ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio wrestlers (9-8, 2-3 MAC) concluded the regular season with their sixth win in seven home meets at the Convocation Center on Sunday afternoon, outlasting the University at Buffalo (9-6, 1-4) by tiebreaker criteria. Although both schools each won five weight classes, while scoring one major decision apiece, it was the Bobcats who were awarded the victory due to most near fall points. The win pushed Ohio back over .500, effectively ending its season-long four meet losing streak and providing the wrestlers with some measure of momentum heading into the MAC Championships March 8-9. Complete release in PDF format.


Ohio vs. Buffalo
Sophomore Jake Percival (Elyria) scored the only near fall of the day, thus allowing the Bobcats to finish one win over .500 for 2002-03. His 12-3 major decision over UB’s Ryan Bentley not only extended his season-unbeaten streak to 26 matches (26-0, 4-0 MAC), but gave the second-year All-American his eighth win by 8-14 points this season. Overall, 11 of his last 15 triumphs have come by either major decision or technical fall. Equally important in the victory was Erik Jones (West Chester) and his shutout victory at heavyweight, a 4-0 decision over third-ranked MAC wrestler Tom Curl. Jones scored three team points to re-tie the back-and-forth battle at 16-16, with the ‘Cats winning by tiebreaker criteria H (near falls).

Seniors Say Goodbye to the Convo
Six grapplers were on hand for their final home competition on Sunday against the Bulls - seniors Alex Cooper (Medina), John Hart (Springfield), Bryan Maher (Pickerington), Luke Moore (Springfield), Mark Shrout (Pittsburgh, Pa.), as well as junior Paul Hodermarsky (Olmsted).

Moore (26-12, 3-2 MAC) improved to 94-53 for his collegiate career with a 2-1 victory over Buffalo’s Tom Paladino at 165 pounds. Despite a one-point escape by Paladino with time winding down, the two-time NCAA qualifier would win in his final trip to the Convo mats by riding time decision. The victory ended a string of four consecutive losses for Moore, all of which came by two points or less, including two in overtime.

Shrout held a 4-3 lead after the first period against the 20th-ranked wrestler in the country, Garrett Bontempo, but could not hold the advantage, eventually coming up short, 8-5. The Pennsylvania native heads into the MAC Tournament with a 9-7 record (1-2 MAC) as one of five Bobcats to own undefeated major decision marks. Overall, he is fourth among active Ohio wrestlers with 54 victories against 40 defeats.

Greenlee Earns Career Win No. 70
In the victory against Buffalo on Sunday, Bobcats’ head coach Joel Greenlee recorded the 70th victory of his career. A former assistant at both Ohio and his alma mater, Northern Iowa (‘89), the sixth year general has guided the Bobcats to two conference championships during his tenure, compiling an overall record of 70-44-3 (21-9-1 MAC). Earlier this year, Greenlee earned his 20th conference win when his team defeated Eastern Michigan, 31-6, on Jan. 10. In his first full season at the school (1998), his team placed ninth at the NCAAs. Two members of that team - Dwight Gardner (158) and Shawn Enright (134) - placed first and second, respectively, to gain All-American status. All told, Greenlee has had four of his Ohio wrestlers place at the national tournament and coached eight MAC champions. Percival accomplished both of those feats as a freshman in 2002.

Home Mat Advantage
Ohio finished the 2002-03 regular season with a 6-1 home dual meet record. The team’s only loss at the Convocation Center came on Feb. 9 to nationally-ranked Central Michigan. The Bobcat grapplers have posted a 10-3 mark in Athens the past two seasons.

MAC Wrestling Rankings (Feb. 25)
In the latest conference rankings, released by the league office on Tuesday, six Ohio grapplers find themselves among the elite. Jake Percival (4-0 MAC) enters the MAC Championships holding the No. 1 seed at 149, while junior Anthony Carrizales (Delta) stands atop the 133-pound weight class, tied with Sam Hiatt of Northern Illinois. On Jan. 24, those two met in DeKalb, Carrizales (4-1) losing his only conference match of the season, 3-2. Erik Jones (4-1) fell from first to second among the heavyweights following his 4-0 loss to Kent State’s Tomas Rodriguez on Feb. 16, clearing the path for the Golden Flash to capture the top spot.

Individual Victory Leaders (as of Feb. 26)
Ed Willis......................27-11 (2-1)
Luke Moore..................26-12 (3-2)
Jake Percival................26-0 (4-0)
Erik Jones....................24-11 (4-1)
Joel Weimer.................19-15 (2-3)
Anthony Carrizales........17-9 (4-1)
Jon Spires....................17-11 (1-3)
Paul Hodermarsky........12-10 (1-1)
Jason Daviaux..............10-12 (0-0)
Robert Lyons...............10-17 (0-5)

Season Points Leaders (as of Feb. 26)
Jake Percival................103
Luke Moore...................99
Ed Willis.......................96
Erik Jones.....................95
Joel Weimer..................68
Anthony Carrizales.........62
Jon Spires.....................59
Paul Hodermarsky.........42

Season Shutout Leaders (as of Feb. 26)
Jake Percival.................7
Joel Weimer..................4
Ed Willis.......................4
Alex Cooper..................3
Erik Jones.....................3
Luke Moore...................3
Jon Spires.....................2

Active Career Wins (as of Feb. 26)
Luke Moore...................94
Jake Percival.................64
Anthony Carrizales.........61
Mark Shrout..................54
Joel Weimer..................38
Jon Spires.....................33
Ed Willis.......................31
Paul Hodermarsky.........28
Jeremiah Beltran............25