Bloomsburg Crowns Three Individual Champs; Takes Second at PSACs

SLIPPERY ROCK, PA- The Bloomsburg University wrestling team took second at the 2006 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships including three individual titles.

The Huskies finished second to 17th-ranked Edinboro, who finished with 146 team points, in comparison to Bloomsburg's 113.5 points. Lock Haven was third with 91 team points.

Mike Sees (Northumberland/Northumberland), Brad Forbes (Downingtown/Downingtown), and Mike Spaid (Boyertown/Boyertown) led the team, winning titles at their respective weight classes.

At 125 pounds, Sees won his first championships after finishing second in 2005. In the first round, he won by fall over Kutztown's Cory Weiss and used an 8-5 decision over Lock Haven's14th-ranked Obe Blanc to move into the title match. In the finals, he faced off against first-seeded Ricky Deubel, winning a 7-5 overtime decision to win the title.

Forbes also won his first individual title at 141 pounds, defeating Edinboro's Rick McLaughlin in the finals, 4-3. In his first match, he won an 11-2 major decision over Brett Martinez of Kutztown University. In the semifinals, he used a 4-3 victory over Clarion's Greg Lewis to move into the title match.

In the heavyweight bracket, Spaid also improved upon his second-place finish in 2005 winning his first PSAC title. Spaid won 13-0 over Slippery Rock's Matt Burkholder and recorded a pin over Richard Brooks to advance to the championship bout. In the finals, he won a 6-0 decision over Shippenburg's Jake Lininger.

At 174 pounds, Jim Bertulis (Aston/Garnett Valley) took second for the second year in a row after finishing runner-up at the 165-pound weight class last year. In the first round, Bertulis won a 4-3 decision over East Stroudsburg. Bertulis then got another decision win, 7-5, in the semifinals to advance to the title match where he forfeited for medical reasons.

Freshman Ricky Donald (Millville/Bloomsburg) finished third at 133 pounds in his first PSAC Championships. In the first round, he won a 6-4 decision before falling to eventual champion, Shawn Bunch, 10-3, of Edinboro. In the third-place bout, he won a 7-3 decision over Kutztown's Brandon Clemmer.

Jesse Hasseman (Franklin, IN/Franklin) also recorded a third-place finish for the Huskies at the 197-pound weight class. Hasseman, who finished fourth at 184 pounds last year, won an 11-5 decision over Lock Haven's Tom Kocher to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinal bout, first-seeded Corey Jacoby defeated Hasseman by technical fall, 16-1. Hasseman faced off against East Stroudsburg's Sean McCracken in the third-place bout where he won, 4-2.

Aric Fuhrman (Spring Grove/Delone Catholic) and Frank Beasley (Oden, IL/Centralia) posted fourth-place finishes for the Huskies at the 157-pound and 165-pound weight classes, respectively, while Nate Shirk (Middleburg/Middleburg) finished fifth at 184 pounds.

The Huskies will host two Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) matches next weekend. Bloomsburg will face off against Clarion on Friday night at 7:30 p.m. before wrestling Cleveland State on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.