On Tuesday, Jan. 19, the Shippensburg University Red Raiders hosted a dual meet at their own Heiges Field House to take on PSAC opponent East Stroudsburg, which had been a highly anticipated match. With Shippensburg atop the totem pole for league victories, they wish to hold onto their commanding lead over the opposing PSAC programs.
In the NCAA DII Super Region I wrestling action on Tuesday night, the Raiders were able to hand East Stroudsburg their third PSAC loss of the season and obtain a third PSAC victory for themselves.
On top of an impressive overall 8-5 record (3-0), the team looks forward to four more PSAC meets, in hopes of taking control of Super Region I.
Starting the evening off at 125 pounds helped the Raiders begin with a 6-0 decision for freshman Dustin Steffenino and would be one of the six victories for the Raiders during the meet. After a string of victories beginning with the 149-pound weight class, the team was determined to come out on top as the six of 10 wins piled up into a 20-15 win for Shippensburg.
A commanding position in the league now lingers above the team’s head as post season comes into sight. With this being said, sophomore Evan Ramos looks to have one of the furthest post season pushes with an overall record of 15-1 with 10 consecutive wins thus far. Ramos spent the evening obtaining a major decision (14-2) against opponent Brandon Steele at the 197-weight class. These key extra points proved to be a necessity as sophomore Cody Blankenship was the only other Raider to achieve bonus points for their team, empowering the close scoring meet.
Every point counts in this sport and the Shippensburg Red Raiders have done it again with an impressive victory over a high-powered opponent.
Multiple close victories in this meet could have potentially led to any conclusion, but Shippensburg’s talented squad of impressive young men held their adversaries off once more to gain the upper hand and come out on top.
This East Stroudsburg team was one to be taken seriously as they have two wrestlers, Tyler Richardson and Tyson Searer, who are ranked in the d2wrestle.com Super Region I rankings.
Two of the Raiders made that list as well with Dustin Steffenino and Evan Ramos being ranked by the same standards in the Super Region I rankings, making this meet an interesting one.
As the Raiders tally another victory, they look ahead to the postponed meet against Division I foe, Franklin and Marshall that was originally scheduled for Jan. 24.
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