Ten PSAC (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) teams and 100 athletes will travel to Mercyhurst  on Saturday, December 10, searching for PSAC “Gold” at the 69th Annual Wrestling Championships.
 
            Action gets underway at 9:00am Saturday, at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center, with two rounds of championship matches and two rounds of consolation bouts.
 
            The championship finals, which will include matches for third and fifth place, will begin at 6:00pm.
 
            All Session passes for adults ($12) and students ($2), as well as individual session tickets for adults ($7) and students ($2) will be available at the door. Free admission for all college students from member institutions with a valid ID.
 
            PCN will be televising the finals live – at 6pm – with Doug Heater and Darren Danner providing the   play-by-play and color commentary.
 
            A championship steeped in great tradition, the 69th PSAC Championship will feature the return of 10 individual PSAC champions  from last year's PSAC Championship.
 
            Edinboro is a slight pre-tournament favorite, given the fact that the Fighting Scots have 5 top 20 ranked wrestlers in the latest Division I rankings and Edinboro is ranked 25^th in the latest NWCA Coaches Poll.
 
            Defending champion Clarion should be in the mix to try and defend its title with 4 top 20 ranked wrestlers, while Bloomsburg is also very talented, has two ranked wrestlers, and has three returning PSAC champions.
 
            Edinboro has won eleven of the last fourteen PSAC team titles including 2009, 2008, 2007 (Dec.), 2007 (Jan.), 2006, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 and 1998. Defending Champion Clarion (2010) won three team titles in the 1990's (1994, 92, 91) and has 14 PSAC titles to its credit. Bloomsburg won the team title in 2005 and Lock Haven won the team crown in 2001.
 
            In the history of the PSAC's Lock Haven leads with 19 team titles, Clarion and Bloomsburg have 14 each, Edinboro have 13 each, East Stroudsburg and Millersville 2 each. West Chester won 3 team crowns and Slippery Rock one, but both schools no longer have wrestling. Gannon and Mercyhurst will be competing for the third time since joining PSAC.
 
            Bloomsburg hosted the 2010 PSAC title that was won by Clarion for the first time since 1994. The Golden Eagles scored 135.5 points, Bloomsburg was second with 110.5, Edinboro third at 109, Lock Haven fourth with 93 and Gannon fifth with 54.5 points. Rounding out the ten team field were sixth place Millersville with 53.5 points, Mercyhurst seventh with 52.5, East Stroudsburg eighth with 48, Shippensburg ninth with 41 and Kutztown tenth with 35 points.
 
            In 2009 at Edinboro, the Scots won the team title with Edinboro scoring 142.5, Bloomsburg second with 134.5, Clarion third with 110, Lock Haven fourth at 99.5, Gannon fifth with 62, E. Stroudsburg sixth with 49.5, Kutztown seventh with 48 points, Mercyhurst eighth at 47.5, Millersville ninth with 43.5 and Shippensburg tenth at 40.
 
            Mercyhurst hosted the 2008 Championship and Edinboro won the team title with 173.5 points, Bloomsburg was second with 108, Clarion third at 101, Lock Haven fourth with 90.5, Mercyhurst fifth with 60, Gannon sixth at 59, E. Stroudsburg seventh with 54, Kutztown eighth with 46, Shippensburg ninth at 29.5 and Millersville tenth with 23 points.
 
            In December of 2007 Clarion hosted the PSAC Championship and Edinboro won the team title with 152.5 points, with Bloomsburg second at 118.5 and Clarion third with 88.5. Rounding out the 8 team field was Lock Haven fourth with 76 points, Shippensburg fifth at 62, Millersville sixth with 51.5, East Stroudsburg seventh at 46 and Kutztown eighth with 34 points.
 
            In January of 2007 at Bloomsburg's Nelson Field House, Edinboro won the team title with 147.5 points, Bloomsburg was second with 119, Lock Haven third with 111.5, Clarion fourth at 79, East Stroudsburg fifth with 57, Millersville sixth with 44.5, Kutztown seventh at 43.5 and Shippensburg eighth with 23 points.
 
            The Fighting Scots, under 15th year head coach Tim Flynn, enter the tournament with a deceiving 0-1 dual meet record having lost 22-15 to Kent State. The Scots are led by #3 ranked Chris Honeycutt at 197, #8 ranked A.J. Schopp at 133, #10 ranked David Habat at 149, #18 Mitchell Port at 141 and #20 rated Ernest James at heavyweight.
 
            Bloomsburg, led by seventh year head coach John Stutzman, has a 3-3 dual meet record. The Huskies have defeated F&M (27-10), George Mason (26-15) and East Stroudsburg (41-4), while losing to Maryland (26-6), Penn State (39-3) and Penn (26-12). Top wrestlers include #12 rated Frank Hickman at 157 and #16 ranked Richard Perry at 197. Returning PSAC Champions Nick Wilcox (133), Derek Shingara (141) and Mike Dessino (174)  headline a quality team.
 
            Clarion, under first year head coach Matt Dernlan, enters the PSAC's with a dual met record of 0-2, having lost to #7 Illinois (34-13) and #8 Lehigh (27-12). The Golden Eagles feature four ranked wrestlers including #6 rated James Fleming at 157, #7 Bekzod Abdurakhmonov at 165, #16 Quintas McCorkle at heavyweight and #20 Alex Thomas at 197.
 
