A fall by Lion wrestler Jason Suter at 1:22 in the 167-pound match led the third-ranked wrestling team to a 20-19 win over Eastern Wrestling League rival Lock Haven on Saturday night.

The victory at Rec Hall gave the Lions sole possession of first place in the EWL and a new school record for wins in one season.

"It's the kind of thing that if you wrestle a bunch of times again, it might never happen again, but it happened tonight when we needed it and that's a big lift," Coach Rich Lorenzo said of Suter's pin.

"I tried to go out there and just wrestle my match," Suter said. "I tried putting out (of my mind) the score of the match and the importance at that point. (I wanted to) concentrate on the things I had to do and just come up with the win. Luckily things turned around my way and he (Jeff Karam) went to his back and it was just a tight pinning combination."

Lock Haven came out strong in the opening match between All-American Craig Corbin and two-time All-American Ken Chertow. Corbin was awarded a point when Chertow locked his hands and accumulated enough riding time to give the Bald Eagle a 9-7 win over the Lion tri-captain. Chertow defeated Corbin in the NCAA consolation finals to place third and achieve All-American status.

"Just when Chertow was getting back in, he (Corbin) took him to his back for two points. That was the changing point in the match," Lorenzo said. "You've got to give Corbin credit. He's lost some tough ones to Chertow over the years and this year he just reversed it, so I guess they'll be seeing each other in about two weeks."

Defending national champion Jim Martin gave the Lions their first lead with a 11-2 win over Jeff Husick. The three-time All-American overcame the flu and scored three takedowns in the final minute of the third period to score the major decision and put the Lions on top, 4-3.

"(Martin) is a little under the weather," Lorenzo said. "He called me this morning and said, 'Coach, I'd like to change my training meal. I'd like my spaghetti with no sauce and soup.' Probably somebody else would have called me and said to get another wrestler, but with him it was just changing the training meal."

Jeff Dernlan's comeback in the third period came just short of a victory in his 134-pound match against Mike Lingenfelter. The Bald Eagle's riding time brought the match to an 8-8 draw.

Lock Haven took the lead, 8-6, after Anthony Melfi defeated Rob Meloy in a struggle at 142, 7-6.

Mike Bevilacqua lost in the final seconds of the 150-pound match when he was called for an illegal hold and the referee awarded Thane Turner a point. The win extended the Bald Eagles' lead to 11-6.

A riding time point gave Sean Finkbeiner a win over Bald Eagle John Barrett at 158. Finkbeiner's 2-1 victory narrowed the gap between the two teams, 11-9. Suter's pin at 167 then put the Lions back on top, 15-11.

"Suter coming out there and Finkbeiner's win really gave us a big lift and got us back in the match," Lorenzo said.

Dave White filled in for brother Matt at 177 and lost to All-American Brad Lloyd, 19-1.

Tri-captain Andy Voit scored a technical fall over Dave Grabenstatter, 24-9, boosting the Lions to a 20-16 lead. Voit earned his 24th point, which clinched the five-point decision, on his riding time advantage. Because heavyweight Greg Haladay lost a close one to Kenny Walker, 4-3, Voit's riding time prevented a draw for the Lions.

"My first objective is to win, and secondly is to score as many team points as I can," Voit said. "So I go for the major decision, I go for the technical fall, and if I can pin him along the way I do that."

"I thought it was a hard fought match in every weight class. Each team pressed the attack," Lock Haven Coach Neil Turner said. "I said coming in, that the team that took advantage of the other team's mistakes would win. They (Penn State) got an edge in that department. It's just a great match, nobody lost tonight."