Nov. 25, 2001

Lock Haven, PA-Old Dominion senior Jeff Rusak (Reading, PA) won the 174 lb. weight class in the prestigious Mat Town U.S.A. Invitational on Saturday, pacing the Monarch wrestling team to a sixth-place finish overall.

Rusak took top honors by rolling through the 174 lb. bracket, recording pins over Pittsburgh's Matt Catulio and Ohio's Travis Smith in his first two matches. The senior then finished off the day with a dominating 23-10 victory over Ed Pawlak of Lock Haven and hard-fought 3-2 win in the championship match against Ryan Lange of Purdue.

Rusak, ranked ninth nationally, is currently 7-0 this season with five pins. His career record is currently 107-17.

Also faring well for the Monarchs were newcomers Chris Buckner (Chesapeake, VA) and Ben Summerlin (Lynchburg, VA). Buckner claimed fifth place at 125 with a medical forfeit win over Lock Haven's Trap McCormack, and Summerlin finished fourth at 165 when he was edged in overtime by Penn State's Doc Vecchio in the third place bout.

The Monarchs will be in action next at the Penn State Open, December 2 in State College, PA.

MAT-TOWN U.S.A. INVITATIONAL
Team Scores

1. Penn State		161.50

2. Purdue		151.50

3. Ohio		        130.00

4. Lock Haven	        129.50

5. Pittsburgh		121.50

6. ODU		        90.50

7. F&M		        26.50

8. Slippery Rock	18.00

9. Bucknell		9.50

ODU Top Wrestlers:
Jeff Rusak (174)-1st place
Chris Buckner (125)-5th place
Paul Jimenez (133)-6th place
Jesse Pearce (157)-5th place
Ben Summerlin (165)-4th place
Greg Gill (197)-7th place
Derrell Lorthridge (285)-7th place