer Hadolsky, 6-0. He pinned Damian Carbone of Lock Haven University in 2:14 in the quarterfinals and Caleb Churchwell of Delaware Valley College in 1:30. Lininger advanced to the finals with a victory over Aaaron Anspach of Penn State, 8-4.
At 184 pounds, junior Mark Murphy (Dillsburg, Pa./West York) finished in fourth-place after winning three matches in the wrestle-back bracket. He received a bye in the first round and then advanced by pinning R.P. Norley of Franklin and Marshall College in 1:45. Murphy posted a 10-3 decision over Columbia University's Ray Resnick, but fell in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up finisher, Dave Helfrick of Lehigh University.
In the wrestle-back bracket, Murphy advanced with a 5-3 decision over Columbia’s Justin Barent and moved on after sophomore teammate Peter Grodziak (Allentown, Pa./Parkland) bowed out of the match due to medical reasons. Murphy then pinned University of Pittsburgh’s Keith Gavin in 1:00 to advance to the third-place match against Louis Caputo, but fell 7-4.
Also wrestling well for the Red Raiders was 2005 All-American Jamie Thomas (Mechanincsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) who, at 125 pounds, won his first three matches. However, Thomas could not get by Columbia’s Brandon Kinney in his first match in the wrestle-back bracket.
Shippensburg hosts its first home meet of the season on Thursday, December 1 against the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown in a showdown between nationally ranked powers, as the Red Raiders are No. 7 in Division II and UPJ is ranked third.
- Red Raider Wrestling -
