CLARION – Curwensville, one of two undefeated teams in District 9, won eight of 12 matches and received two forfeits to tumble Clarion 46-20 in schoolboy wrestling action Tuesday night.
\”We improved from last week, so I was very pleased,\” coach Duane Wriglesworth III said after the Golden Tide\’s fifth victory. \”Overall, we wrestled much better on our feet than we did against West Branch. We definitely were more aggressive.\”
Clarion (5-4) forfeited to Brett McCracken at 152 pounds, electing to bump up Joel Matticks and Danny Walters a weight.
Golden Tide 160-pounder Justin Smith took down Matticks for a 9-7 sudden victory in overtime, but Walters pinned Matt Schultz in 50 seconds at 171.
Curwensville\’s lead jumped to 18-6 when Jarrett Sloppy pinned Zach Stiglitz in 47 seconds at 189 and Nathan Russell bested Riley Gudakunst 7-1 at 215.
After Bobcat heavyweight Mark Divins pinned Walter Koontz in 1:49, the Golden Tide lightweights locked up the win.
The lone fall in the five-bout sweep came at 119, where Tyler Peters pinned Brandon Broscious 14 seconds into the second period.
Derek Brothers picked up a forfeit at 112 as the Clarion coaches bumped up several wrestlers.
Greg Koptchak defeated Dustin Young at 103, Brett Sutika edged Ricky Elliot 6-4 via a takedown in overtime at 125 and Wes McGarry shut out Lee Foltz 12-0 at 130 for his first major decision, setting the score at 40-12.
The Bobcats\’ final points came on Matt Bauer\’s 5-0 decision over ailing Justin Johnston at 135 and Alex Gunter\’s 15-0 technical fall over Duane Wriglesworth III at 140.
\”Johnston did not feel well at all and got really sick halfway through his match,\” coach Wriglesworth noted.
In the final bout at 145, Jeff Thomas posted the punctuation mark for the Golden Tide performance with a fall in 4:39 against Kris Burkhart.
Curwensville will face a stiff test Thursday when Ridgway, 9-2 with losses only to Towanda and 13-2 St. Marys, invades Patton Hall for a 7:30 match.
\”Ridgway is a very tough, well-balanced team,\” Wriglesworth said. \”They definitely will be our toughest opponent up to this point.\”
Curwensville 46, Clarion 20
152 – Brett McCracken, Cu, won by forfeit. (6-0)
160 – Justin Smith, Cu, dec. Joel Matticks, 9-7 (sv). (9-0)
171 – Danny Walters, Cl, pinned Matt Schultz, :50. (9-6)
189 – Jarrett Sloppy, Cu, pinned Zach Stiglitz, :47 (15-6)
215 – Nathan Russell, Cu dec. Riley Gudakunst, 7-1. (18-6)
285 – Mark Divins, Cl, pinned Walter Koontz, 1:49. (18-12)
103 – Greg Koptchak, Cu, dec. Dustin Young, 11-5. (21-12)
112 – Derek Brothers, Cu, won by forfeit. (27-12)
119 – Tyler Peters, Cu, pinned Brandon Broscious, 2:14. (33-12).
125 – Brett Sutika, Cu, dec. Ricky Elliot, 6-4 (sv). (36-12)
130 – Wes McGarry, Cu, major dec. Lee Foltz, 12-0. (40-12)
135 – Matt Bauer, Cl, dec. Justin Johnston, 5-0. (40-15)
140 – Alex Gunter, Cl, won by technical fall over Duane Wriglesworth III, 15-0. (40-20)
145 – Jeff Thomas, Cu, pinned Kris Burkhart, 3:39. (46-20)