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Police: Marsteller allegedly kicked, bit and spit at officers


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Chance Marsteller, a four-time state champion wrestler at Kennard-Dale, allegedly kicked, bit and spit at police officers after he was banging on apartment doors while wearing only a towel, according to the Lock Haven Police Department.

Marsteller has been charged with six counts of aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, disorderly conduct/fighting, six counts of recklessly endangering another, six counts of simple assault and one count of open lewdness, according to court documents.

He is being held at Clinton County Correctional Facility on $50,000 bail.

Marsteller is no longer a member of the wrestling team at Lock Haven University, Sports Information Director Douglas Spatafore wrote in an email to GameTimePA.com on Friday night.

Arguably the most storied wrestler in Pennsylvania history, Marsteller was a four-time PIAA wrestling champion and was undefeated during his high school wrestling career with a 166-0 record. Just 12 wrestlers have have won four state titles in state history while just five have done so without a loss on their resume. The 166 career victories are the most accumulated by an unbeaten wrestler in Pennsylvania history.

Marsteller was named USA Today High School Sports National Wrestler of the Year in 2014.

Police were called to an off-campus apartment complex around 11:35 p.m. on Aug. 25 because Marsteller allegedly was knocking on doors and trying to get into fights with residents, Cpl. Richard Simpson said.

The wrestler exposed himself to police by removing a towel he was wearing, police said.

Marsteller was taken into custody. While police were taking him to a correctional facility, they said, they used pepper spray to stop him from injuring himself. He was banging his head against a partition in the police vehicle, the report states.

Marsteller was taken to Lock Haven Hospital, where he allegedly tried to lunge at a nurse. Police stopped him and restrained him on the floor, the police report states. He continued to bang his head on the floor, which caused an injury to his nose and face. He was bleeding.

"He was kicking, spitting and biting our officers," Simpson said.

Hospital staff injected Marsteller with sedatives to calm him down, Simpson said. He continued to resist arrest until the sedatives took over.

Two state police troopers and a Lock Haven University Police Officer responded to the hospital to help restrain Marsteller, the report states.

One of the officers was treated at the hospital after Marsteller allegedly spit blood into the officer's face, police said. The officer was treated and released.

At Lock Haven University, head wrestling coach Scott Moore held a previously scheduled team meeting and light practice Saturday morning, intended to welcome wrestlers back from the summer break, Spatafore said Saturday. He added that Moore was unavailable for comment.

Marsteller's status as an athlete was terminated Friday morning, a decision that was made as a result of the charges, Spatafore said. Marsteller would have entered this wrestling season as a sophomore, based on his remaining three years of eligibility as an athlete, Spatafore said.

Rodney Jenkins, the vice president of university relations, said Lock Haven is a zero tolerance campus. When a student's behavior is inconsistent with the university's expectations, he said, the college has to remove him. But Marsteller's status as a student remains unclear.

Jenkins said the legal process would have to play out for Marsteller before a determination could be made on him remaining enrolled at the university.

On the regional high school wrestling front, Solanco wrestling coach John Little heard about the alleged incident on Friday and was “a little devastated” that Marsteller was involved.

“Just to see that talent and everything,” Little said. “Just one bad choice and just to see his career might be over, it’s sad. It’s very sad.”

Marsteller had been a beacon for other wrestlers in the area that they could win state titles as underclassman, Little said. While Little had never coached Marsteller, the former Kennard-Dale wrestler had worked out at Solanco’s gym and did a free camp over the summer with kids in kindergarten through second grade.

The Marsteller that was at the camp was a much different person than the one described in police reports, Little said.

“Obviously that’s not the person that we know that comes down,” Little said. “He’s very humble, very appreciative of everything. It’s a real shock. I haven’t coached him or anything, but I just feel a little bit of a loss and a little bit of a disappointment. A sadness that he’s not going to be competing there this year.”

Marsteller was the No. 1-ranked recruit in the country coming out of Kennard-Dale High School and originally attended Oklahoma State University for two years before transferring to Lock Haven in May.

-- Christian Arnold contributed to this report.