CLEARFIELD – Although the Clearfield Wrestling team made a lot of mental mistakes, the Bison still came away with a 38-27 win over St. Marys Thursday night at Arthur J. Weiss Gymnasium.
“You have to be happy with a win, but it wasn’t a pretty win. I didn’t think that we overall wrestled real well. There were a lot of mental mistakes. A lot of the things we’ve worked on and actually done, we did the exact opposite. There were just a lot of mistakes tonight,” nine-year head coach Jeff Aveni said.
“I told the kids on the bench, ‘if you keep wrestling like this, you’re going to get beaten by someone you shouldn’t get beat by.’ That’s what they need to realize. We had the opportunity to win that match by a lot more, and we didn’t do it.”
Aveni said that he has to remember a lot of the team’s mistakes came from the “younger guys.” He also said his younger guys have experience, and he just expects a little bit more out of them as a result.
The dual meet got under way at 160 pounds. Bison Wil Beauseigneur put his team on the board, pinning St. Marys’ Alex Geitner in 3:27.
The sophomore used a first period takedown and a Geitner interlocking call in the second for a 3-0 favor. Off a restart, Beauseigneur reversed the Dutchman to his back.
“That was big (for his confidence) and what he needs. He needs to believe in himself,” Aveni said, adding he could probably count five, six, seven matches this year that Beauseigneur could have won.
“In those matches, if he would have wrestled for six minutes with confidence, look at his record then. He’d be getting close to 20 wins right now. He’s a good kid. He just needs a little bit of confidence to push him over the edge.”
Aveni said by the end of the weekend, he hopes Beauseigneur has his confidence boost. He said that he sees potential for his junior to become a reliable guy on the mat.
At 171, Clearfield’s Shawn Hall came out on the losing end of a 10-5 decision to Dutchman Justin Brem.
Down 2-1, the Bison senior scored on an escape to even up the bout, but Brem went back on top with a takedown.
Hall, however, would again slip the Dutchman’s grasps to pull within one before giving up two following a failed cement mixer attempt at the end of the second stanza.
Starting down in the third, Brem was too much for Hall, who entered the match-up under the weather. He used a takedown and pair of escapes to set the final.
After giving up falls at 171 and 189, Bison Sean Owen got six points back at heavyweight. He needed only 19 seconds to dispose of St. Marys’ Dwayne Schaberl. Owen is currently 19-0 and has 17 falls on the season.
Bison Shane Peters evened the match score at 15 all with a decision at 103 pounds.
Heading into the final period up 2-1, Dutchman Trenton Bauers nearly turned the Clearfield sophomore who eventually rolled through for the reversal.
Peters would then cut Bauers loose and follow with a takedown. He surrendered another escape for the 6-3 win.
At 112, Bison Kodie Lowder didn’t waste any time, scoring on a pair of takedowns before decking Evan Smith in 51 seconds.
“Owen stayed strong (at heavyweight), and Lowder went out and wrestled tough. Peters wrestled tough but needs to work on a few things to open that match up,” Aveni said.
Clearfield extended its lead into double digits and would never look back after an Andrew Spicer forfeit win at 119 pounds.
St. Marys attempted to keep hopes of a comeback alive, when Sam Miller pulled out a 4-2 win in the next bout.
But Andrew Hill got those points back for the Bison at 130 pounds. He used two first period takedowns for a 4-1 edge over Darren Lyons.
In the second, he escaped and fought off a Lyons takedown at the end of the period.
While Lyons managed an escape, the Bison sophomore hung on for the decision.
“We got another win out of Andrew Hill. It wasn’t the greatest win, but he won,” Aveni said.
Bison Holden Lowe wiped out any thoughts of a possible St. Marys win in his 135-pound match-up with Dutchman Dane Yetzer.
The two ran into each twice on the mat last season. Lowe came out on the winning end in both and didn’t waste any time in round three.
Lowe quickly scored two, taking Yetzer down to start the bout. He opted to cut the Dutchman loose twice, widening his favor with a pair of takedowns after one.
Starting down in the second, the Bison senior racked up an escape, following it win another takedown.
Going for bonus points in the third, Lowe continued his takedown clinic, picking up two more for the 13-5 major.
Aveni said his senior continues to wrestle well and credits his experience, as he’s competed on the varsity level for four years.
“He’s been here and knows what we want and expect. He has really turned into the poster child for the program. That’s what we want. We want you to go out and wrestle hard and score as many points as you can,” he said.
“Holden isn’t really a pinner but can put you on your back. In that match, he didn’t really get a good opportunity to pin the guy. So, he scored enough points to make sure he got the bonus.”
After Clearfield gave up a decision at 140, Bison Derek Danver tacked on a 15-6 major decision in the next bout.
In the first, the sophomore took down St. Marys’ Kyle Bish, adding on two backs for a quick 4-0 lead.
Bish would escape his grasp and nearly take down the Bison. Danver fought off the attempt for one of his own to make it 6-1 after the opening period.
Bish cut the deficit to two with an escape and takedown in the second. Danver, however, reversed the Dutchman before surrendering an escape. He upped his lead with a takedown and gave up another escape for a four-point favor at the end of two.
Danver went back to work in the third, scoring a reversal and three near fall to set the final.
St. Marys’ Shane Claar won by forfeit at 152 pounds.
Aveni said his team had winning efforts that weren’t great and losing efforts that weren’t great.
“But we came out of here with a win, and that’s a part of being a balanced dual meet team. And, that’s what makes you a great dual meet team,” he said.
Clearfield returns to action Thursday at Brockway.
Clearfield 38 St. Marys 27
160 – Wil Beauseigneur (C) WBF Alex Geitner (S), 3:27 (6-0)
171 – Shawn Hall (C) LBD Justin Brem (S), 5-10, (6-3)
189 – Cliff Hill (C) LBF Shane Krise (S), 1:14, (6-9)
215 – Andre Buck (C) LBF Sean Sadosky (S), 3:19 (6-15)
285 – Sean Owen (C) WBF Dwayne Schaberl (S), 0:19 (12-15)
103 – Shane Peters (C) WBD Trent Bauers (S), 6-3, (15-15)
112 – Kodie Lowder (C) WBF Evan Smith (S), 0:51 (21-15)
119 – Andrew Spicer (C) WBFF (27-15)
125 – Max VonGunden (C) LBD Sam Miller (S), 2-4 (27-18)
130 – Andrew Hill (C) WBD Darren Lyons (S), 5-1 (30-18)
135 – Holden Lowe (C) WBMD Dane Yetzer (S), 13-5 (34-18)
140 – Shane Harper (C) LBD Steve Glatt (S), 1-5 (34-21)
145 – Derek Danver (C) WBMD Kyle Bish (S), 15-6 (38-21)
152 – Shane Claar (S) WBFF (38-27)