By Bill Albright

ESPNWilliamsport.com Staff Writer

Morgantown, WV -- The Edinboro Fighting Scots won the war, but Lock Haven University redshirt-sophomore John Trumbetti won an important battle, not only for himself, but for the Bald Eagle wrestling program.

Seeded second going in, Trumbetti received a bye in the quarterfinal round, then blanked Bloomsburg’s Jason Guffey by a 4-0 count.

In the recent dual meet with the Huskies, Trumbetti let a lead over Guffey get away from him in a disappointing 8-7 loss to the former Warrior Run standout.

Following that bout, LHU coach Robbie Waller felt that Trumbetti wrestled not to lose instead of wrestling to win. Evidently Trumbetti heeded the advice of his coach as he turned the verdict around and more.

In the finals, Trumbetti (26-7) was paired against two-time EWL champion Jimmy Conroy and he made the most of the opportunity as he earned his meal ticket to the NCAA Division I Championships by tossing a 2-0 shutout at Conroy to win the 133-pound gold medal.

Other top-four finishers for the Bald Eagles in the 7-team national qualifier were Jeremie Cook, third at 184; Nick Hyatt, fourth at 125; and Owen Wilkinson, fourth at 141.

In the team race, the Fighting Scots won their eighth straight EWL team title. Trailing regular season dual meet champion Pittsburgh (6-0) after one session, the Scots won an amazing 16 straight bouts to claim the title.

The top three teams were Edinboro (135.5), Pitt (121.5) and Clarion (111). Lock Haven finished sixth with 58 points.

There is a chance that Cook could become a wild card selection to the NCAA tournament, but that will not be known until Wednesday when the NCAA selection committee makes its choices.