Viking’s Head Coach Ben Stehura Talks of CSUB’s Incoming Freshman!

Posted on | September 7, 2010 | No Comments

Cleveland State’s Head Coach Ben Stehura and his staff have had an incredible off season signing seven wrestlers to National Letters of Intent to join the program for the 2010-11 season, adding depth to a young, but experienced team for the upcoming year.

“We are very excited about the talent coming in with this recruiting class, both on the mat and off,” head coach Ben Stehura said. “All of them will fit in very well with our program and they will be able to contribute to their respective weight classes right from the start. We were hoping to fill in some gaps that we had on our roster for next season and we believe this group coming in will do just that.”

Joining the team will be Ben Willeford (Baton Rouge, La./St. Michael the Archangel) BJ Miller (Defiance, Ohio/Defiance), Nick Flannery (Framingham, Mass./Framingham), Alex Lopez (Hamler, Ohio/Patrick Henry), Tyler Green (Washington, W. Va./Parkersburg South), Brandon Sommers (Macedonia, Ohio/Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy) and Matt Donohoe (Tyngsboro, Mass./Tyngsboro).

All seven student-athletes will enter CSU as freshmen and will have four years of eligibility.

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Willeford was a three-time state champion, winning consecutive titles as a sophomore, junior and senior at St. Michael the Archangel. He had a career record of 192-17, with 147 pins, which broke the Louisiana all-time pin record (126). As a junior he placed fifth at the Junior National Creco Roman Championships and finished sixth at the NHSCA Senior National Championships following his high school career.

Miller, who went undefeated as a senior, 54-0, captured his first Division II Ohio State Championship at 112 pounds during his final season at Defiance High. He made appearances at the state tournament all four years of his high school career and is Defiance’s first four-time WBL champion. He had a career record of 175-18.

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Flannery, a three-time all-state champion, joins the Vikings after a high school campaign that included a record of 153-23, with 88 wins coming by pin. As a senior he was named the MVP of the all-state tournament and won the New England Championships before placing fourth at the NHSCA Senior National Championships.

Lopez was a three-time Ohio State place winner, and compiled a record of 174-14, with 68 wins coming by pin. As a senior he went undefeated until his semifinal match at the state tournament and ended up with a sixth place finish. He also finished second as a junior and seventh as a freshman at the state tournament.

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Green, who was a two-time state champion was also part of two state championship teams as a junior and senior at Parkersburg South High. After posting a career record of 153-27 with 70 pins, Green was honored with the Dave Shultz Excellence Award for the state of West Virginia following his high school campaign, which is given out to only one wrestler from each state.

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Sommers, who placed fifth at the state tournament as a sophomore and senior and sixth as a junior, joins CSU after compiling a career record of 135-42.

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Donohoe capped off his high school campaign with an all-state championship title as a senior at 152 pounds and a runner-up finish at the New England Championships, while going 46-3 over the season. He has a career record of 160-27 and placed second at the all-state tournament as a junior and third as a freshman and sophomore.