DUBOIS – Because the individual match-ups were different, Curwensville had high hopes of avenging an early-season dual meet loss to Brockway in the first round of the District 9 Class AA Wrestling Team Championships in the DuBois Area High School gym Saturday morning.
However, coach Duane Wriglesworth II\’s fourth-seeded Golden Tide was unable to overcome the absence of standout 215-pounder Nathan Russell, 19-6 with eight falls, and the loss of the pre-match draw, dropping a 38-33 heart-breaker that wasn\’t settled until the final bout when Rover 135-pounder Trevor Hartless took down Brett Sutika in the first period of overtime for a 4-2 sudden victory.
Winning the draw forced Wriglesworth to send out his wrestlers first at 145 and 189, so the Brockway coaches were able to choose the match-ups they wanted and wound up sweeping those weights as well as 152 and 215 en route to a 35-6 bulge.
\”The draw did hurt us,\” Wriglesworth said after the Golden Tide fell to 12-7. \”We were hoping to get odds, and by getting evens, we couldn\’t do what we wanted in both of those situations.\”
After Rover 140-pounder Nathan Hartless (22-3) ran up a 13-0 lead and then cradled Wes McGarry for a fall at 3:29 of the initial bout, Wriglesworth sent out Jeff Thomas at 145.
Brockway countered with two-time 9-AA runner-up Jaron Licatovich, who had wrestled at 160 back on Dec. 16 when the Rovers shrugged off three forfeits and came from behind to spoil Curwensville\’s home opener 36-30.
Licatovich, now 15-3, engineered three takedowns, one at the second-period buzzer, for a 7-1 lead. Thomas (20-3) made the final score respectable at 7-4 with an escape and a takedown as time ran out.
The other two wrestlers who weighed in at 145 met at 152, with Ryan Terwilliger extending Brockway\’s start to 15-0 with a fall at 5:23. He went ahead 5-3 with a pivotal takedown near the end of the second period and broke open the close bout by countering Kyle Kyler\’s takedown attempt and then hooking up a cradle.
Justin Smith, who was pinned by Licatovich in December, gave Curwensville a big boost with a pin at 160. The Golden Tide senior trailed Zach Brinkley 5-3 going to the third period when he posted against the Rover\’s cradle for a reversal and pinned him with a half and press at 4:45.
\”I told him, \’Hey, we need a pin here from you,\’ and he went out and got the job done,\” Wriglesworth said. \”It\’s nice to see Justin going six minutes and able to go for the bonus points. That was a big win for us.\”
A close match at 171 went to Brockway when Steve Terwilliger reversed Zack Dimmick with 23 seconds remaining and turned him twice for a crucial 9-3 decision. Dimmick had bear-hugged the Rover for the tying takedown with 55 seconds to go.
Both teams weighed in two 189-pounders, and Wriglesworth opted to send out Jonathan Michaels and forfeit at 215. Colt Puhala got the nod for the Rovers and upped his record to 21-4 with a 15-0 technical fall in 5:10, scoring on trios of takedowns and turnovers.
After Matt Hrinya had his hand raised, Joel Yahner bumped up to heavyweight and pinned Walter Koontz 19 seconds into the second period, ballooning the Brockway lead to 35-6.
Still, Curwensville fought back in the lightweights and was on the brink of completely wiping out its 29-point deficit and advancing to the semifinals against top seed Ridgway going into the 135 match.
Greg Koptchak at 103 and Jake Keller (21-3) at 112 received forfeits, Derek Brothers (21-2) nipped Ian Grecco (19-6) 1-0 by standing for a quick escape on the third-period whistle and Tyler Peters at 125 and Jeff Smallwood at 130 made it very, very interesting with falls.
The draw helped the Golden Tide at 119.
\”They had to send out Grecco first, and we had two weighed in there and wanted to match up Brothers and Grecco instead of Grecco and Peters (at 125),\” Wriglesworth said. \”So, it worked for us there. But it would have been better to have the other two up above.
\”Derek did what we expect from him. Peters did a wonderful job.\”
Peters had D.J. Forrest in deep trouble in the first period and then headlocked him for a fall at 3:07.
Smallwood just missed a pin in the first 40 seconds but didn\’t on his second opportunity, turning Devon Shenkle for keeps at 1:11 to slice Brockway\’s advantage to 35-33.
\”Smallwood got his first pin of the year,\” Wriglesworth pointed out. \”I told him, ‘You know what? You are way overdue for a pin. Let’s get it today. We need it.\’
\”He had to dig down deep for that.\”
Two escapes by Sutika offset an early takedown by Trevor Hartless with the meet on the line at 135, but the Rover shot in for the winning two with 41 seconds into the first extra period.
\”I felt we could have won that match if we got through the first overtime period,\” Wriglesworth said. \”We held him down on top, and I knew Sutika could get out. But he got out of position on that shot and (Hartless), with his arm length, was able to catch us on that double. That was just unfortunate.
\”What people need to realize that with the draw going against us and not having our 215-pounder, the kids fought back from that and put themselves in a position to win the match. And we were just one takedown away.
\”So, overall, I’m still pleased with our effort. The kids wrestled with some heart today.\”
Brockway (6-4) suffered a 44-19 loss to Ridgway (17-1) in the semifinals, and the Elkers went on to win their third consecutive championship – their record fourth in the 11-year history of the 9-AA Team Duals – with a 46-12 thumping of No. 3 seed Port Allegany (12-9).
The Gators posted a minor upset, 32-30, over No. 2 Smethport (6-2) in the other semi.
Ridgway will go to Hershey for the PIAA Class AA Team Championships and a Friday morning match against the survivor of Tuesday\’s meet between the runners-up from District 7 (Shady Side Academy) and District 10 (Fort LeBoeuf).
Curwensville is booked for home matches against Clarion Tuesday and Brookville Thursday before going to Indiana Saturday for a 12-team tournament that was added to the schedule because the Golden Tide was unable to compete in the Redbank Valley Christmas Tournament.
Brockway 38, Curwensville 33
140 – Nathan Hartless, B, pinned Wes McGarry, 3:29. (0-6)
145 – Jaron Licatovich, B, dec. Jeff Thomas, 7-4. (0-9)
152 – Ryan Terwilliger, B, pinned Kyle Kyler, 5:23. (0-15)
160 – Justin Smith, C, pinned Zach Brinkley, 4:45. (6-15)
171 – Steve Terwilliger, B, dec. Zack Dimmick, 9-3. (6-18)
189 – Colt Puhala, B, won by technical fall over Jonathan Michaels, 15-0, in 5:10. (6-23)
215 – Matt Hrinya, B, won by forfeit. (6-29)
285 – Joel Yahner, B, pinned Walter Koontz, 2:19. (6-35)
103 – Greg Koptchak, C, won by forfeit. (12-35)
112 – Jake Keller, C, won by forfeit. (18-35)
119 – Derek Brothers, C, dec. Ian Grecco, 1-0. (21-35)
125 – Tyler Peters, C, pinned D.J. Forrest, 3:07. (27-35)
130 – Jeff Smallwood, C, pinned Devon Shenkle, 1:11. (33-35)
135 – Trevor Hartless, B, dec. Brett Sutika, 4-2 (sudden victory in OT) (33-38)
Referee – Jeff Lindermuth.
