Winners of four straight, the Clarion Golden Eagles ride a wave of momentum west to Ohio for a tri-meet at Kent State on Saturday (Jan. 31), taking on Long Island at 2 p.m. and the homestanding Golden Flashes afterward (6 p.m.). 

Clarion at a Glance
Clarion (4-3 overall) is coming off a big win against Bloomsburg on Thursday (Jan. 29). That victory, in which the Golden Eagles won seven of 10 bouts, five earning bonus points, ran their home record to 2-0.

This weekend Clarion (1-2 in away duals, 2-2 in the MAC) looks to tip both its road and conference records to the positive. 

Travis Clawson (125 pounds) and Joey Fischer (133 pounds) lead the team with 6-1 dual meet records. Clawson (16-5) has won five straight, while Fischer (14-7) is the winner of his past two. John Meyers (285 pounds) has won his last three outings, two by fall. He is 4-4 overall. Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (165 pounds) is 14-6 and victorious his past two outings, as has 184-pounder Adrian Gacek (9-9).

The MAC's January individual ranking has Clawson third at his weight, while Fisher and Herrera-Rondon are both fourth at theirs. Other Golden Eagles with winning records are 157-pounder Wesly Barnes (12-7), 174-pounder Gabe Lily (10-8), and141-pounder Scott Johnson (9-6).

Long Island (LIU) at a Glance
LIU (1-11 overall) has dropped four straight and are 0-3 in neutral site duals. The Sharks' most recent outing was a January 16 loss to American, 38-7, in Washington, D.C. They last won on December 9, a 43-11 victory over Nassau Community College.  Like Clarion, LIU has lost to Columbia, 35-12 (Jan. 3), and Lock Haven, 48-6 (Jan. 8). On December 9, LIU was defeated by Bloomsburg, 20-13, a team Clarion just dominated (Jan. 29).

Brayden Roberts (157 pounds) is the only potential starter with a winning record, 14-7. The EIWA January rankings have him fourth among the conference's 157-pounders. The Sharks' Anthoy D'Alesio (4-9) was an NCAA qualifier in 2024, the program's first since it started competing at the Division I level in 2019-2020.

Clarion vs. Long Island (LIU)
Clarion first squared off with LIU in January 2023, winning 33-6. The Golden Eagles are undefeated against the Sharks since, having won twice since that first dual.

The Golden Eagles most recently downed the Sharks on Long Island, 19-15, during January 2025. At that match (Jan. 26), Clawson, Barnes, and Ethan Wiant earned decisions for Clarion. Adrian Gacek of Clarion and D'Alesio, possible opponents at 184-pounds Saturday, scrapped during the January 2025 dual, the Sharks grappler prevailing in sudden victory.

When the teams met in 2024 (Jan. 21), a 39-6 Golden Eagles' win, Fischer had a pin and Hererra-Rondon a major. In the match, potential Saturday 197-pound foes Wiant and John Dusza wrestled, the LIU grappler winning a decision.

Kent State at a Glance
The Golden Flashes are 5-6 (1-4 in the MAC). They are 3-2 at home. Kent State has lost its previous three matches, all against MAC opponents. Last weekend, they fell on the road to Northern Illinois (Jan. 23), 19-17, followed by SIUE (Jan. 24), 31-3. The Golden Flashes last won prior to the holiday season, a victory at home against Chattanooga (Dec. 19), 28-12. Similarly to Clarion, Kent State beat Gardner-Webb (20-14) and Buffalo (22-10), both December 13, and lost to Rider (28-10) on January 8.

The January MAC rankings have 285-pounder Brentan Simmerman (8-7) at #3 and 197-pounder Blake Schaffer (15-6) at #4. Schaffer, an NCAA qualifier in 2024, was named MAC West Wrestler of the Week on Dec. 16.

Other potential starters with winning records include 133-pounder Nick Molchak (13-11), 149-pounder Silas Stits (18-10), 157-pounder Reese Stephen (9-6), 165-pounder Chris Earnest (10-6), 174-pounder Ethan Barr (13-9), and 184-pounder Ronald Dimmerling (8-6).

Clarion vs. Kent State
The last time Clarion and Kent State squared off, the Golden Eagles took a neutral site victory in Brookville, N.Y., 23-12 (Jan. 26, 2025). It was Clarion's third consecutive victory over the Golden Flashes, a series the Golden Eagles lead 16-11 since the teams' first dual during February 1984 (also a Clarion win, 30-9).

In last year's match, Clawson and Gacek both won major decisions. Wiant lost a decision against his potential Saturday opponent, Schaffer. He will be looking for his first win in four goes with the Golden Flash grappler. Fischer has a 2-1 record in duals against Kent State.

Clarion is 4-4 at Kent State and 5-1 in conference matches.

Clawson majored Nico Calello, his possible opponent this weekend, last season (Dec. 20, 2024). Clarion heavyweight John Meyers is 1-1 against Kent State counterpart, Simmerman. Meyers' victory came in his first bout wearing a Golden Eagles singlet (the Clarion Open in November 2023).