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JOHNSTOWN – Redshirt senior Shane Mallory (184) and redshirt sophomore Adam Hluschak (141) advanced to the semifinals and three wrestlers are still alive in the consolation bracket for East Stroudsburg University after the first day of the NCAA Division II Super Region 1 Tournament at Pitt-Johnstown.

Mallory, seeded fourth, had a first-round bye and earned a 3-2 decision over No. 5 Landon Hall (Limestone) to earn a spot in the semifinals, where he will take on No. 1 Tim Darling (Kutztown). Mallory won an 8-6 decision over Darling in ESU's 29-11 dual win over Kutztown last week to hand Darling his only loss of the year.

Hluschak, the No. 5 seed at 141, took a 4-3 decision over No. 4 Andrew Milanak (Gannon) in the quarterfinals after posting an 18-0 technical fall in his first round match against Wesley Whitman (UNC-Pembroke). Hluschak will battle No. 8 Dallas Evans (Seton Hill) for a spot in the finals on Saturday morning after Evans upset No. 1 Adam Whetstone (UPJ) by a 5-3 decision.

Redshirt sophomores Andrew Arnold (133) and Thad Frick (157) and junior Ed Ebewo (197) will attempt to wrestle out of the consolation bracket back into one of the top four spots to earn a trip to the NCAA Division II Championships.

The action concludes with two sessions on Saturday. The semifinals, consolation quarterfinals and semifinals will be contested from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., with the finals, consolation finals and remaining matches to follow at approximately 2:30 p.m. A true fourth place match will be wrestled, if necessary, at each of the 10 weight classes to determine the region's final representatives at the NCAA Championships.

ESU's six seeded wrestlers – Mallory, Hluschak, Frick, Ebewo, sophomore Eddie Stephenson (149) and redshirt junior Jeff Jacobs (165) – all won their opening round matches. The Warriors are tied for eighth of the region's 15 schools after the first day of competition.

Arnold entered the day unseeded and suffered a 17-0 technical fall to No. 2 seed Sheridan Moran (Newberry) in his first match before responding with a pair of pins in a total of 2:13. He pinned Cory Monteforte (Anderson) in 32 seconds and decked No. 8 Timdarius Thurston (UNC-Pembroke) in 1:41 to earn a match-up with No. 4 Nick Wykoff (West Liberty) in the consolation quarterfinals. Arnold has a team-high eight pins this season.

Frick, the fourth seed at 157, dropped a 4-2 decision to No. 5 Sean Byrnes (Newberry) in the quarterfinals before staying alive with a 3-1 sudden victory decision against Corey White (Belmont Abbey). Frick won his first round match by an 8-4 decision over Mikel Bush (Limestone). He'll take on No. 8 Zachary Lundgren (Pitt-Johnstown) on Saturday morning and posted a 5-3 decision over Lundgren at the Wilkes Open during his run of seven straight victories in the consolations.

Ebewo, seeded fifth in his bracket, had his second pin of the season in the first round, taking Greg Vanucci (Seton Hill) to the mat in 1:39. He was edged 6-5 by No. 4 Mitch Knapp (West Liberty) in the quarterfinals before coming back with a 6-0 shutout of Christopher Boyd (Gannon). Ebewo will wrestle unseeded Chris Nocchi (Mercyhurst) in the consolation quarters.

Jacobs entered the regional as ESU's highest seed, ranked third at 165, and posted an 11-1 major decision over Randall Wagner (Seton Hill) before falling to a pair of seeded wrestlers to end his season at 22-14. He took a 2-0 loss vs. No. 6 Jake Varitek (Belmont Abbey) in the quarters and fell 11-5 to No. 4 David Zeek (Kutztown), his third match-up with Zeek this year and second in two weeks after recording a pin in 1:41 in dual action last week.

Stephenson was the No. 7 seed at 149 and decisioned Brett Martinez (Kutztown), 5-2, in another rematch of last week's dual when Stephenson won by fall in 1:56. He wrestled tough against No. 2 Kevin McElhaney (Gannon) in the quarters, dropping a 5-3 decision, and was eliminated by Devan Jones (Shippensburg) by a 2-1 decision.

