| a > Austin wins title » ® W-B Fats EWL finally comes alive! By LEE L. RICHARDS Sports Columnist It was inevitable. After eight years of struggling for respecta- bility among the collegiate wres- tling powers, the Eastern Wres- tling League finally kicked in the trophy room door. Penn State, with two National Champions and five other All- americans, along with two other A- As from Pitt and Clarion, got the 4 attention of the wrestling world last weekend in the 54th NCAA Tournament at the Mead- owlands. (118) became the first EWL wrestler to win an NCAA title. He was joined by teammate Scott Lynch (134) two bouts later in the title circle. It was a record smashing per- formance for the EWL. I'll be updating the record book for the next week, but I'll enjoy every minute as it has been a long road to reach the level we’re at now, but it’s only the start. The EWL had 20 of its 23 participants seeded which was unbelievable. The EWL tallied a record smashing 110.50 points. The old mark was 67.50. The EWL wound up with two first, three fifths, two sevenths and two eights. Our previous best was five All-Americans in a single tourney. The Nittany Lions of Coach Rich Lorenzo wound up third with 70.50 points. “I'm not only delighted for my own team but for the EWL,”’ said Lorenzo after his two youngsters captured titles. “We’ve been get- ting a little closer to the top each year and now we’ve finally cracked the charmed circle. The competitive level in our league has gotten stronger each year. I don’t believe we’ll have an ident- ity problem in the future.” Iowa ‘captured its seventh straight team title despite having only one champion. Oklahoma state was second after being picked to win the team title and put a stop to the Hawks rein. Then came Penn State, followed by Nebraska. The last five years as EWL Publicity Director, I could sense the improvement in the caliber of our wrestling, but we had to prove it in the 32-foot circle at the NCAA Tournament. Sure we had the credibility problem but the eight coaches simply learned each year and knew what it would take. They all made the necessary changes and went about doing the little things. It was a total commit- ment by our eight teams, Entering this year’s NCAA I kinda low-keyed our Upon arrihg at thre Byrne Arena, folks from Iowa was for real and going to stand performance. When 12 EWL wrestlers semis, another EWL first, it finally gave us the credibility we’ve been striving for since the loop was formed in 1976. The two champs was simply icing on the cake. : DeStefanis was the second seed and was brilliant in winning his title. Dallas Post/Ed Campbell Ladamus is honored Ed Ladamus, coach of the Lake-Lehman wrestling team, is shown here with the coaches award he received at the two- day Class AA High School Regional Wrestling Tournament at Williamsport High School. Ladamus produced seven regional champions and a first-place team as the Knights garnered 92 points. Two members of the Lake-Lehman wrestling team garnered regional titles and two members won in the consolation round {his past weekend at the two-day Class AA High School Regional Wrestling Tournament held at Williamsport High School. Those four wrestlers, plus three more who lost in their attempts last weekend, will advance to the PIAA State Championships slated for this weekend at Hershey. In addition to the two individual titles, the Black Knights finished in first place with a total of 92 team points and Lehman coach Ed Ladamus was honored with the Coaches’ Award. Earning regional titles were Jeff Austin who defeated Eric Miller of Mount Carmel, 4-1, in the 98- pound weight class; and Wayne Rosencrans who defeated Walt Getz