2008 Woodie Awards
Rock wrestler wins PSAC
By Mike Mallory
Rocket Editor-in-Chief
Issue date: 2/4/05 Section: Sports
The Slippery Rock wrestling team competed in the PSAC Championships in East Stroudsburg over the weekend, culminating with Charlie Pienaar's first place finish in the 184-pound division.
Pienaar, a sophomore, is the 28th wrestler in Rock history to win a PSAC Championship.
Pienaar won a decision over Edinboro's Jim Gibson, 2-0, to win the championship. In the first round, Pienaar beat Jesse Hasseman of Bloomsburg, 4-1, and defeated Sean McCracken of East Stroudsburg, 3-1 in the semifinals.
Coach Derek DelPorto said he was very impressed with Pienaar's performance; especially considering Pienaar is only a sophomore wrestler.
"I was really impressed by the poise of (Pienaar) throughout the weekend," DelPorto said. "He wrestled controlled and confident, earning his first PSAC title. He's not the flashiest wrestler in the country, but he's hard to score on, escapes every time and is good on top. Solid in all three positions will make you hard to beat, and that's what (Pienaar) is right now."
Bloomsburg gained the highest overall score for the tournament, collecting 149.5 points. Edinboro finished second with 134.5 points and East Stroudsburg placed third with 104.5 points. The Rock finished ninth out of nine participating teams with a total of 35 points.
The Rock dug themselves a hole early in the tournament, picking up only five points during the Friday portion of the weekend (Pienaar's first round victory).
Due to difficulties throughout this season, the Rock was not seeded for the tournament, which forced them to face some of the number one and number two seeds in the state.
Three of the Rock's losses were to three eventual champions of the tournament. That included the 141 pound weight class, as SRU's Tony Monroig lost a fall to Frank Edgar of Clarion, the 149-pound class as the Rock's Jake Zeoli fell to Lock Haven's Josh Medina and at the heavyweight level as SRU's Matt Burkholder lost to Stanley Foster of East Stroudsburg.
"We peaked our heads out of the water going into the finals matches, as we were in seventh place nudging sixth, but couldn't maintain it with all three guys in the consolation rounds losing," DelPorto said.
Three SRU wrestlers garnered sixth place finishes for the tournament, including Cory Mancuso (157 pounds), John Marsh (133 pounds) and Gerald Christian (165 pounds). The Rock did not send a 125-pound wrestler to the tournament.
Next up for the Rock is the East Regional Duals Saturday at Morrow Field House. The match is set to begin at 10 a.m. SRU will then remain home to host the University of Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday night. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.
For more information about Charlie Pienaar, read his feature on page B-2.
Pienaar, a sophomore, is the 28th wrestler in Rock history to win a PSAC Championship.
Pienaar won a decision over Edinboro's Jim Gibson, 2-0, to win the championship. In the first round, Pienaar beat Jesse Hasseman of Bloomsburg, 4-1, and defeated Sean McCracken of East Stroudsburg, 3-1 in the semifinals.
Coach Derek DelPorto said he was very impressed with Pienaar's performance; especially considering Pienaar is only a sophomore wrestler.
"I was really impressed by the poise of (Pienaar) throughout the weekend," DelPorto said. "He wrestled controlled and confident, earning his first PSAC title. He's not the flashiest wrestler in the country, but he's hard to score on, escapes every time and is good on top. Solid in all three positions will make you hard to beat, and that's what (Pienaar) is right now."
Bloomsburg gained the highest overall score for the tournament, collecting 149.5 points. Edinboro finished second with 134.5 points and East Stroudsburg placed third with 104.5 points. The Rock finished ninth out of nine participating teams with a total of 35 points.
The Rock dug themselves a hole early in the tournament, picking up only five points during the Friday portion of the weekend (Pienaar's first round victory).
Due to difficulties throughout this season, the Rock was not seeded for the tournament, which forced them to face some of the number one and number two seeds in the state.
Three of the Rock's losses were to three eventual champions of the tournament. That included the 141 pound weight class, as SRU's Tony Monroig lost a fall to Frank Edgar of Clarion, the 149-pound class as the Rock's Jake Zeoli fell to Lock Haven's Josh Medina and at the heavyweight level as SRU's Matt Burkholder lost to Stanley Foster of East Stroudsburg.
"We peaked our heads out of the water going into the finals matches, as we were in seventh place nudging sixth, but couldn't maintain it with all three guys in the consolation rounds losing," DelPorto said.
Three SRU wrestlers garnered sixth place finishes for the tournament, including Cory Mancuso (157 pounds), John Marsh (133 pounds) and Gerald Christian (165 pounds). The Rock did not send a 125-pound wrestler to the tournament.
Next up for the Rock is the East Regional Duals Saturday at Morrow Field House. The match is set to begin at 10 a.m. SRU will then remain home to host the University of Pitt-Johnstown on Wednesday night. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.
For more information about Charlie Pienaar, read his feature on page B-2.
