Cleveland State Intrasquad Scrimmage
Dan Cosimi- OhioWrestling.Net
October 26, 2007

Cleveland State opened their season with an intrasquad scrimmage Friday night at Woodling gymnasium.

The biggest match of the night came at 285 pounds, where redshirt freshman Eric Schwartz defeated NCAA qualifier Rashard Goff by a 3-2 decision on a takedown with ten seconds left in the bout. Schwartz defeated Jeff Schuller 7-3 in a previous bout. When asked about the match and the future of the starting spot at this weight class, head coach Jack Effner commented, "I knew the match would be close. Eric hit a big move at the end and that was it. Nothing needs to be set now; we have a few weeks of open tournaments before we decide who will be in the starting lineup." Goff and Schwartz have both already taken their redshirt year.

Senior Ryan Riggs won the 125 pound spot over true freshman Matt Reynolds with a 10-0 major decision despite battling illness. Josh Palivoda, a true freshman from Marysville, won the starting spot at 133 pounds on the strength of two major decision victories. Assistant coach Anthony Coleman said, "Palivoda is a freshman wrestling like a veteran. He has already passed the point on the learning curve that most freshmen start at." The former starter at 133 pounds, senior David Armstrong, is taking an Olympic redshirt and is currently training for the Sunkist Open, where he will compete in Greco-Roman at 60 kilograms (132 pounds).

At 141 pounds, an anticipated matchup between senior Mike Hurley and Antonio Nicholson, an accomplished wrestler at West Liberty State and a Solon native, was postponed because of an injury sustained in practice that will keep Hurley out for a few weeks. Returning NCAA qualifier Ryan Hurley is again the starter at 149 pounds after wins of 11-4 and 10-2.

Rob Michaels is a new face in the lineup, but he will soon be one of the most well-known of the Vikings as he appears to be wrestling at the top of his game right now. The redshirt freshman dominated Dustin Doty in the 157 pound wrestle-off and won a commanding 10-1 major decision over Nate Kmetz to cap the night. Marcus Effner reclaimed his starting spot at 165 pounds with a close 6-5 victory over Kmetz. (The Effner/Kmetz match was wrestled first because it was the wrestle-off.) Effner qualified for the NCAA tournament as a true freshman in 2005.

After sitting out last season while redshirting, J.T. Miller returns to the Vikings' lineup at 174 pounds. He defeated Caleb Kennedy in a 6-0 decision in his only bout of the night. Kennedy will now battle with Ben Balogh for the starting spot at 184 pounds, though that match was not wrestled at this event. Chris Hahn, who may also be in the mix to start at 184, was unable to wrestle. At 197 pounds, true freshman Alek Hughes will be the starter and looked sharp in his only match, a pin in 1:08.

Jack Effner was pleased at his team's performance at this point, but is already looking forward to the season. "This is a rehearsal for the season. Wrestling in the practice room is one thing, but getting ready and coming up here to wrestle in front of the crowd is another. This gave our wrestlers their first experience of the season." It also gave many of the wrestlers their first experience ever on a college mat, as there were quite a few freshmen wrestling in the scrimmage. The overall vibe of the staff was that they were very pleased with how the wrestling looked, especially the progress of the youngsters on the Vikings' squad.

CSU Green 40, CSU White 6
125: Ryan Riggs (White) md. Matt Reynolds (Green) 10-0
125/133: Matt Waxman (Green) dec. Matt Reynolds (White) 7-3
125/141: Lawrence Cavello (Green) pin Ryan Riggs (White) 4:21
133: Josh Palivoda (Green) md. Matt Waxman (White) 8-0
133: Josh Palivoda (Green) md. Mike Mitchell (White) 14-5
133/141: T.J. Chappelear (Green) dec. Mike Mitchell (White) 3-2
141: Antonio Nicholson (Green) dec. Lawrence Cavello (White) 4-1
141: Antonio Nicholson (Green) dec. T.J. Chappelear (White) 13-1
149: Ryan Hurley (Green) dec. Shaun Mitchell (White) 11-4
149: Ryan Hurley (Green) md. Dan Castillo (White) 10-2
149: Dan Castillo (Green) dec. Tyler Young (White) 7-5
149: Mike McLaughlin (White) dec. Thomas Schwartz (Green) 7-5
149: Mike McLaughlin (White) default Tim Vlcek (Green)
149: Thomas Schwartz (Green) dec. William McCollie (White) 7-0
149: Shaun Mitchell (Green) dec. Tyler Young (White) 10-3
149: Dan Castillo (Green) dec. William McCollie (White) 9-3
157: Rob Michaels (Green) dec. Dustin Doty (White) 2:28
157/165: Marcus Effner (Green) pin Dustin Doty (White) 1:40
157/165: Rob Michaels (Green) md. Nate Kmetz (White) 10-1
165: Marcus Effner (Green) dec. Nate Kmetz (White) 6-5
174: Gerred Tolson (Green) dec. Caleb Kennedy (White) 3-1
174/184: J.T. Miller (Green) dec. Caleb Kennedy (White) 6-0
174/184: Gerred Tolson (Green) dec. Ben Balogh (White) 5-3
184/197: Alek Hughes (White) pin Ben Balogh (Green) 1:08
285: Eric Schwartz (Green) dec. Jeff Schuller (White) 3-2
285: Eric Schwartz (Green) dec. Rashard Goff (White) 7-3