Freshman Erik Schaffer had an impressive showing at 285 after wrestling in just one dual this season. He lost a 3-1 decision to No. 3 Fred Hale (Mercyhurst) in first round action, came back with a 7-1 decision over Charles Weber (Limestone) and nearly upset No. 4 J.D. Ramsey (West Liberty), who needed sudden victory time for a 3-1 decision. Schaffer's only dual action of the year was a 5-2 setback to Kevin Bolinsky of Kutztown, the region's No. 2 seed.

Redshirt junior David Luthy (125) will graduate this spring and finished his career for the Warriors on Friday. He took on No. 8 Este Lara (American International), falling 7-1, and lost a decision to Justin Morris (Shippensburg) in the consolations. Luthy was a two-year starter at 125 during his time at ESU.

Junior Jesse Dunn was pressed into action at 174 after redshirt sophomore Ken Monarque saw his season end due to injury during the Warriors' dual with Kutztown. No. 7 Lewis Spadaro (Seton Hill) posted a 12-5 decision over Dunn in the first round, and Jordan Lide (Anderson) won their match-up in the consolations, 4-2.


125 – David Luthy (2-20)
No. 8 Este Lara (American International) dec. Luthy, 7-1
Justin Morris (Shippensburg) dec. Luthy, 9-2

133 – Andrew Arnold (17-16)
No. 2 Sheridan Moran (Newberry) tech. fall Arnold, 17-0 (3:00)
Arnold pinned Cory Monteforte (Anderson), 0:32
Arnold pinned No. 8 Timdarius Thurston (UNC-Pembroke), 1:41
next match – No. 4 Nick Wykoff (West Liberty)

141 – No. 5 Adam Hluschak (19-13)
Hluschak tech. fall Wesley Whitman (UNC-Pembroke), 18-0 (3:12)
Hluschak dec. No. 4 Andrew Milanak (Gannon), 4-3
semifinals – No. 8 Dallas Evans (Seton Hill)

149 – No. 7 Eddie Stephenson (9-16)
Stephenson dec. Brett Martinez (Kutztown), 5-2
No. 2 Kevin McElhaney (Gannon) dec. Stephenson, 5-3
Devan Jones (Shippensburg) dec. Stephenson, 2-1

157 – No. 4 Thad Frick (24-11)
Frick dec. Mikel Bush (Limestone), 8-4
No. 5 Sean Byrnes (Newberry) dec. Frick, 4-2
Frick dec. Corey White (Belmont Abbey), 3-1:sv1
next match – No. 8 Zachary Lundgren (Pitt-Johnstown)

165 – No. 3 Jeff Jacobs (22-14)
Jacobs maj. dec. Randall Wagner (Seton Hill), 11-1
No. 6 Jake Varitek (Belmont Abbey) dec. Jacobs, 2-0
No. 4 David Zeek (Kutztown) dec. Jacobs, 11-5

174 – Jesse Dunn (3-5)
No. 7 Lewis Spadaro (Seton Hill) dec. Dunn, 12-5
Jordan Lide (Anderson) dec. Dunn, 4-2

184 – No. 4 Shane Mallory (22-6)
Mallory dec. No. 5 Landon Hall (Limestone), 3-2
semifinals – No. 1 Tim Darling (Kutztown)

197 – No. 5 Ed Ebewo (18-14)
Ebewo pinned Greg Vanucci (Seton Hill), 1:39
No. 4 Mitch Knapp (West Liberty) dec. Ebewo, 6-5
Ebewo dec. Christopher Boyd (Gannon), 6-0
next match – Chris Nocchi (Mercyhurst)

285 – Erik Schaffer (5-7)
No. 3 Fred Hale (Mercyhurst) dec. Schaffer, 3-1
Schaffer dec. Charles Weber (Limestone), 7-1
No. 4 J.D. Ramsey (West Liberty) dec. Schaffer, 3-1:sv1