Nov. 12, 2006
Contact: Josh Rattray
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EAST LANSING, Mich. - Junior Ryan Hurley (149) placed second and sophomore Marcus Effner (165) rebounded from a first-round loss to finish in eighth place to lead the Vikings at the Michigan State Open on Sunday (Nov. 12) at Jenison Field House.
Hurley, competing for the first time this season and seeded second, won his first four matches before falling to Edinboro's Gregor Gillespie by way of tech fall in 2:56.
Hurley started his day with a 10-7 win over Michigan State's John Fulger and then followed that up with a 24-second pin to advance to the semi-finals against Pennsylvania's Rob Hitschler, whom Hurley defeated, 2-1, in overtime to gain a berth into the 149-pound final against Gillespie.
"Ryan was outstanding," head coach Jack Effner said. "He started 4-0 before losing to an All-American. It was good to see Gillespie this early because we're going to have to face him again later."
Effner lost, 6-4, to Nick Pullano of Old Dominion to start the day before running off four straight wins before a loss put him in the seventh place match with Ison. Effner bowed out in his final match of the day due to injury default.
Senior David Gilkey (184) and junior Mike Hurley were the other wrestlers to win multiple matches, as Gilkey finished the day 3-2 with a pin and a tech fall and Mike Hurley went 2-1 before ending his day with an injury default in the consolation bracket against Mike Rappo of North Carolina.
"I was pleased with our effort," Effner said. "To have a few guys place in this very good tournament is a positive. "We came here to get some experience and to get better and we did that. Now we'll reload and get ready for next weekend."
The Vikings return to action with another open competition, their third in as many weeks, on Saturday, Nov. 18 at the Ashland Open in Ashland, Ohio.
INDIVIDUAL RECORDS
125 - Ryan Riggs (1-2)
141 - Michael Hurley (2-1)
149 - Ryan Hurley (4-1) * 2nd place
- Shaun Mitchell (1-2)
165 - Marcus Effner (4-2) * 8th place
- Kyle Chittick (1-2)
- Nate Kmetz (1-2)
184 - David Gilkey (3-2)
197 - Benny Balogh (0-2)
