SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – The Shippensburg University wrestling team got bonus points in three of its four victories Friday night in its 2014-15 home opener as the Raiders nearly unseated region No. 5-ranked Gannon, falling 23-19 to the Golden Knights in a PSAC dual meet from Heiges Field House.
 
Shippensburg (0-6, 0-2 PSAC) trailed 7-0 after the first two bouts before winning the next three weight classes. Junior Cameron Throckmorton started the run with a 14-4 major decision over Adam Weinell before freshman Mike Springer and junior Mark Lentz each rallied with third-period pins to put the Raiders up 16-7.
 
Throckmorton scored three takedowns in the first period of his bout at 141 pounds, added two more in the second period and garnered one more in the third along with an escape. His 2:27 riding-time advantage gave him his 14^th and final point.
 
Springer trailed 7-1 after two periods, yielding a second-period three-point near fall as his opponent, region No. 6 seed Eric Lewandowski, accrued 2:32 of riding time entering the final frame. Lewandowski escaped within the first 30 seconds of the third period to lead 8-1, but Springer responded with a decisive headlock and quickly got his opponent on his back, scoring his team-leading third pin of the season in 5:54.
 
Lentz, meanwhile, went through a wild second period with his opponent, region No. 6 seed Garret Smith. Trailing 2-0, Lentz yielded another takedown and a two-point near fall before engaging in back-to-back reversals with Smith. Lentz trailed 8-2 entering the final period and had been ridden for more than two minutes in the match, but grabbed a strong headlock on Smith and got the pin, his second of the year, in 5:40.
 
Gannon (2-0, 2-0) got a major decision at 125 pounds from Matt Turek, the No. 2 seed in Division II, and a 14-10 comeback win at 133 pounds by regional No. 3 seed Aaron Smith. Sophomore Karl Lightner built a 7-1 lead over Aaron Smith after one period and a 7-3 margin after two periods, but the Golden Knight grappler used four third-period takedowns, two stalling points and a riding-time advantage for the comeback win.
 
Trailing by nine after SU's three wins, the Golden Knights countered with three of their own to build a 20-16 lead entering the final two bouts. GU got a first-period pin from Dave Church at 165 pounds, a 5-1 decision at 174 pounds by Adam Greenman and a 10-1 major decision at 184 pounds by Zach Zelcs, ranked No. 2 in the region.
 
Sophomore Jalal Paige, the region's No. 1 seed and the No. 7 ranked 197-pounder in Division II, survived a 5-3 decision to Lorenzo Maddox by scoring a takedown with 21 seconds left in the sudden-victory period. Paige scored a takedown 23 seconds into his match but was held to just a second-period escape for the remainder of regulation.
 
With the match separated by one point, it came down the heavyweight bout between sophomore Francis Slover and Gannon sophomore Nick Budd, ranked No. 5 in the region. After a scoreless first period, Budd scored a second-period reversal out of defense and a third-period takedown en route to the victory.
 
Overall, Throckmorton moved to 6-0 this season, while Paige improved to 4-1. Springer is now 5-5 and Lentz is now 5-8; both men are tied with freshman Mike Hafer for second on the squad in victories.
 
Shippensburg is on the road next week, beginning at 7 p.m. Tuesday with a PSAC dual meet at East Stroudsburg.
 
Gannon 23, Shippensburg 19
125: Matt Turek (GU) maj. dec. Dante Steffenino (SU), 17-5 [4-0]
133: Aaron Smith (GU) dec. Karl Lightner (SU), 14-10 [7-0]
141: Cameron Throckmorton (SU) maj. dec. Adam Weinell (GU), 14-4 [7-4]
149: Mike Springer (SU) pins Eric Lewandowski (GU), 5:54 [7-10]
157: Mark Lentz (SU) pins Garret Smith (GU), 5:40 [7-16]
165: Dave Church (GU) pins Brett Pastore (SU), 2:07 [13-16]
174: Adam Greenman (GU) dec. Hunter Fenk (SU), 5-1 [16-16]
184: Zack Zelcs (GU) maj. dec. Kyle Taylor (SU), 10-1 [20-16]
197: Jalal Paige (SU) dec. Lorenzo Maddox (GU), 5-3, SV1 [20-19]
285: Nick Budd (GU) dec. Francis Slover (GU), 5-0 [23-19]
 
Records:
Shippensburg: 0-6, 0-2 PSAC
Gannon: 2-0, 2-0 PSAC