LOCK HAVEN - Chris Birchler, Shane Mallory and Jeff Jacobs all turned in strong individual performances, but it wasn't enough to give East Stroudsburg University its first dual victory of the season as the Warriors wrestled at the Lock Haven Duals on Sunday.
ESU fell 34-9 to Lock Haven, 32-12 to Rutgers and 24-15 to Drexel in a rematch of the season opener which Drexel won 22-11.
Birchler, the Warriors' junior heavyweight, won all three of his matches by decision. He went undefeated for the second straight day to improve to 8-0 in duals and 13-2 on the season. Birchler was 25-10 as a sophomore in his first year at ESU and has a 38-12 record in his first 50 career matches.
Mallory went 2-1 on the day while facing strong competition in all three of his matches at 197 pounds to run his season record to 10-2. He opened the morning with a 3-2 decision over Lock Haven's Ben Hepburn, the runner-up at the PSAC Championships. Mallory avenged a 5-2 loss to Hepburn in the PSAC semifinals.
He also won a 5-3 decision against Rutgers' Karim Mahmoud, who came in with 7-3 dual record this season. Mallory's only defeat was a 15-5 major decision at the hands of Jon Oplinger, who is ranked No. 9 nationally and didn't compete in the first meeting this year.
Jacobs, a redshirt sophomore, was also 2-1 at 165 pounds with decisions over Lock Haven's Aaron Earnest (7-2) and Drexel's Scott Hunter (8-4). Sophomore Ed Ebewo had a pair of wins at 184, earning a 6-4 decision against Drexel's Shawn Fausey and a medical forfeit in his bout with Rutgers' Mike Cucinotta.
Redshirt senior Scott Heckman notched his second pin of the year when he decked Robbie Robinson of Drexel 1:41 into their bout at 149 pounds. Heckman suffered two losses, to Lock Haven's Matt Fittery (11-3) and Rutgers' David Seidenberg (4-3).
The Warriors are back in action on Dec. 28 and 29 at the Southern Scuffle at UNC Greensboro.
Lock Haven 34, ESU 9
125: Nick Hyatt (LHU) pinned David Luthy, 1:47
133: Billy Ashnault (LHU) won by forfeit
141: Owen Wilkinson (LHU) tech. fall John Menafra, 15-0 (4:40)
149: Matt Fittery (LHU) maj. dec. Scott Heckman, 11-3
157: Dave Richmond (LHU) maj. dec. Jesse Dunn, 12-3
165: Jeff Jacobs (ESU) dec. Aaron Earnest, 7-2
174: Dan Tolbert (LHU) pinned Nick Tetro, 4:32
184: Tom Kocher (LHU) dec. Ed Ebewo, 4-3
197: Shane Mallory (ESU) dec. Ben Hepburn, 3-2
285: Chris Birchler (ESU) dec. Gabe Murtorff, 11-7
Rutgers 32, ESU 12
125: Matt Fusco (RU) maj. dec. David Luthy, 16-5
133: Paul Grogan (RU) won by forfeit
141: David Greenwald (RU) pinned John Menafra, 2:21
149: David Seidenberg (RU) dec. Scott Heckman, 4-3
157: Scott Winston (RU) maj. dec. Jesse Dunn, 18-5
165: Matt Pletcher (RU) dec. Jeff Jacobs, 10-3
174: Mike Whalen (RU) pinned Nick Tetro, 4:53
184: Ed Ebewo (ESU), injury forfeit over Mike Cucinotta
197: Shane Mallory (ESU) dec. Karim Mahmoud, 5-3
285: Chris Birchler (ESU) dec. Dominick Russo, 11-5
Drexel 24, ESU 15
125: Mike Gomez (DU) dec. David Luthy, 11-5
133: Frank Cimato (DU) won by forfeit
141: Matt Dugan (DU) tech. fall John Menafra, 20-4
149: Scott Heckman (ESU) pinned Robbie Robinson, 1:41
157: Billy Haydt (DU) dec. Jesse Dunn, 6-2
165: Jeff Jacobs (ESU) dec. Scott Hunter, 8-4
174: Brian Stouffer (DU) dec. Nick Tetro, 4-1
184: Ed Ebewo (ESU) dec. Shawn Fausey, 6-4
197: Jon Oplinger (DU) maj. dec. Shane Mallory, 15-5
285: Chris Birchler (ESU) dec. Kyle Frey, 4-3
