Nov. 22, 2005

CLEVELAND - The Cleveland State wrestling team opened up their 2005-06 dual meet campaign with a strong showing at Woodling Gym, topping John Carroll 31-6 on Tuesday (Nov. 22) night. CSU claimed victories in eight of the 10 bouts in the home opener to move to 1-0 on the season.

The Vikings jumped out to a quick 14-0 advantage thanks to three strong bouts by freshman Jayrl Hunt and sophomores David Armstrong and Mike Hurley to open the match.

Hunt got the Vikings off to a strong start at 125 pounds, controlling the offense for nearly the entire match with three takedowns and a pair of near-falls to build up nearly two minutes of riding time for a 14-6 major decision.

Adam Pizzurro of John Carroll started off the 133-pound match with an aggressive move on Armstrong, but the Viking countered and rolled Pizzurro for a takedown and near-fall for a quick 5-0 lead.

Hurley battled Dominic Spitalieri to a 7-3 score through the first two periods of the 141 bout before taking down the John Carroll sophomore in the third for a pin with 27 seconds left.

Freshman Victer Crenshaw put up one of the best offensive showings of the night at 157, scoring four near-falls in the first period alone to register a 15-0 tech fall at 3:35.

At 165 pounds, junior Josh Ging outlasted Jake Glover, scoring a 2-1 overtime victory, while Chuck Koz held on for a 6-4 win at 174.

The pair of nationally-ranked Vikings posted wins in their first dual meet of the year, as senior Ron Howard added an 8-4 win over Ryan Summers at 184 and sophomore Joe Dennis posted a 7-1 victory over Dan Brown at 197.

"I think that this was as good as we have looked all year," head coach Jack Effner said. "We showed a lot of good technique and that we were in shape.

"John Carroll has a quality program, and we were able to shut them down tonight. We're still battling youth, but we have good reason to be excited about this year."

With the loss, John Carroll falls to 1-1 on the season.

The Vikings return to action on Dec. 4 when they take part in the Penn State Open beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Cleveland State 31, John Carroll 6
125 Jayrl Hunt (CSU) major decision Elie Naoum (JCU), 14-6
133 David Armstrong (CSU) major decision Adam Pizzurro (JCU), 12-3
141 Mike Hurley (CSU) fall Dominic Spitalieri (JCU), 6:33
149 Kevin Keough (JCU) dec. Dan Castillo (CSU), 8-4
157 Victer Crenshaw (CSU) tech fall Steven Bagnowski (JCU), 15-0, 3:35
165 Josh Ging (CSU) dec. Jake Glover (JCU), 2-1 OT
174 Chuck Koz (CSU) dec. Chris Branchen (JCU), 6-4
184 Ron Howard (CSU) dec. Ryan Summers (JCU), 8-4
197 Joe Dennis (CSU) dec. Dan Brown (JCU), 7-1
285 Derek Ankney (JCU) dec. Rashard Goff (CSU), 6-4