CLEARFIELD – After putting up 50-plus points in each of its pool matches, the Bison Wrestling team found itself in a hard-fought battle with Greenville in the championship finals.
However, the Clearfield grapplers used four falls and a forfeit to sneak by the Trojans, 36-29 for the first annual Bison Duals title and to remain a perfect 11-0 on the season.
“We had some tough scraps during the day and made it to the finals with a team that really matched up with us,” nine-year head coach Jeff Aveni said.
“We wrestled very well. We had some let downs, but someone else always picked up the slack. I think every one stepped up at some point today. That’s part of what makes you a good dual meet team, and these guys have started to come together as one.”
The tournament final started at the 152-pound bout that saw Bison Wil Beauseigneur come up short 3-1 to Trojan David Holiga.
After a scoreless first period, Beauseigneur escaped in the second. But Holiga would tie the bout with the Bison’s second stall warning. He posted a reversal for the win.
“(The first loss) was tough. We won that match at Tool City, were up by five or six points and pinned the kid. So, it was a match that we expected to win,” Aveni said.
At 160, Clearfield’s Shawn Hall didn’t waste any time, putting together a takedown clinic in the first. He scored four for an 8-3 favor over Trojan Zach McGranahan.
In the second, the Bison senior gave up an escape early but followed with a takedown. He cut McGranahan loose and hit a cement mixer for the fall. The end came in 2:35.
Clearfield would then surrender losses in the next three weight classes.
Trojan Tyler Gentile pulled out a 4-2 decision over Clearfield’s Logan Shadeck at 171 pounds, while Robert Malson pinned Cliff Hill in the next bout.
Even with his loss, Aveni was particularly pleased with Shadeck’s efforts.
“Logan Shadeck really stepped up for us. He got a win (earlier today against Port Alleghany),” he said.
“In his last two matches, he wrestled kids that have been wrestling all year. He stood toe-to-toe with those guys. He saved us three really big points for just being out there and fighting hard.”
Clearfield\’s Andre Buck found himself in a battle with Dillon Sarcinella at 215 pounds.
With the score 2-0 in the Bison\’s favor, the two swapped reversals, but Sarcinella would tack on three nerar fall points. Buck escaped to even up the bout.
After cutting Sarcinella loose, Buck took him down to go up by one. But Sarcinella escaped and notched a takedown.
Buck escaped to pull back within one before giving up another takedown and near fall to set the 14-8 final.
Aveni said that Buck saved the team another three points, noting that he gave up a pin to Sarcinella earlier this season. He said he know the last heavyweight and the lightweight matches would be key.
“When we came into that, I was like ‘listen you guys, relax. That was technically a win even though we lost that one. Just relax. See what happens at the end,” he said.
Bison Sean Owen got his team back in business, using a cement mixer to deck Greenville’s George Magee in 2:05. His win pulled his team within three, 15-12.
Owen went a perfect 5-0 on the day, upping his record to 25-0 and a 117-26 career mark. With his performance, he has now passed former Bison Scott Collins (112-10-1) for the fifth spot on the program’s All-Time Wins list.
“Sean is just going to keep reaching milestones, as the season goes on. And, every one of them will be a great accomplishment for him,” Aveni said.
Following a Shane Peters forfeit win, teammates Kodie Lowder and Max VonGunden followed suit at 112 and 119 pounds, respectively.
Lowder needed only 42 seconds to dispose of Trojan David Wilkerson, while VonGunden pinned David Parker in 1:37.
“Max stepped up and got a fall. He hasn’t been wrestling real well until this week. We finally got Max back to where he’ll go out and get the job done,” Aveni said.
“These guys are learning how to pin people. And, it’s a lot of fun to see them rack up the points out there. We had a couple good runs today.”
Greenville used a decision win and a fall in the following two bouts with hopes of a comeback in mind. Bison senior Holden Lowe had other plans at 135 pounds.
Up 2-1, Lowe was reversed by Trojan Randy Perkins. Lowe, however, got those two back and tilted him for three back points. The two went scoreless in the third, setting the 7-3 final.
“We got a big win out of Holden. He moved up,” Aveni said, adding that he’s been among his wrestlers who have been consistently moving up to help their team.
Giving Greenville a fall in the next bout, the Bison relied on sophomore Derek Danver to finish off the Trojans.
The Clearfield 140-pounder took down Tyler Landerfried twice in the first for a 4-1 advantage.
Landerfried escaped in the second, but Danver scored a takedown and remained in control of the match. The Trojan would escape again before the period expired and used a penalty point to set the 6-4 final.
“Derek finished things off for us, and I was counting on that. It came down to Holden and Derek. And, if I know that I need wins from them, I’m pretty confident,” Aveni said with a big smile.
Clearfield returns to action against DuBois at home on Monday. The match is set for 7 p.m. at the Clearfield Middle School gymnasium.
Aveni noted that the Beavers also went an undefeated 5-0 on the tournament, including a third place championship win over Curwensville by criteria.
“So, we’ll settle it with them, then. We’ll have to wrestle them tough like we did here tonight,” he said.
