The Herald, Sharon, PA Published Wednesday, March 4, 1998
SportsEXTRA cover


BACK TO HERALD...
  • March '98 SportsEXTRA main page

  • Winter sports '97-'98 page
  • Sports page
  • Home page



  • SportsEXTRA
    photo
    Sharon's Eric Mausser, left, fights off Kennedy's Travis Shirley during the 189-pound District 10 championship. Mausser's 5-2 victory handed the Tigers their first D-10 title in program annals. (Gene/Herald)

    ATHLETE OF THE MONTH: Eric Mausser, Sharon
    Tigers' star matmen has been on the prowl

    By Jeff Greenburg
    Herald Assistant Sports Editor

    If attitude has anything to do with it, Sharon High wrestling standout Eric Mausser just might bring home the PIAA Class AA 189-pound state championship this week.

    ``He's the kind of kid that does what he puts his mind to,'' said Tigers coach Dave Ciafre.

    And the son of Gerald and Debbie Mausser, currently ranked 2nd in the Commonwealth at his weight, certainly must have his mind set on Hershey gold.

    ``He's put together a nice season,'' Ciafre said. ``We tried to beef up our schedule the last couple of years _ my goal is to get the kids the best competition I can _ and that makes his (32-and-0) season even more impressive.

    ``Maybe the nicest thing about Eric is he's worked hard for a number of years. He always lifted when I asked, worked out and gone to camps. Anything I suggested he was willing to do and it's paid off.''

    In a big way. Mausser, a senior, has already secured his second Section 3-AA and Northwest Regional titles this season, his second consecutive state tournament berth, as well as his _ and the program's _ first District 10 AA championship. As a result, Mausser has been selected as The Herald Sports Extra's Male Athlete of the Month for February.

    ``It was just a nice moment,'' Ciafre said of Mausser's D-10 title win. ``I was beginning to feel snakebitten. It shouldn't be that tough.''

    It is, but now that Ciafre finally has that crown, he assuredly is looking for more. And Mausser just might be the person to deliver it for him.

    Mausser has improved markedly since being eliminated in his first match at districts as a sophomore when he finished 21-9. During the summer of '96, he won state freestyle and Greco-Roman titles in the Cadet Division and qualified for nationals where he missed gaining All-America honors by one match in each style.

    A year ago, he won sections and regionals, finished third at districts and was one win away from placing at states, capping a 34-5 season with a 2-2 run at Hershey.

    This year, only defending state champion Jeff Uere of Upper Dauphin High School has been ranked above him in the state. And few have come close to threatening his unblemished mark. In fact, Ciafre said Mausser has yielded only three takedowns the entire season, although that apparently isn't even his strong suit.

    ``He's really good on the mat, I think probably better than most big guys,'' said Ciafre. ``He doesn't wrestle like a 189 pounder. He's still pretty much underweight generally and he doesn't cut any weight. He wrestles like a smaller guy.''

    And wins like a bigger guy. His 87 victories over three seasons are a Sharon record.

    What makes this season even more remarkable is the fact Mausser had to overcome offseason surgery in which he had a 31/2-inch screw inserted into his right elbow to help heal a fracture.

    The screw has since been removed, but Mausser spent nearly five weeks in a cast through the early fall and, according to Ciafre, sacrificed what certainly would have been a successful football season in order to get himself ready for wrestling.

    ``He made that choice to wrestle and at Sharon, with such a great football tradition, that's not an easy decision to make,'' Ciafre said. ``But even the kids and football players supported him because they felt if he was going to have a future in college, it was going to be in wrestling. That's his goal, to wrestle in college, and he's got a lot of schools interested in him.''

    Among them currently are: Clarion, Pitt, Slippery Rock, Rider, American University, Central Michigan and Edinboro.

    And it appears Mausser will pay big dividends to whatever school lands him.

    ``I still think he hasn't seen his best wrestling days yet,'' Ciafre said. ``He's developing ability, technique and style, and that's going to pay off for him down the road.''

    It already has on the scholastic level.

    Your ad could be here! advertising@sharon-herald.com (724) 981-6100 Ext. 261


    Back to TOP // March '98 SportsEXTRA main page

    BACK TO HERALD Winter sports '97-'98 page // Sports page // Home page

    Updated March 9, 1998
    Questions/comments: herald@pgh.net
    For advertising and Web site design info: advertising@sharon-herald.com
    Copyright ©1998 The Sharon Herald Co. All rights reserved.
    Reproduction or retransmission in any form is prohibited without our permission.