^^(m, [RiA^E^ Parsons Union Building Lock Haven University Lock Haven, Pennsylvania 1774S i i^^m'^immn ^NT y Six Bald Eagle wrestlers qualify for NCAA's Referee Joe Gheezi raises the hand of Rick Petersen (left) following his 7-2 victory over Penn State's dejected Steve Sefter (right). Petersen, the nation's top ranlied heavyweight, had a big third period enroute to his third consecutive EWL title. By Dave Walters Performing the best they have in the 10 year history of the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL), Lock Haven University is sending six wrestlers to the NCAA Division I Championships in Oklahoma City, March 14-16. The Bald Eagles had five wrestlers in the final round and finished with two champions, three runners-up and a third place finisher who became a wild card qualifier and a fourth place finisher. The six qualifiers are 118 lb. sophomore Dicky Howell, senior Tom Kreamer (142), freshman Brad Lloyd (150), sophomore Jody Karam (167), junior Greg Wykoff (177) and senior Rick Petersen (HWT.) According to EWL publicity director Lee Richards, the Bald Eagles of head coach Neil Turner broke many records over the weekend. The first record was that the best LHU ever finished was fourth and this weekend they ended up second. The second record was that the Eagles sent six wrestlers to the prestigious NCAA Tournament which is two more than last year. The final record is the highest team points ever scored by the Bald Eagles in the EWL tournament. The Nittany Lions of Penn State captured the team title with 86.50 points and qualified eight of their 10 wrestlers. LHU was second with 64.25 points and six qualifiers. Bloomsburg ended up third with 53.75 points while qualifying four. The fourth spot belonged to Clarion with 43 points which qualified three. West Virginia, which was expected to give Penn photo by pm Sporcic State a run for the money, ended up fifth, while qualifying two with 38.50 points. Rounding out the field were Pitt and Cleveland State with two qualifiers and 30.50 and 13.50 points, respectively. Howell earned his way to nationals by defeating nuinber one seed John Velimesis of Cleveland State in the semifinals 16-8. The LHU 118 pounder jumped out early with a five point move enroute to the win. Howell, the fourth seed at 118, put away Clarion's Randy Richards in the opening round 4-2. In the finals Howell defaulted to 118 lb. champion Ricky Bonomo at the 4:21 mark due to an elbow injury. Penn State's Ken Cherlow earned a "wildcard." Jeff Husick represented LHU at 126, but the freshman was eliminated after his first two matches. West Virginia's fourth seeded Mike Levanduski dropped Husick 8-0 in the first round. Husick then went on the face Cleveland State's Charles Haeuptle in the consolations but fell short in overtime 1-0. The score in regulation was 1-1. Bloomsburg's Rocky Bonomo, who -was voted the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler, won the 126 lb. title with a 9-2 win over Penn State's Tim Flynn. Bonomo and Flynn were ranked third and fourth in the nation prior to their championship match. At 132, sophomore Willy Metzger lost a battle with third seeded Paul Clark 9-6 in the opening round. Metzger went up against Bloosmburg's Jon Moser in the consolations and lost 15-3. Penn State's John Manotti win the title with a 10-5 viccontinued on page 4. Lady Eagles are crowned PSAC champions in Hershey By Karen Merlie Hershey turned out to be sweeter than ever for the Lady Eagles Saturday afternoon. Lock Haven, the Western Division champions, beat Eastern Division titleholder East Stroudsburg, 75-67, to capture the PSAC championship. East Stroudsburg started out strong and pulled out to an early lead. Lock Haven only shot 28% in the first 20:00. "We were tight and cold," commented assistant coach Carol Ritter. "We didn't play good in the first half." At the half. East Stroudsburg was ahead, 35-28. Lock Haven wais down by as many as 13 at one point in the second half. With less than three minutes to play in the game the Lady Eagles tied it up. Helen Woltman hit a foul shot with 2:30 left to put Lock Haven ahead for good. East Stroudsburg turned the ball over and fouled in the last minute and a half to give an eight point victory to Lock Haven. Junior Tina Martin led all scorers with 25 points. She was followed by teammates Woltman's 17 and Kuhn's 14. Martin had 11 points at the half and teamed up with Woltman to bring their Tina Martin team back in the final period. Woltman, 6'2, was a dominant figure inside. She played much of the way with four fouls, as did Martin and Lori Young. "That's the best game I've ever had," Woltman said. Rebounding is Woltman's favorite part of the game. She had 14 boards on the day. Tara Gallagher, of East Stroudsburg, led her team with 23 points and 8 rebounds. Sue Richards and Diane Kopp were also in double figures for East Stroudsburg with 12 points each. Sophomore guard, Lori Young played a better game than the stats show. She played under control despite an inhibiting knee brace. Shannon Kelly also had key rebounds for the champions. Coach Fred Riley and his team celebrated at the buzzer. Lock Haven received a team trophy and individual plaques. The champions will sit and wait to see if they get a bid for the NCAA tournament. Four months ago, the Lady Eagles' goal was to win the PSAC championship and get an NCAA bid. Their dream is coming true! Helen Woltman B D £Aiili£ £I£ a Ta«s4ay. March S, 1 9 t S EWL's in Retrospect Once again this past weel