            Clarion's lineup for the PSAC's will be: Trey Hicks (4-7, Jr. Amityville, N.Y.) at 125; Joe Waltko (6-5, Jr. Allison Park, North Allegheny) at 133; Tyler Bedelyon (5-6, So. Lewistown, Indian Valley) at 141; Cameron Moran (4-5, Sr. James City, Kane) at 149, James Fleming (7-0, Jr. West Mifflin, West Mifflin) at 157, Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (9-2, Sr. Tashkent, Uzbekistan) at 165, Ryan Darch (5-6, R-Fr.. Batavia, N.Y.) at 174, Steven Cressley (7-4, Jr. Punxsutawney) at 184, Alex Thomas (12-6, Jr. Seaford, De., Sussex Tech) at 197 and Quintas McCorkle (11-4, Sr. Alexandria, Va.) at heavyweight.
 
            Here's a weight by weight look at the PSAC's - (Ranked wrestlers with highest ranking according to either AWN or Intermat - records in parenthesis):
 
            125: Bloomsburg's Sean Boylan (5-7) placed second here a year ago, Mercyhurst's Ryan Bohince (11-5) was 4^th here in 2010 and Clarion's Trey Hicks was fifth here in 2009. They are the only returning placewinners. Edinboro's Kory Mines (6-6), LH's Bobby Rehm (19-7) and Kutztown's Desmond Moore (6-4) could all be in the mix.
 
            133: What a talented weight class. Returning 125 champion Evan Yenolevich 8-1 (Kutztown) won the title while a member of Edinboro squad last year, while last year's 133 champion Nick Wilcox (10-8) of Bloomsburg also returns. Edinboro's #8 A.J. Schopp (14-1) will likely be the favorite here, Clarion's Joe Waltko (6-5) was second here last year and LH's John Trumbetti was third here in 2009. Mercyhurst's Kody Young (12-2), from nearby Punxy, could place here.
 
            141: 2010 Champion Derek Shingara (8-4) of Bloomsburg returns to defend his title. Edinboro freshman #18 Mitchell Port (9-4) is ready to challenge, along with ESU's Adam Hluschak (11-1) who was 4^th last year and 5^th in 2009, Shipp's Simon Rice was 5^th at 133 last year and KU's Mitch Voelker was 6^th at 141 last year. Clarion's Tyler Bedelyon (5-6) hopes to place high. Millersville's Josh Ruppert (4-1) also looks to place high.
 
            149: Edinboro freshman #10 Dave Habat (14-4) will be the favorite at 149. Gannon's Ethan Swope , who was 2^nd here last year, hopes to challenge as does Clarion's Cameron Moran (4-5), who was second at 141 last year. LH's Owen Wilkinson (12-5) was third at 141 in 2009. Bloom's Bryce Busler (7-2) will challenge.
 
            157: Clarion's #6 James Fleming (7-0) is the defending champion and favorite at 157.  Fleming was also 4^th at 149 in 2009. #12 ranked Frank Hickman (8-2) of Bloomsburg was third here last year and the champ at 141 in 2009. Edinboro's Casey Fuller (10-6), LH's Jake Kemerer (9-5)and Mercyhurst's Jordan Shields (7-1) could challenge. Shields was 6^th here last year and 6^th at 149 in 2009.
 
            165: Clarion's #7 Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (9-2) is the defending champion and top seed in this weight class. Kutztown's Ricky Pena (0-4) was 4^th here a year ago and LH's Seth Creasey (4-5) 5^th at 157 in 2010. Other top wrestlers are Bloom's Kevin Hartnett (10-5), Edinboro's Ethan Saylor (5-4), Adam Lamancusa (5-7) of Mercyhurst and ESU's Thad Frick (8-2).
 
            174: Bloomsburg's Mike Dessino (9-4) is the defending champion and 2010 runner-up Shane Smith (0-3) of Millersville also returns. Smith was 4^th in 2009 and 6^th in 2008. Edinboro's Chris Hrunka (8-6) was 5^th here a year ago. Clarion freshman Ryan Darch (5-6), LH Aaron McKinney (4-10) and Mercyhurst's August Mizia (8-5) all will look to place.
 
            184: This could be the most open weight class of the PSAC championships. Clarion's Steven Cressley (7-4) was third here a year ago and 6^th at 174 in 2009. ESU's Brendan McKeown (3-4) was fifth here last year, Mercyhurst's Michael Pollard (8-2) was third at 197 last year and Shipp's Tyler Zittle was 5^th at 197. Edinboro's Vic Avery (8-6), Bloom's Sam Shirey (9-6), LH's Zach Hefner (4-6) and Kutztown's Giovanni Ortiz (7-6) are all in the mix.
 
            197: Although Clarion's #20 rated Alex Thomas (12-6) is the two-time defending champion and returning “OW” from 2010, Edinboro's #3 Chris Honeycutt (15-0) will be the favorite here. Honeycutt was the champion at 184 in 2008. Also hoping to make the finals will be Bloom's #16 Richard Perry (11-4), while last year's 6^th place finisher Ed Ebewo of ESU and KU's Vinny Campanile (7-5) look to place.
 
            285: Five of the top 6 placewinners return here from last year including defending champion Harry Turner (13-7) of Lock Haven and runner-up #20 Ernest James (12-4) of Edinboro. Clarion's #16 rated Quintas McCorkle (11-4) was third here last year and 5^th in 2009, while Bloom's Zac Walsh (8-4) was 4^th here in 2010, 09 and 08. Shipp's Daniel Estricher (5-1) was 6^th here last year.
 
CLARION NOTES: Clarion goes to the PSAC's with 111 individual champions in its history...The Eagles were third in 2009, 2008 and third in 2007... the Eagles were 2^nd in 1996 and 95 ... Clarion won three team titles in the 90's – 1991, 92 and 1994.