Team Standings
First/Second Place: Clearfield 36 – Greenville 29
Third/Fourth Place: DuBois 34 – Curwensville 34
*DuBois wins by criteria
Fifth/Sixth Place: Port Allegany 38 – Keystone Oaks 21
Seventh/Eighth Place: Keystone 33 – Bradford 30
Ninth/Tenth Place: Valley 51 – Johnsonburg 26
Eleventh/Twelfth Place: Clarion 42 – Oswayo Valley 22
Clearfield Results
Championship Final
Clearfield 36 Greenville 29
152 – Wil Beauseigneur LBD David Holiga, 1-3 (0-3)
160 – Shawn Hall WBF Zach McGranahan, 2:35 (6-3)
171 – Logan Shadeck LBD Tyler Gentile, 2-4 (6-6)
189 – Cliff Hill LBF Robert Malson, 1:58 (6-12)
215 – Andre Buck LBD Dillon Sarcinella, 8-14 (6-15)
285 – Sean Owen WBF George Magee, 2:05 (12-15)
103 – Shane Peters WBFF (18-15)
112 – Kodie Lowder WBF David Wilkerson, 0:42 (24-15)
119 – Max VonGunden WBF David Parker, 1:37 (30-15)
125 – Andrew Spicer LBD Luke Marshall, 2-4 (30-18)
130 – Andrew Hill LBF Cody Burnett, 2:35, (30-24)
135 – Holden Lowe WBD Randy Perkins, 7-3 (33-23) *
140 – Shane Harper LBF Cody Copeland, 0:42 (33-29)
145 – Derek Danver WBD Tyler Landefried, 6-3 (36-29)
*Greenville was penalized one team point for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Clearfield 53 Valley 23
135 – Holden Lowe WBF Omar Pitts, 1:49 (6-0)
140 – Shane Harper LBF Kenny McGinnis, 5:18 (6-6)
145 – Derek Danver WBF Alex Kowalski, 3:13 (12-6)
152 – Wil Beauseigneur LBMD Michael Kuhns, 1-9 (12-10)
160 – Shawn Hall WBF Raseem Hutchinson, 1:10, (18-10)
171 – Logan Shadeck LBMD Charles Massey, 1-12 (18-14)
189 – Cliff Hill LBF Kyle Dudley, 1:28, (18-20)
215 – Andre Buck WBF Dylan Sorch, 0:52, (24-20)
285 – Sean Owen WBF Clayton Checkeye, 0:09, (30-20)
103 – Shane Peters WBF Dondi Thomas, 1:53, (36-20)
112 – Kodie Lowder WBFF (42-20)
119 – Andrew Spicer WBTF Phil Hogan, 16-0, 4:54 (47-20)
125 – Max VonGunden WBFF (53-20)
130 – Andrew Hill LBD Tyler Mele, 2-6 (53-23)
Clearfield 68 Clarion 3
130 – Andrew Hill WBD Ricki Elliot, 10-9 (3-0)
135 – Holden Lowe WBMD Matt Bauer, 9-1 (7-0)
140 – Shane Harper WBTF Lee Foltz, 15-0, 4:44 (12-0)
145 – Curtis Owens WBFF (18-0)
152 – Derek Danver WBMD Alex Gunter, 14-4 (22-0)
160 – Wil Beauseigneur WBMD Kristopher Burkhart, 12-3 (26-0)
171 – Shawn Hall WBF Joel Matticks, 4:35 (32-0)
189 – Cliff Hill WBFF (38-0)
215 – Andre Buck WBFF (44-0)
285 – Sean Owen WBF Mark Divins, 1:35 (50-0)
103 – Shane Peters LBD Mike Bauer, 4-7 (50-3)
112 – Kodie Lowder WBF Dustin Young, 0:44 (56-3)
119 – Jill Jacobs WBFF (62-3)
125 – Andrew Spicer WBFF (68-3)
Clearfield 52 Port Alleghany 18
119 – Andrew Spicer WBF Brandon Goodreau, 3:42 (6-0)
125 – Andrew Hill WBF Patrick Lacher, 3:07 (12-0)
130 – Troy Danver LBTF Chester Tanner, 0-17, 4:24 (12-5)
135 – Holden Lowe WBMD Bradley Goodreau, 9-0 (16-5)
140 – Shane Harper WBD Zackary Snyder, 5-4 (19-5)
145 – Derek Danver WBF Dakota Milford, 0:28 (25-5)
152 – Will Beauseigneur LBF Adam Greenman, 2:37 (25-11)
160 – Logan Shadeck WBF Ryan Bodamer, 1:01 (31-11)
171 – Shawn Hall WBF Zigmund Reichenbach, 4:35 (37-11)
189 – Cliff Hill LBMD Damen Brodhun, 8-16 (37-15)
215 – Andre Buck LBD Dylan Major, 1-5 (37-18)
285 – Sean Owen WBF Zachariah Manning, 1:21 (43-18)
103 – Shane Peters WBF Thomas Caden, 0:26 (49-18)
112 – Kodie Lowder WBD Ryan Kio, 4-2 (52-18)
Clearfield 61 Bradford 12
112 – Kodie Lowder WBFF (6-0)
119 – Max VonGunden WBFF (12-0)
125 – Andrew Spicer WBMD Gage Bunker, 12-1 (16-0)
130 – Andrew Hill LBD Zach Britton, 0-3 (16-3)
135 – Holden Lowe WFB Craig Gustafson, 2:52 (22-3)
140 – Shane Harper WBF Matt Ostrander, 3:52 (28-3)
145 – Derek Danver WBD Jacob McMurtrie, 3-1 OT SV (31-3)
152 – Will Beauseigneur WBF Austin Reams, 3:21 (37-3)
160 – Shawn Hall LBD Mark Havers 5-6 (37-6)
171 – Logan Shadeck LBF Zach Smith, 2:53 (37-12)
189 – Cliff Hill WBFF (43-12)
215 – Andre Buck WBF James Kan, 1:07 (49-12)
285 – Sean Owen WBFF (55-12)
103 – Shane Peters WBF Lucas McMurtrie, 5:22 (61-12)