Due to the fact that the wrestling team from the University of Findlay goes by the name Roughnecks and the rest of the school's teams are known as the Oilers, the school always runs the risk that there could be some confusion surrounding the mat program.
On Sunday (Feb. 5) at AU's Kates Gymnasium, the Roughnecks took care of that problem even though they took on another name – 2012 GLIAC Champion. On this day, the Roughnecks looked strong up and down the lineup and showed why they have been included in the nation's Top 20 all year and why they were able to finish third at the rugged Midwest Classic.
The Roughnecks went 3-0 on Sunday with the biggest win a 21-9 verdict over Ashland. This is the only time the Eagles and Roughnecks will meet this season. The loss snapped a 10-match winning streak for the Eagles (11-2), who are ranked 12th in the nation. Findlay came to town ranked 19th in the nation. Sunday marked the first time the GLIAC sponsored a championship in wrestling.
"I thought we came out a little flat," said AU head coach Tim Dernlan. "Then they stepped up and outfought us. They did the little things to win."
AU was anything but flat line in its first two matches of the day. The Eagles overpowered Tiffin, 39-3 and Lake Erie, 36-3. Findlay found itself in a tense confrontation in its opener, having to fight from behind to edge Lake Erie, 20-15. The Roughnecks disposed of Tiffin, 38-7, then moved on to meet Ashland.
At 125 pounds, Ben Sergent was able to hold off senior Brandon Davis (Greensboro, N.C./Page), 4-3. Sophomore Adli Edwards (Gahanna, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), wrestling like he may never lose again, pulled the Eagles into a 3-3 deadlock with a 3-0 triumph over Shane Troyer at 133 pounds. Edwards is 14-4.
Shortly after that, trouble struck. At 141 pounds, Chris Andrews won a close call against freshman Clarence Longley (Clearwater, Fla./Largo), 3-2. Jeremy Espinoza followed with a 6-2 conquest of senior Marc Hoff (Liberty Center, Ohio) at 149 pounds and Dernlan sensed trouble.
"After that we knew we were in a hole," admitted the AU head coach. "We always need Davis to win. We knew he needed to win and he had beaten his kid earlier this year. He just didn't get that last takedown."
Junior Dan Genetin (Navarre, Ohio/Massillon Perry) temporarily stopped the bleeding with an 11-4 victory over Alex Betts at 157. Genetin was 3-0 on the day and earned first team All-GLIAC honors. He is 14-8 on the season.
"Dan did well today," Dernlan said. "He's started to settle in there."
Genetin's victory would be the last for AU until senior Jacob Southwick (Bowling Green, Ohio/Otsego) turned back Andrew Tumlin, 6-2 at 285 pounds. By the time the Southwick-Tumlin bout began the Eagles were behind, 21-6. Southwick's win gave him a 3-0 day with two pins. On the year, he is 20-3 with 11 pins.
Just about every weight class in the Ashland-Findlay match was close. As Dernlan pointed out, the Roughnecks found a way to win just about every time. There was no gnashing of teeth post match by the Eagles. The one positive to come from this is that on Feb. 24-25 when the Super Region 2 tournament is held at Central Oklahoma, the Eagles will have good, first-hand experience about what to do and not to do against the Oilers.
On the other side of the coin, the AU coaching staff will have to hope the Eagles' confidence didn't take a hit.
"We put ourselves in a little bit of a hole," said Dernlan. "We're going to be seeded behind Findlay guys in a lot of places. But our guys are strong enough to work through that."
Findlay's 174-pound Michael Lybarger was named the GLIAC Wrestler of the Year. He was 3-0 on Sunday and is ranked second in the country. Lake Erie's Zach Vargo, the GLIAC champ at 149 pounds, was named the GLIAC Freshman of the Year. Findlay's Shawn Nelson is the 2012 GLIAC Coach of the Year.
