Will be exciting tracking Aaron over the next several years.
Mike Flynn
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The optimist would say that Edinboro returns six starters and should once again rule the Eastern Wrestling League and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference. The pessimist would note that gone are two All-Americans and 401 career wins from the starting lineup.
There’s no question that you can label Edinboro University wrestling coach Tim Flynn an optimist. He’ll quickly point out that his 2007-08 Fighting Scots will be young at some key spots, but he plans to parlay a strong recruiting class, along with returning national champion Gregor Gillespie, and three other national qualifiers, joined by blue-chip transfer Jarrod King, into a lineup that will challenge for a third straight top ten finish at the NCAA Division I National Championships.
Two years ago the Fighting Scots went a perfect 12-0 and sent eight wrestlers to Nationals with three All-Americans. They said it couldn’t be done again. All Edinboro did was win its eighth PSAC crown in the last ten years, followed by its fifth straight EWL title and ninth in ten years. The Fighting Scots were one of the true darling teams in Detroit at Nationals, finishing third as Gillespie became Edinboro’s third Division I national champion, winning the 149 lb. title, while Alex Clemsen (4th at 184 lbs.) and Deonte Penn (7th at 165 lbs.) also earned All-American honors.
The 2006-07 Edinboro edition finished ninth at Nationals and set a school record for wins with a 17-1 record. They avenged the season’s lone loss, to Penn State, by defeating the Nittany Lions in the championship match of the Virginia Duals. Finally, Edinboro ended the regular season ranked sixth in the USA Today/InterMat Division I Top 25, its highest finish ever.
With Gillespie back, although moving up a weight class to 157 lbs., along with Joe Fendone at heavyweight, who was one win away from All-American status, and Phil Moricone at 174 lbs., the Fighting Scots possess a strong nucleus.
The key will be how the younger wrestlers progress. “There’s guys in the program that have to step up,” admitted Flynn. “We have starters back from last year like Phil (Moricone), (Eric) Morill, (Ricky) Deubel, (Joe) Fendone, and obviously, Gregor. We need the younger guys to step up. They have to take the responsibility. They need to learn how to conduct their lives off the mat. We have some good leadership back. We’ll work them real hard and see how good we are in November.
“It’s exciting to see how far they’ve come. I know who’s put in good summers. I’m always excited going into a season. We can’t concern ourselves about what we’ve lost. That’s the way the better teams approach it. You can’t focus on what you lost. You have to focus on what you have coming back.”
The 2007-08 season finds the Fighting Scots once again ranked among some of the heavy hitters in Division I wrestling. Amateur Wrestling News ranks Edinboro 20th and has three grapplers ranked in the preseason poll, with Gillespie top-ranked at 157 lbs. W.I.N. Magazine has the Fighting Scots 16th and Moricone and Fendone joining Gillespie in the individual rankings.
If youth isn’t enough of a stumbling block this season, the schedule certainly is. Flynn has always been one to seek out the best competition in the country, and that is no different this year. For starters, there’s a January 6 date on Long Island against Central Michigan and host Hofstra. Central Michigan is ranked seventh by Amateur Wrestling News, and the Chippewas placed 15th a year ago at Nationals and return three All-Americans. Hofstra finished seventh at Nationals a year ago and is ranked 17th.
In addition, Edinboro will travel to Columbus, Ohio to face Ohio State on February 14. The Buckeyes are ranked fifth by Amateur Wrestling News after a strong showing at Nationals, finishing tenth. Four All-Americans return for OSU.
Edinboro will also participate in the Las Vegas Invitational and the Southern Scuffle, two events that annually attract some of the top wrestlers in the country.
“We try to wrestle quality teams every year,” stressed Flynn. “It is a really challenging schedule this year. But that’s the kind of schedule you need to get ready for the end of the year.”
Edinboro’s two conference tournaments will have a different look this year. The PSAC Championship has been moved up from late January to December 8. The EWL Tournament is still in early March, but instead of a two-day event, it will now be held on Saturday, March 8 in Pittsburgh. That will serve as the qualifier for the NCAA Division I National Championships, which return to St. Louis, MO from Thursday, March 20 to Saturday, March 22.
The 2007-08 campaign begins on Saturday, November 3, as Edinboro hosts the Fighting Scot Duals, facing Mercyhurst, Army and Maryland.
Here’s a look at the 2007-08 Fighting Scots, weight class by weight class:
133 lbs.
Is this the year Ricky Deubel emerges as an All-American? The former two-time Ohio state champion arrived at Edinboro in 2004 as a blue-chip recruit, and he has a 48-24 record. But the junior has struggled at the EWL Tournament. Two years ago he earned a wildcard berth to Nationals after finishing fifth at 125 lbs. This past year he moved up to 133 lbs. and finished with a 24-11 record, including a win over Mark Keller of Tennessee-Chattanooga, who was ranked second at the time. But he lost both of his matches at the EWL Tournament and failed to qualify for Nationals.
“Ricky is a year older and a year wiser,” stated Flynn. “He has shown he can beat the better kids in the country. He continues to work on some areas holding him back. He had a disappointing end of the year. He needs to turn that into a positive. I expect him to be one of those guys who steps up this year.”
Deubel could receive plenty of push from Kyle Fluke. A year ago the four-time Pennsylvania state placewinner posted a 19-9 record as a true freshman, mostly in open tournaments. He placed in three events, including second place at the Edinboro Open.
“This is an important year for Kyle,” Flynn stressed. “He has the ability to get it done. He needs to hang around the right people and embrace the program and he will have success.”
Freshman Aaron Ely gives the Fighting Scots a third solid 133 pounder. Ely hails from the same high school as former Fighting Scot All-American Shawn Bunch, Leavenworth(KS) High School. While it is totally unfair to compare him to Bunch, Ely is the only other Leavenworth wrestler besides Bunch to place at the state championships all four years. Ely won Kansas state championships as a junior and senior, and was named the 2007 Kansas Wrestler of the Year. He was 38-1 as a senior and posted a career record of 145-16.“Aaron may have slipped through the cracks recruiting-wise,” surmised Flynn. “He can be real good. I think he’ll be a big part of Edinboro wrestling down the road.”
