DUBOIS – Head coach Jeff Aveni wanted to see more intensity and aggressiveness from his squad after a few recent lackluster performances. His troops were up to the task, pounding Punxsutawney 53-18 in the semifinals before downing St. Mary’s in the final, 45-27. “The guys came out aggressive today. We got big bonus points in both matches and big wins up and down the lineup.”
In the semis, the big performers for the Bisons were Cliff Hill, Andre Buck, Andrew Hill, Shane Harper, and Derek Danver. Cliff Hill was in a 7-7 scrap with the Chucks’ Kirk Girosky before the Bison sophomore put Girosky on his back, recording a big third-period fall.
Buck followed that with a fall of his own. After two scoreless periods Buck took a 3-0 lead before pinning Tyler Burkett.
Andrew Hill collected perhaps his most impressive win of the season, picking up an 8-7 decision over Punxsy’s Ty Albright; Albright was 21-8 before that match. “Good thing Hill didn’t see Albright’s record before they wrestled, or he might have talked himself out of the win”, joked Aveni.
Shane Harper followed that with yet another third-period fall over Dustin Brewer, then Derek Danver punctuated the Bisons’ dominant win with his own dominating performance – a 19-2 technical fall over defending district champ James Shirley to set the 53-18 final.
St. Mary’s defeated Dubois for the second time this season, 44-30, setting up their rematch in the finals against the Bisons.
After Shawn Hall got a quick fall over Alex Geitner, St. Mary’s flexed their muscle in the next three weight classes, recording falls at 171, 189, and 215 to take an early 18-6 lead. “We knew going in we were outgunned at some of those upperweights,” said Aveni. However, as he has all season Sean Owen was the Bisons’ stopper, ending the Dutch momentum with a 38-second fall over freshman James Antonelli. That set the score at 18-12 in favor of the Dutch, with the critical lower weight battles to come.
At 103, Shane Peters was aggressive from start to finish, winning a 10-2 major decision over Trenton Bauers on the strength of three takedowns.
112-pounder Kodie Lowder followed with a big performance as well, posting an 18-3 technical fall over Evan Smith, giving Clearfield a lead they would never reliquish. “Peters and Lowder only won by decisions the first time around – those guys went out with a purpose today and wouldn’t be denied. They picked up big bonus points for the team,” said Aveni.
At 119 the coin flip proved crucial, as St. Mary’s had to commit to the mat first and sent out Sam Miller. With no Dutchman weighed in at 125, this allowed Clearfield to match up Andrew Spicer against Miller, and get Max VonGunden a forfeit win at 125. Miller defeated VonGunden 4-2 earlier in the season. Spicer did his part, taking Miller down eight times en route to a 19-6 major decision. After the forfeit win Clearfield led 31-18. “We debated that coin flip quite a bit before the match – there were a lot of possible moves at 152 and 160, but we wanted to sweep at 119 and 125 and take our chances in the middleweights. Today, it worked out,” said Aveni.
Any chance of a Dutch comeback was extinguished at 130. Down 2-0 after one period, Andrew Hill got a quick escape, then took Darren Lyons to his back, recording the fall at 2:37 and getting the entire Bison bench to their feet. “Andrew’s a quality wrestler – he’s beginning to believe in himself. He got two huge wins for us today. It’s easy to forget that he’s only a sophomore, and he’s been wrestling up a weight much of the season in dual meets [Hill weighed in at 125 Saturday].”
Holden Lowe improved his record to 28-4 with a surprisingly close 2-1 decision over Dane Yetzer. Lowe had majored Yetzer 13-5 in their last meeting. The win was Lowe’s 15th in a row. “Holden came off the mat saying Yetzer felt stronger than usual today,” said Aveni. “Holden knew the team score was in hand and he’s very comfortable in close matches. He took care of his business and got the ‘W’.”
After Shane Harper dropped a 7-1 decision at 140, Derek Danver continued his standout campaign with his second technical fall of the day, by a 17-2 score, over Steve Glatt. The win improved Danver’s record to 27-5, and was his 15th in a row also. It was also Danver’s team-leading third technical fall of the season and third in a row. “Derek and I argue every week about this – he likes tech falls and I want pins. But with the match in hand I told him to go do his thing. He’s really maturing into a force – and again, only a sophomore,” Aveni said.
The final bout of the evening ended with a fall in 5:52 by Shane Claar, who ran his record to 22-0. Clearfield’s Wil Beauseigneur had Claar in trouble early, though, taking Claar to his back in the first period and building a 4-0 lead before Claar scored the next 12 points. “It was a shame to get pinned there – we wrestled Claar so tough for five minutes then we get pinned with eight seconds to go,” said Aveni. “One thing we need to work on as a team is I see too many kids trying to bridge with their feet up in the air – that’s just not gonna work.
“Overall, though, we have to be pleased with the effort today.”
The win advances the Bisons to a play-in match this Tuesday against the #3 place team from District 7. The match is set for 7 PM at Clarion High School this Tuesday. The winner of that bout advances to the State Duals in Hershey next weekend. “We’ll go to Clarion – I have no idea who we’ll face there yet – and see what we can do. Hopefully we can get a win and go measure ourselves against the best in the state in Hershey,” said Aveni.
(editor\’s note: Clearfield will face Hempfield)
Clearfield 53 Punxsutawney 18
152 Beauseigneur LBF Mahan 1:47 (0-6)
160 Shadeck WBFF (6-6)
171 Hall WBF Woodaon :52 (12-6)
189 C. Hill WBF Girosky 4:23 (18-6)
215 Buck WBF Burkett 5:38 (24-6)
285 Owen WBF Long 1:21 (30-6)
103 Peters LBD Spack 5-10 (30-9)
112 Lowder LBD Capella 3-5 (30-12)
119 Spicer WBF Bullers 1:18 (36-12)
125 VonGunden LBF Young 1:21 (36-18)
130 A. Hill WBD Albright 8-7 (39-18)
135 Lowe WBD Burkett 5-0 (42-18)
140 Harper WBF Brewer 4:15 (48-18)
145 Danver TF Shirley 19-2 5:00 (53-18)
Clearfield 45 St. Mary’s 27
160 Hall WBF Geitner 3:02 (6-0)
171 Shadeck LBF Brem 2:54 (6-6)
189 C. Hill LBF Krise :39 (6-12)
215 Buck LBF Sadosky 1:35 (6-18)
285 Owen WBF Antonelli :38 (12-18)
103 Peters WBMD Bauers 10-2 (16-18)
112 Lowder TF Smith 18-3 5:19 (21-18)
119 Spicer WBMD Miller 19-6 (25-18)
125 VonGunden WBFF (31-18)
130 A. Hill WBF Lyons 2:37 (37-18)
135 Lowe WBD Yetzer 2-1 (40-18)
140 Harper LBD Bish 1-7 (40-21)
145 Danver TF Glatt 17-2 5:45 (45-21)
152 Beauseigneur LBF Claar 5:52 (45-27)