AU had three GLIAC first team picks – Edwards, Genetin and Southwick. Davis, Longley, senior 165-pounder Tommie Graszl (Mansfield, Ohio/Madison), freshman Kurt Schaefer (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern) and freshman Joe Brandt (Versailles, Ohio) were named to the second team. Schaefer wrestles at 184 and Brandt is at 197.
AU returns to the mat on Thursday, Feb. 9 (7 p.m.) when it hosts Ohio Valley.
2012 GLIAC Wrestling Championships
Sunday, Feb. 5, 2012
Kates Gymnasium, Ashland University, Ashland, Ohio
12 p.m. Matches
Ashland 39, Tiffin 3
125 – Brandon Davis (AU) wins by forfeit 3-0, AU
133 – Adli Edwards (AU) dec. Steven Pastor (T), 17-12 6-0, AU
141 – Clarence Longley (AU) dec. Jonathon McKenzie (T), 6-1 12-0, AU
149 – Marc Hoff (AU), maj. dec. Vince Gualtieri (T), 9-1 16-0, AU
157 – Dan Genetin (AU) maj. dec. Trevor Nickolai (T), 14-4 20-0, AU
165 – Tommie Graszl (AU) maj. dec. Christopher Baker (T), 11-3 24-0, AU
174 – Jake Cramer (T) dec. Bryson Hall (AU), 11-5 24-3, AU
184 – Kurt Schaefer (AU) dec. Kevin Christman (T), 5-3 27-3, AU
197 – Joe Brandt (AU) wins by forfeit 33-3, AU
285 – Jacob Southwick (AU) pins Derrick Eshelman (T), 1:16 39-3, AU
Findlay 20, Lake Erie 15
125 – Ben Sergent (UF) maj. dec. Austin Gillihan (LE), 11-1 4-0, UF
133 – Nick Weisjahn (UF) dec. Tom McVicker (LE), 10-9 7-0, UF
141 – Kevin Brunner (LE) pins Chris Andrews (UF), 4:23 7-6, UF
149 – Zach Vargo (LE) dec. Jeremy Espinoza (UF), 3-2 9-7, LE
157 – Nathan Ball (LE) dec. Alex Betts (UF), 8-4 12-7, LE
165 – Matt Vandermeer (LE) dec. Mason True (UF), 3-0 15-7, LE
174 – Michael Lybarger (UF) dec. Zev Green (LE), 5-0 15-10, LE
184 – Adam Walters (UF) dec. Josh Linden (LE), 6-2 15-13, LE
197 – Ashton Brown (UF) dec. Mike Samijlenko (LE), 9-4 16-15, UF
285 – Andrew Tumlin (UF) maj. dec. Bobby Zappitelli (LE), 10-1 20-15, UF
Noon Matches
Ashland 36, Lake Erie 3
125 – Brandon Davis (AU) dec. Austin Gillihan (LE), 8-5 3-0, AU
133 – Adli Edwards (AU) dec. Ian Ross (LE), 6-0 6-0, AU
141 – Clarence Longley (AU) maj. dec. Kevin Brunner (LE), 8-0 10-0, AU
149 – Zach Vargo (LE) dec. Marc Hoff (AU), 7-5 10-3, AU
157 – Dan Genetin (AU) pins Nathan Ball (LE), 4:06 16-3, AU
165 – Tom Graszl (AU) dec. Matt Vandermeer (LE), 3-2 19-3, AU
174 – Bryson Hall (AU) dec. Zev Green (LE), 9-4 21-3, AU
Ashland deducted one team point
184 – Kurt Schaefer (AU) pins Jon Schaefer (LE), 2:27 27-3, AU
197 – Joe Brandt (AU) dec. Mike Samijlenko (LE), 6-3 30-3, AU
285 – Jacob Southwick (AU) pins Bobby Zappitelli (LE), 3:32 36-3, AU
Findlay 38, Tiffin 7
125 – Ben Sergent (UF) wins by forfeit 6-0, UF
133 – Steven Pastor (T) maj. dec. Nick Weisjahn (UF), 12-2 6-4, UF
