Mercyhurst championship page  l  PSAC Championships results

ERIE – East Stroudsburg University redshirt senior Thad Frick, the only Division II wrestler among the 20 finalists at the PSAC Championships, was the runner-up at 165 pounds after taking a 12-5 setback to defending champion Bekzod Abdurakhmonov of Clarion in the final.

Frick, seeded 3rd, advanced to the championship bout on Saturday at Mercyhurst with a 6-4 decision over No. 2 seed Kevin Hartnett of Bloomsburg, avenging a 7-5 decision in the Bloomsburg Duals last Saturday.

He had an early takedown of Abdurakhmonov, ranked No. 7 in Division I, 20 seconds into the first period and added a second takedown 1:35 into the second to level the score at 4-4. An escape and a takedown for Abdurakhmonov made it 7-4 going into the third, and another takedown put Frick down 9-4 about a half-minute into the final period. Abdurakhmonov added a fourth takedown in the closing seconds and had the riding time point for the 12-5 final and his second straight PSAC title.

Frick, ranked No. 6 at 165 in Super Region 1, is ESU's third runner-up in the last five years, joining Shane Mallory (184, 2009-10) and Chris Birchler (285, 2007-08 and 2008-09). The Warriors' last PSAC champion was Scott Heckman (149) in 2006-07.

Redshirt senior Adam Hluschak (141), redshirt senior Andrew Ritchie (149), redshirt sophomore Braden Turner (157) and redshirt senior Ed Ebewo (197) all finished fourth in their respective weight classes. Hluschak, Turner and Ebewo joined Frick to give ESU four semifinalists, with Ebewo reaching the semifinals for the third straight season.

The Warriors finished sixth in the team standings with 64.0 points, just 2.5 points behind Mercyhurst, the top Division II finisher. ESU had four of the nine semifinalists among the five Division II schools in the PSAC.

Edinboro won the team title with 163.5 points, gaining six individual titles from its seven finalists. Bloomsburg was the runner-up with 150.0 points, followed by defending champion Clarion (124.0), Lock Haven (82.0), Mercyhurst (66.5), ESU (64.0), Gannon (60.0), Kutztown (40.5), Millersville (24.5) and Shippensburg (17.5). Frank Hickman of Bloomsburg, the 157-pound champion, was named the Outstanding Wrestler.

At 141, Hluschak, the No. 3 seed, won his quarterfinal match-up with Mitch Voelker (Kutztown), 12-1, before falling 4-0 to No. 2 seed Mitchell Port (Edinboro) in the semifinals. He came back with a 10-4 decision over Damien Hopper (Lock Haven) but was pinned in 6:48 by No. 1 seed Derek Shingara (Bloomsburg) in the consolation final. Hluschak and Shingara split their first two career meetings last season.

At 149, Ritchie was one of just four top-four placewinners that entered the tournament unseeded. He reached the consolation final with a first-period pin (2:30) of No. 5 Cameron Moran (Clarion) after posting decisions of 5-2 over Jackson Stabile (Kutztown) and 5-4 over James Reilley (Shippensburg) in the wrestlebacks.

He opened his day with a 12-0 major decision of Steve Hess (Millersville), then dropped a 15-6 major decision to No. 3 Bryce Busler (Bloomsburg) in the quarterfinals. Ritchie and Busler met again in the 3rd/4th place match with Busler emerging, 13-5.

Turner, seeded No. 4 at 157, had a 5-4 decision vs. Robert Blotzer (Gannon) and a 2-0 decision vs. No. 5 Casey Fuller (Edinboro) to reach the semifinal, where he was pinned late in the second period (4:53) by No. 1 seed and defending champion James Flemming (Clarion). He majored Blotzer, 14-4, in his first consolation bout and was edged by Fuller, 2-1, in the rematch of their quarterfinal match-up in the consolation final.

Ebewo, the No. 4 seed in a tough 197-pound weight class, opened with a 10-2 major decision against No. 5 Vinny Campanile (Kutztown) before running into No. 1 Christopher Honeycutt (Edinboro), ranked third nationally in Division I. Honeycutt posted a 17-2 technical fall over Ebewo in the semifinals on the way to his third straight PSAC championship.

