SHIPPENSBURG – East Stroudsburg University shuffled its lineup and nearly pulled out a regional dual win at Shippensburg on Thursday night, falling to the Raiders 21-20 at Heiges Field House after the Warriors won three of the last four weight classes.

ESU pushed three of its top wrestlers – redshirt sophomore Braden Turner (157), redshirt senior Thad Frick (165) and redshirt senior Ed Ebewo (197) – up a weight class and came away with victories in two of those matches, but ended a point short in the final tally.

Shippensburg led 18-8 going into the 174-pound bout, where Frick – ranked No. 6 in Super Region 1 at 165 – used a first-period takedown to score a 3-2 upset of Luke Etter, ranked No. 2 at 174.

Ship won by decision at 184 and forfeited at 197, leaving ESU behind 21-17 with one bout remaining at 285.

Ebewo, ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 7 in Division II at 197, took the mat at 285 for the second time in his career needing a major decision to tie the match or technical fall or fall to earn the victory. Ebewo posted a 5-1 decision against Daniel Estricher, ranked No. 4 in the region at 285 – but Estricher avoided bonus points to give Ship a one-point win. Ebewo had a first-period takedown and escapes in the second and third, with each wrestler docked a point for warnings or stalling.

ESU won two of the first three bouts by major decision to take an early 8-6 advantage. Freshman Zach Jones won a 9-1 major over Colton Keck at 125, with Shippensburg answering with a first-period pin from Cody Myers, ranked No. 4 in the region at 133.

Redshirt senior Adam Hluschak improved to 24-6 at 141 with a 9-0 major of Simon Rice, his seventh straight victory, all by bonus points. Hluschak, ranked No. 3 in the region, had a takedown and three-point near fall to take control in the first period en route to his eighth major decision and 15th bonus-point win of the season.

Shippensburg came back with a decision at 149, pin at 157 and another decision at 165 to take its 18-8 advantage. Kenny Stank had a 5-0 decision over redshirt senior Andrew Ritchie at 149, John Lindquist won by fall in the first period at 157 and Neal Grudi had a 6-2 decision over Turner at 165.

Turner and Frick both wrestled up to their respective weights for the first time in their careers. Frick improved to 19-6 on the season and 9-3 in duals, while Turner fell to 19-10 overall and 10-5 in duals.

Ebewo, 11-3 overall, improved to 2-0 at 285 with both wins over regionally-ranked opponents. He won a 2-1:ot decision over Seton Hill's Ron Oswald to give ESU a 22-19 dual victory on December 17.

ESU is idle this weekend and hosts Division III Centenary in its next dual action on Friday, February 3 at 7 p.m. at Koehler Fieldhouse.


Shippensburg 21, ESU 20
125 – Zach Jones (ESU) maj. dec. Colton Keck, 9-1; ESU 4-0
133 – Cody Myers (Ship) pinned Chris Davis, 1:33; Ship 6-4
141 – Adam Hluschak (ESU) maj. dec. Simon Rice, 9-0; ESU 8-6
149 – Kenny Stank (Ship) dec. Andrew Ritchie, 5-0; Ship 9-8
157 – John Lindquist (Ship) pinned Michael Honeywell, 1:02; Ship 15-8
165 – Neal Grudi (Ship) dec. Braden Turner, 6-2; Ship 18-8
174 – Thad Frick (ESU) dec. Luke Etter, 3-2; Ship 18-11
184 – Tyler Zittle (Ship) dec. Tony Vorndran, 6-2; Ship 21-11
197 – Zachary Koller (ESU) won by forfeit; Ship 21-17
285 – No. 7 Ed Ebewo (ESU) dec. Daniel Estricher, 5-1; Ship 21-20
* Ebewo ranked #7 at 197 in DII

SR 1 rankings:
133 – Myers (Ship) #4
141 – Hluschak (ESU) #3
165 – Turner (ESU) #6 157
174 – Frick (ESU) #6 165; Etter (Ship) #2
285 – Ebewo (ESU) #1 197; Estricher (Ship) #4