BALTIMORE, Md. (Jan. 19, 2024) — Morgan State (1-10) will face a pair of road opponents this weekend in Pennsylvania. The Bears will take on Bucknell in Lewisburg, Pa. on Saturday, January 20 at Davis Gym, followed by Clarion (4-6) on Sunday, January 21 at Waldo S. Tippin Gymnasium.
The matchup versus Bucknell will be streamed live on ESPN+ here and FloWrestling will carry the Clarion matchup here.
SCOUTING BUCKNELL
• Bucknell (4-3, 1-0) was last in action on January 14 at LIU in Brookville, N.Y. The Bison collected its third straight dual victory and its first EIWA dual win by defeating LIU 25-11 at the Pratt Recreation Center last Sunday.
• 16th-ranked Kurt Phipps also picked up a win at 133, shutting out LIU's Christopher Bentacourt with a 5-0 decision … Phipps, an Irwin (Pa.) product, was a 2023 NCAA qualifier and a two-time EIWA place winner (7th in 2023, 7th in 2021).
• Senior Dorian Crosby (15-5) continues to be ranked 27th at 285 pounds by InterMat and is also ranked by FloWrestling (26) and WrestleStat (28).
• Dan Wirnsberger, who was named the 15th coach of the Bucknell wrestling program on May 10, 2005, enters his 19th year at the helm of the Orange and Blue in 2023-24. Wirnsberger has succeeded and currently ranks second on the Bison career wins list with 153.
SCOUTING CLARION
• Clarion is 4-6, 2-1 on the season following a 36-6 home victory on Jan. 12th versus Bloomsburg. Clarion picked up one win by fall and three tech falls over the Huskies, overpowering them for their best team point total of the season.
• Cam Pine – fresh off an appearances in the finals of the Southern Scuffle just over a week ago – picked up his second win by fall of the season at 184, officially clinching the Golden Eagles' team victory with a first period pin of Tanner Culver. The redshirt senior currently holds a 13-5 record and was recently named MAC East Co-Wrestler of the Week honors for Jan. 16.
• Sophomore Alejandro Herrera-Rondon (12-6) has been solid at 157 for the Bison. A three-time PIAA champion whose 175 career wins are a Seneca Valley record, Herrera-Rondon transferred to Clarion after spending two years at Oklahoma University. He was 25-7 with the Sooners and red-shirted his freshman year.
NOTABLES
• Leading the return of NCAA Division I, Varsity-level men's wrestling to Maryland's largest Historically Black College or University (HBCU), Morgan State University announced the hiring of Kenny Monday as the Athletics Department's new men's wrestling coach, effective Aug. 24, 2022. Monday, the first Black wrestler in history to win an Olympic gold medal, is a National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee, three-time Olympian and former NCAA All-American standout, who brings a championship-level coaching pedigree and an expansive yet impressive resume to a Bears' wrestling program looking to restart after a 25-year hiatus. Monday comes to Morgan after serving as the director of wrestling and head wrestling coach at Spire Academy, since 2021.
• Morgan was wrestling in its first competition in 25 years after the program was reinstated this season to make it the only HBCU with a Division I wrestling program.
• In October 2021, the University announced its plans to revive the men's wrestling program at Morgan with the support a $2.7-million gift from HBCU Wrestling (HBCUW), a new initiative reestablishing wrestling programs on HBCU campuses. The gift, which is among the largest received from a private donor to the University, provides funding for the program and supports up to nine full scholarships annually.
• Senior 165-pounder Jacob Marsh and freshman 174-pounder Cortilius Vann etched their names in program history as they both earned huge wins on December 10, 2023 when the Bears hosted No. 22 Maryland. The competition marked just the third dual match in over 25 years hosted by Morgan.
• Jacob Marsh, a transfer from Princeton, leads the Bears with a 10-7 overall record and has won five of his last six matchups. Marsh represented Team USA at the U23 World Championships in Serbia in 2021.
• Morgan freshman Kingsley Menifee has an 8-7 winning record and won his first two matches at the Bobby Kaufman Open before falling to Bucknell's Mikey Bartush by a decision.
Season tickets and individual match tickets are now on sale for the 2023-24 Morgan State wrestling season - Click here
FOLLOW MORGAN STATE ATHLETICS IN CYBERSPACE
There are many ways to keep up with MSU athletics online and on the go:
• Visit www.morganstatebears.com, the official web site of Bears athletics, for news, schedules, stats, bios and more.
• Follow us on social media:
Facebook: /MorganStateBears
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ABOUT MORGAN
Morgan State University, founded in 1867, is a Carnegie-classified doctoral research institution offering more than 100 academic programs leading to degrees from the baccalaureate to the doctorate. As Maryland's Preeminent Public Urban Research University, Morgan serves a multiethnic and multiracial student body and seeks to ensure that the doors of higher education are opened as wide as possible to as many as possible. For more information about Morgan State University, visit www.morgan.edu.