In the consolations, Ebewo responded with a 29-second pin of Charles Sheaffer (Mercyhurst). He fell 2-1 in the consolation final to No. 3 Richard Perry (Bloomsburg), a reprisal of Perry's 3-1 decision in the Bloomsburg Duals last weekend.

Freshmen Chris Davis (125) and Zach Jones (133) reached the quarterfinals with opening-round victories, Davis with a 19-10 major decision of Tyler Mullarkey (Millersville) and Jones with an 11-8 decision of Nick LaFlair (Millersville).

Redshirt sophomore Brendan McKeown, the No. 4 seed at 174, began with a 2-1 decision of Ryan Darch (Clarion) before being pinned in 2:01 by No. 5 Shane Smith (Millersville) in the quarterfinals. He took a medical forfeit in his first consolation bout.

Junior Tony Vorndran wrestled for the Warriors at 184 and redshirt junior Joe Blaes wrestled up a weight class at 285. Both dropped both of their matches on Saturday.


125 – Chris Davis
Davis maj. dec. Tyler Mullarkey (Millersville), 19-10
No. 2 Sean Boylan (Bloomsburg) pinned Davis, 0:42
Desmond Moore (Kutztown) maj. dec. Davis, 13-4

133 – Zach Jones
Jones dec. Nick LaFlair (Millersville), 11-8
No. 2 Evan Yenolevich (Kutztown) pinned Jones, 0:46
Adam Weinell (Gannon) pinned Jones, 3:57

141 – No. 3 Adam Hluschak (placed 4th)
Hluschak maj. dec. No. 6 Mitch Voelker (Kutztown), 12-1
Semis – No. 2 Mitchell Port (Edinboro) dec. Hluschak, 4-0
Hluschak dec. Damien Hopper (Lock Haven), 10-4
3rd/4th – No. 1 Derek Shingara (Bloomsburg) pinned Hluschak, 6:48

149 – Andrew Ritchie (placed 4th)
Ritchie maj. dec. Steve Hess (Millersville), 12-0
No. 3 Bryce Busler (Bloomsburg) maj. dec. Ritchie, 15-6
Ritchie dec. Jackson Stabile (Kutztown), 5-2
Ritchie dec. James Reilley (Shippensburg), 5-4
Ritchie pinned No. 5 Cameron Moran (Clarion), 2:30
3rd/4th – No. 3 Bryce Busler (Bloomsburg) maj. dec. Ritchie, 13-5

157 – No. 4 Braden Turner (placed 4th)
Turner dec. Robert Blotzer (Gannon), 5-4
Turner dec. No. 5 Casey Fuller (Edinboro), 2-0
Semis – No. 1 James Fleming (Clarion) pinned Turner, 4:53
Turner maj. dec. Robert Blotzer (Gannon), 14-4
3rd/4th – No. 5 Casey Fuller (Edinboro) dec. Turner, 2-1

165 – No. 3 Thad Frick (placed 2nd)
Frick maj. dec. Adam Lamancusa (Mercyhurst), 17-8
Semis – Frick dec. No. 2 Kevin Hartnett (Bloomsburg), 6-4
Finals – No. 1 Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Clarion) dec. Frick, 12-5

174 – No. 4 Brendan McKeown
McKeown dec. Ryan Darch (Clarion), 2-1
No. 5 Shane Smith (Millersville) pinned McKeown, 2:01
Keith Stoerr (Gannon) over McKeown, med. forfeit

184 – Tony Vorndran
No. 2 Michael Pollard (Mercyhurst) pinned Vorndran, 3:38
Zack Zelcs (Gannon) maj. dec. Vorndran, 10-2

197 – No. 4 Ed Ebewo (placed 4th)
Ebewo maj. dec. No. 5 Vinny Campanile (Kutztown), 10-2
Semis – No. 1 Christopher Honeycutt (Edinboro) tech. fall Ebewo, 17-2 (5:37)
Ebewo pinned Charles Sheaffer (Mercyhurst), 0:29
3rd/4th – No. 3 Richard Perry (Bloomsburg) dec. Ebewo, 2-1

285 – Joe Blaes
No. 2 Ernest James (Edinboro) pinned Blaes, 0:45
Brendan Clark (Kutztown) dec. Blaes, 3-2