The 2015–16 Cleveland State Wrestling Preview
To look at Cleveland State wrestling’s off-season, you could have easily had envisioned an announcer from a 1930s radio show go over what took place in the previous episode. It probably would have went something like this:
“When we last left the Vikings, our heroes were hanging perilously off the cliff of financial ruin after getting cut off at the hands of…the Athletic Director!”
It’s true that as part of John Parry’s plan to add men’s lacrosse, wrestling would be left for fund itself, needing hundreds of thousands of dollars to keep the lights on after 2015–16 and millions more to be endowed permanently.
Within two weeks of this announcement, however, a combination of students, alumni and community members successfully turned the tide, and Parry reversed himself. And thanks to a small General Fee increase, wrestling will remain at Cleveland State.
So with that drama quickly erased, the Vikings, led by head coach Ben Stehura, have gotten back to the business of capitalizing on its 7–3 dual meet record and fourth place showing at the Eastern Wrestling League championships.
This season, Cleveland State is led by the defending champion at heavyweight, Riley Shaw. The senior from Washington, Ohio went 31–4 last season and qualified for the NCAA Nationals for the second year in a row, advancing to the second day of action.
He also spent last year nationally ranked, and it’s not surprising that he starts the new campaign ranked ninth in the country by Flowrestling.com. He is a heavy favorite to repeat as league champion and could become the first Viking to earn an All-American spot since Dan Carcelli in 1995.
Joining Shaw will be fellow seniors Xavier Dye, who finished fourth at 184 pounds, and Alfredo Gray and Michael Carlone, who finished fifth in the EWL at 133 pounds and 141 pounds, respectively. Gray finished his junior season particularly strong, picking up an EWL Athlete of the Week award in February, and besting 21st-ranked and former EWL champ Rob Deutsch of Rider.
Another EWL top five finisher coming back is junior Nick Corba, who probably had one of the most active off-seasons of any of the Cleveland State wrestlers. Departing from his 174-pound weight class to wrestle at 185 pounds, Corba won the United World Wrestling National Championship in Las Vegas. With the win, he qualified to represent the United States at the Junior World Championships in Brazil this past August.
Fellow junior Nick Montgomery came within a hair of also qualifying for the NCAAs last year at 149 pounds. Gabe Stark also finished fourth and will gold down the Vikings at 165 pounds this season.
The biggest hole to be filled on the CSU roster will be at 125 pounds, as Ben Willeford, who joined Shaw as an NCAA qualifier, has graduated. That task of filling his shoes will be left to sophomore Nick DeRosa.
Even under the specter of defunding, the Vikings were busy on the recruiting trail, and will bring in six freshman to take the squad into the future. They include a pair of grapplers from Edison High School in Milan, Evan Cheek and Jacob Worthington, John Vaughn of Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania, a Michigan state champion in Grant Turnmire, Tallmadge’s Terrell Grant and Nick Montgomery’s brother Ryan, who placed eighth in states last year.
Incoming freshmen won’t be the only new faces for CSU. Stehura has added two to his coaching staff. Two-time All-American and longtime Kent State assistant Josh Moore has arrived on as a Viking assistant, and Fred Garcia, who finished his career at EWL rival Lock Haven as a three-time NCAA qualifier, will serve as a graduate assistant.
The schedule provides some familiar faces to Cleveland State wrestling fans, including a home meet with John Carroll, a trip to the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, Tennessee and the full slate of EWL teams. The big meet will come on November 24th, when the Vikings play host to defending national champions
Originally published at cleveland.morethanafan.net on October 9, 2015.