141 – Chris Andrews (UF) dec. Jonathan McKenzie (T), 1-0 9-4, UF
149 – Jeremy Espinoza (UF) tech. fall Kyle Begg (T), 18-3 14-4, UF
157 – Trevor Nickolia (T) maj. dec. Alex Betts (UF), 7-0 14-8, UF
165 – Mason True (UF) dec. Christopher Baker (T), 8-2 17-8, UF
174 – Michael Lybarger (UF) pins Jacob Cramer (T), 4:42 23-7, UF
(Tiffin deducted one team point)
184 – Adam Walters (UF) dec. Kevin Christman (T), 7-4 26-7, UF
197 – Ashton Brown (UF) wins by forfeit 32-7, UF
285 – Andrew Tumlin (UF) pins Derrick Eshelman (T), 2:45 38-7, UF
2 p.m. Matches
Findlay 21, Ashland 9
125 – Ben Sergent (UF) dec. Brandon Davis (AU), 4-3 3-0, UF
133 – Adli Edwards (AU) dec. Shane Troyer (UF), 3-0 3-3
141 – Chris Andrews (UF) dec. Clarence Longley (AU), 3-2 6-3, UF
149 – Jeremy Espinoza (UF) dec. Marc Hoff (AU), 6-2 9-3, UF
157 – Dan Genetin (AU) dec. Alex Betts (UF), 11-4 9-6, UF
165 – Mason True (UF) dec. Tommie Graszl (AU), 9-5 12-6, UF
174 – Michael Lybarger (UF) dec. Bryson Hall (AU), 3-1 15-6, UF
184 – Adam Walters (UF) dec. Kurt Schaefer (AU), 7-5 18-6, UF
197 – Ashton Brown (UF) dec. Joe Brandt (AU), 7-4 21-6, UF
285 – Jacob Southwick (AU) dec. Andrew Tumlin (UF), 6-2 21-9, UF
Lake Erie 34, Tiffin 7
125 – Austin Gillihan (LE) wins by forfeit 6-0, LE
133 – Ian Ross (LE) dec. Stephen Pastor (T), 2-1 9-0, LE
141 – Jonathon McKenzie (T) maj. dec. Kevin Brunner LE), 13-3 9-4, LE
149 – Zach Vargo (LE) dec. Vince Gualtieri (T), 7-2 12-4, LE
157 – Tyler Tesny (LE) maj. dec. Trevor Nickolia (T), 10-1 16-4, LE
165 – Matt Vandermeer (LE) dec. Christopher Baker (T), 7-3 19-4, LE
174 – Jacob Cramer (T) dec. Zev Green (LE), 7-5 19-7, LE
184 – Josh Linden (LE) dec. Kevin Christman (T), 12-9 22-7, LE
197 – Mike Samijlenko (LE) wins by forfeit 28-7, LE
285 – Bobby Zappitelli (LE) pins Derrick Eshelman (T), 4:36 34-7, LE
GLIAC Champion – Findlay
GLIAC Runner-up – Ashland
Third Place – Lake Erie
Fourth Place – Tiffin
2012 All-GLIAC Wrestling Team
Weight First Team Second Team
125 Ben Sergent, Findlay Brandon Davis, Ashland
133 Adli Edwards, Ashland Nick Weisjahn, Findlay
141 Chris Andrews, Findlay Clarence Longley, Ashland
149 Zach Vargo, Lake Erie Jeremy Espinoza, Findlay
157 Dan Genetin, Ashland Tyler Tesny, Lake Erie
165 Mason True, Findlay Tommie Graszl, Ashland
174 Michael Lybarger, Findlay Jacob Cramer, Tiffin
184 Adam Walters, Findlay Kurt Schaefer, Ashland
197 Ashton Brown, Findlay Joe Brandt, Ashland
285 Jacob Southwick, Ashland Andrew Tumlin, Findlay
GLIAC Freshman of the Year – Zach Vargo, Lake Erie
GLIAC Wrestler of the Year – Michael Lybarger, Findlay
GLIAC Coach of the Year – Shawn Nelson, Findlay
AU
WREST/ALK