of Benton, 5-4, at 138. Lehman’s heavyweight Chris VanGorder was pinned by Southern Columbia’s John Fullmer in 46 seconds. Black Knights who won in the consolation round include Rusty Coolbaugh who defeated Barry Munn of Sayre, 7-4, in the 119-pound weight class; and Norman Clancy who defeated Rick Lowe of Muncie, 7-0, at 132. Lehman wrestlers who were defeated in the consola- tion round include Bill Geurin who was defeated, 6-0, Janusz who suffered a 2-1 defeated to Lou Prough of Smithfield-Ridgebury-Ulster in the 167-pound weight class. CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS 98 - Jeff Austin (Lake-Lehman) dec. Eric Miller (Mount Carmel), 4-1; 105 - Jim Martin (Danville) « Kennedy (Athens) pinned Rich Merlo (Mount Carmel), 1:17; 119 - Sam Bocchino (Wyalusing) dec. Mark Ross (Lackawanna Trail), 15-2; 126 - Mike Cole (Montrose) dec. Rob Meloy (Danville, 14-3; 132 - Ralph Reed (Lourdes Regional) dec. Brad Zimmer- man (Mifflinburg), 10-2; 138 - Wayne Rosencrans (Lake-Lehman) dec. Walt Getz (Benton, 5-4; 145 - Mike Doss (Wyalusing) dec. Frank Spencer (Blooms- burg), 5-3; 155 - Bill Freeman (Southern Columbia) dec. Matt Burrows (Warrior Run), default; 167 - John Flaherty (Montrose) dec. Todd Leitzel (Line Moun- tain), 9-4; 185 - Greg Haladay (Southern Columbia) dec. Andy Reed (Lourdes Regional), 5-0; Hwt. - John Fullmer (Southern Columbia) pinned Chris VanGorder (Lake-Lehman), :46 CONSOLATION FINALS 98 - Chris Ackerman (Danville) dec. Chrisd McCutcheon (Sayre), 2-1; 105 - Gary Ward (Canton) dec. Mike Alterie (Athens), 9-2; 112 - Mark Stone (Loyalsock) dec. Bill Burak (Lackawanna Trail), 5-0; 119 - Rusty Coolbaugh (Lake-Lehman) dec. Barry Munn, Sayre, 7-4; 126 - Paul Keysaw (Athens) dec. Gary Stahl (Loyalsock), default; 132 - Norman Clancy (Lake-Lehman) dec. Rick Lowe (Muncie), 7-0; 138 - Sean Cartwright (Towanda) dec. Vern Hitchcock (Elk Lake), 4-2; 145 - Dave Kreider (Athens) dec. Jeff Ford (Montrose), 10-2; 155 - Jeff Giovino (Central Colum- bia) dec. Bill Geurin (Lake-Lehman), 6-0; 167 - Lou Prough (Smithfield-Ridgebury- Ulster) dec. Chris Janusz (Lake-Lehman), 2-1; 185 - Willie Jennings (Troy) dec. Rod Anspach (Warrior Run), 7-5; Hwt. - Chris Moser (Danville) dec. Art Parker (Troy), 9-5. Chamber supports Meeker Rich Meeker from Plymouth is Wyoming Valley’s ticket to the 1984 Summer Olympics. Rich’s bicycling dedication began as a hobby. Today he is Pennsy- lania’s Point Champion and is rec- ognized as a World Class Cyclist. ‘These honors have qualified him to compete in the national cycling competition. The winners will hold the 20 spots on the Olymic Cycling Team. The Greater Wilkes-Barre Cham- ber of Commerce has taken the lead role in raising the $5,200 Rich needs to continue training, as of today, $1,260 has been collected. Mrs. Meeker reports that she, too, has received some donations. ‘‘I am pleased to see such community enthusiasm,’ she said. Mrs. Meeker proudly reports that Rich has been chosen one of 25 out of the 40 hopefuls to tour Texas in March. Until then, he’ll be in Phoe- nix, Arizona, training hard and needing your support. You can help this fine athlete achieve his Olympic dream by send- NEW YORK CITY SHOPPING TRIP For All Your Concert Needs ~ “ROCK TIX” YOUR CONCERT AUTHORITY (ATTENTIONS FORTY FORT LUMBER CO. has been appointed a dealer of ALL STEEL BUILDING SYSTEMS We're ready to serve you with custom designed and engineered all steel buildings for manufacturing, warehousing, offices, stores, aircraft and motor home storage, farm buildings, garages and equipment storage. Building Size As Small As 6'x6' And As Large As Your Imagination. 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