Bloomsburg University Advances Four Wrestlers to EWL Finals

CLEVELAND, OH -- The Bloomsburg University wrestling team wrapped up day one action at the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) Championships held at Cleveland State University on Saturday evening. The Huskies have four wrestlers who advanced to the finals of the tournament.

At 125 pounds, 11th-ranked Mike Sees (Northumberland/Shikellamy) picked up a 9-6 decision over Eric Morrill of Edinboro. Sees advances to the finals to take on 10th-ranked Obeson Blanc of Lock Haven for the rubber match between the two nationally ranked wrestlers. Sees picked up a win over Blanc in the 2007 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament while Blanc defeated Sees in dual meet action later in the year.

In the 141-pound bracket, Darren Kern (Pennsburg/Upper Perkioman) defeated Edinboro's Daryl Cocozzo 4-2 to earn a spot in the finals. He will wrestle Brandon Rader of West Virginia in the finals. Kern is 0-1 against Rader, with a major decision loss in the Huskies' dual meet win over West Virginia earlier this season.

Nate Shirk (Middleburg/Middleburg) advanced to the finals of the 184-pound bracket with his second win of the season over West Virginia's Chance Litton. Shirk picked up a close 2-1 win and will take on Alex Clemsen of Edinboro in the championship. The seventh-ranked Clemson owns the season series between the two, picking up a tight 2-1 regular season victory over Shirk in February.

Also earning a spot in the finals is defending EWL heavyweight champion Mike Spaid (Perkiomenville/Boyertown) who cruised to a 7-0 decision over Joe Fendone of Edinboro. Spaid will battle Clarion's A.J. Brooks in the championship match. In their regular season bout, Spaid picked up a 7-5 sudden overtime victory.

In addition to earning four spots in the finals, Bloomsburg also has five wrestlers still alive in the consolation brackets. At 133 pounds, Ricky Donald (Millville/Bloomsburg) will next take on Clarion's Sal Lascari. Donald Dropped his first round match but later picked up a 9-4 decision over Ricky Deubel of Edinboro.

In the first round of the 149-pound bracket, Matt Moley (Phoenixville/Spring-Ford) got a 10-2 major decision victory over Hadley Harrison of Clarion. However, Moley later fell to Edinboro's sixth-ranked Gregor Gillespie in the semi-finals and will next face Lock Haven's Donnie Ament.

At 157-pounds, Dennis Bermudez (Saugerties, NY/Saugerties) battled back from a first round loss to win a 14-6 major decision over Clarion's Lucas Christopher. Bermudez's next match will be against West Virginia's Zac Fryling who took their regular season meeting 11-6.

Ricky Schmelyun (New Oxford/Bermudian Springs) is still competing at 165-pounds, after falling in the first round. He pinned West Virginia's Eric Connolly and will take on Landis Wright of Lock Haven in his next match. Wright defeated Schmelyun earlier this season in dual meet action.

Also still alive for the Huskies is Andrew Jordan (Newark, DE/St. Marks) at 174 pounds. Jordan lost a major decision in the first round but battled back to pick up an 8-2 win over Nate Kmetz from Cleveland State. Jordan will continue his quest for third place when he takes on Edinboro's Phil Moricone who won the regular season match-up earlier in the year.

After day one action, the Huskies are in third place in team competition with 76.5 points behind West Virginia who is in first with 84.5 points and Edinboro who is second with 78 points.

Bids to the NCAA Championships are on the line as the tournament wraps up tomorrow morning with session three beginning at 10:00 a.m. The top two seeds in each weight class receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament with 12 at-large bids also being given out.