Senior Night Photo Gallery
(Photos by Bill Smith, Shippensburg University)

SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. - The Shippensburg University wrestling program capped off its regular season home dual meet schedule on Tuesday with Senior Night festivities from Heiges Field House and did not disappoint, as three wrestlers battled to overtime and red-shirt junior Jon Hade triumphed earned a triple-overtime sudden victory in a 27-13 loss to Kutztown.

Shippensburg (7-8-1), a unit that has been ravaged by injuries this season and was forced to forfeit two weight classes for the second consecutive match, gamely fought a perennially strong region opponent in Kutztown that has reached the 10-win plateau in four out of the last five seasons.

Hade's match was the highlight of the evening and was the epitome of two wrestlers refusing to relent and leaving everything they had on the mat. After earning a 7-1 lead with two takedowns and a near fall in the first period, Hade fell victim to a headlock and a five-point barrage from Golden Bear freshman Bobby Mort during the second period that tied the score at 7-7.

Despite the comeback, Hade still held an advantage of more than 90 seconds in riding time entering the third period and simply needed to escape to earn the victory. Mort remained strong against the battered Raider wrestler and rode Hade the entire period to send the match into overtime.

Hade, who suffered a leg injury mid-match and was barely able to walk or negotiate across the mat for the final six minutes of the match, kept Mort down for the first overtime period and nearly escaped during his rideout but was restrained by one foot, sending the match into a second overtime. 

Mort nearly earned the win against a beleaguered Hade in the second overtime period with a takedown, but could not convert before the grapplers left the edge of the mat. Hade nearly escaped twice during his rideout but once again the match continued.

After exhausting all of his injury time, Hade capitalized on a fleeting mistake from Mort with 14 seconds remaining in the neutral period of the third overtime, sending the Golden Bear freshman to the mat and earning the takedown for the sudden victory. The 11-minute, 46-second match improved Hade's overtime record this season to 4-0, with each of those wins coming by sudden victory.

Before Hade's match, another excellent battle occurred at 157 pounds, where red-shirt sophomore David Sunderland nearly completed a comeback against Kutztown's Chris Chambers. Trailing 3-2 late in the third period, Sunderland was working toward a takedown but earned a trip to overtime after receiving a point via stalling in the final minute.

Chambers, whose first-period takedown gave him the lead before Sunderland countered with a takedown in the second, earned an escape in the rideout period of overtime and held his competitor by the foot in the final rideout to preserve a hard-fought victory over Sunderland.

Red-shirt freshman Dave Calambas, still wrestling up one weight class, came out of the gates quickly and recorded a major decision in his match with Chad Emerick. Calambas led 8-3 after the first period with four quick takedowns and merely allowed escapes in his 15-5 major decision. It was the third victory of the season for Calambas.

At 149 pounds, red-shirt junior Nate Nauroth continued his impressive wrestling in the second semester with a convincing 8-2 decision over Brett Martinez, a regionally ranked opponent with 11 dual-meet victories and four pins under his belt this season.

After surviving an early takedown, Nauroth recorded a first-period reversal, second-period near fall and a takedown in the third period for the 8-2 victory. It is the sixth consecutive dual meet victory for Nauroth, who is now 12-5 this season.

Red-shirt sophomore Chris Barrick engaged in a low-scoring match with Sonny Flood, earning a 3-1 decision that improved his season record to 21-3. Freshman Taylor Knight reached overtime in a low-scoring affair with No. 3-seeded East Region wrestler Scott Snyder, but fell victim to a takedown in a 3-1 loss.

Before the match, Shippensburg honored its two graduating wrestlers, red-shirt senior Jake Wilson and red-shirt junior Andrew Jones. Wilson is set to graduate this summer with a degree in sociology, while Jones is scheduled for a December graduation with a degree in criminal justice.

Wilson, a two-time national qualifier and place-winner at the PSAC Championships, combined with Jones for 62 victories during their tenure as Red Raider wrestlers and the duo has admirably served their teammates and university over the last four years.

Shippensburg will complete its dual-meet schedule tomorrow night from the University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown against the No. 11-ranked Mountain Cats. The match from Sports Center will begin at 7 p.m.    

Kutztown 27, Shippensburg 13

125: Clayton Youtz (KU) wins by forfeit (6-0)
133: Dave Calambas (SU) maj. dec. Chad Emerick (KU), 15-5 (4-6)
141: John Paukovits (KU) pins Tom Wiechelt (SU), 4:09 (4-12)
149: Nate Nauroth (SU) dec. Brett Martinez (KU), 8-2 (7-12)
157: Chris Chambers (KU) dec. David Sunderland (SU), 5-4 [OT] (7-15)
165: David Zeek (KU) dec. Jake Wilson (SU), 4-2 (7-18)
174: Chris Barrick (SU) dec. Sonny Flood (KU), 3-1 (10-18)
184: Jon Hade (SU) dec. Bobby Mort (KU), 9-7 [OT3, SV] (13-18)
197: Scott Snyder (KU) dec. Taylor Knight (SU), 3-1 [OT] (13-21)
Hwt: Robert Knopf (KU) wins by forfeit (13-27).

Exhibitions:

157: Nicholas Browne (SU) maj. dec. John Butera (KU), 10-2
174: Joseph Yavoich (KU) dec. Nathan Reese (SU), 11-4 
184: Zach Hogentogler (SU) pins Victor Montanez (KU), 3:28

Records:
Kutztown: 9-7-1
Shippensburg: 7-7-1