Curwensville Crowns Eight Champs, Wins Indiana Mat Title

INDIANA – Curwensville dominated the 11-team Bo Wood Wrestling Tournament with eight champions and 223.5 points Saturday.

 

Greg Koptchak at 103 pounds, Jake Keller at 112, Derek Brothers at 119, Tyler Peters at 125, Jeff Smallwood at 130, Brett Sutika at 135, Jeff Thomas at 145 and Nathan Russell at 215 won titles in impressive fashion.

 

No other team had more than one champion.

 

Tussey Mountain was a distant second with 177 points and Brockway, which had beaten Curwensville twice in dual meets, wound up third with 167 points.

 

The Golden Tide entered only 11 wrestlers, and 10 placed, with Wes McGarry claiming third at 140 and Jonathan Michaels finishing fourth at 189.

 

\”This was totally unexpected,\” Curwensville coach Duane Wriglesworth II said. \”I told the kids before we went I had no idea what caliber of teams we would see, but we definitely were up for this tournament after beating Brookville. That was a really big win for the kids Thursday.

 

\”We didn\’t let up. We had a lot of momentum in the room. We had a short practice Friday, but it was very intense, a lot of situational wrestling for what we thought we might see. We were able to keep the kids fresh and sharp.

 

\”So, we went in there with a good attitude and knew we had an opportunity to place several people high. And they wrestled well. We were much better on our feet with more quickness and using multiple set-ups.\”

 

Sutika and Russell had to be the happiest Curwensville champs, both atoning for earlier losses to two of Brockway\’s better wrestlers.

 

Sutika beat  Trevor Hartless 6-3 after pinning Erie Central\’s Alex Raynor in 40 seconds and edging Tussey Mountain\’s Mark Brown 3-2.

 

A week earlier, Hartless took down Sutika in overtime for a 4-2 sudden victory that gave the Rovers a 38-33 win in the first round of the District 9 Class AA Team Duals.

 

Russell posted a 2-1 victory over Joel Yahner, who had beaten him 13-4 Dec. 16 when the Rovers jolted the Golden Tide 36-30 in spite of three forfeits.

 

Russell, who was unable to compete in the team duals, advanced to the finals by pinning Hollidaysburg\’s Jesse McCandless in 4:21 and Indiana\’s Ean Villemien in 1:42.

 

\”I was happy to see those two redeem themselves for previous losses,\” Wriglesworth said. \”Sutika was able to score the initial takedown, and that was the key to his match.\”

 

Keller was the lone champ with three falls in a performance that rated Outstanding Wrestler Award consideration, according to Wriglesworth.

 

The Golden Tide freshman was on the mat for only 3:55, pinning Erie Central\’s Emseto Laureano in 17 seconds, Hollidaysburg\’s Dewie Dempsie in 2:49 and Indiana\’s Zach Long in 49 seconds, the quickest deck job in the finals.

 

Smallwood needed only 2:22 to win his title, displaying his pin prowess by decking Marion Center\’s Nathan Kaplon in 1:22 and Cranberry\’s Morgan Huegel in 1:00.  

 

\”Smallwood is really coming on strong,\” Wriglesworth said. \”Not being in the lineup for a month hurt his record, but he\’s come back to beat kids he lost to earlier.\”

 

Thomas sailed into the finals with falls against Erie Central\’s DeAngelo Ramos in 45 seconds and Indiana\’s Daniel Maharaj in 1:44 and then notched a 13-3 major decision against Tussey Mountain\’s D.J. Brown.

 

\”I was happy to see Thomas make it through the tourney after missing a full week with an injury,\” Wriglesworth said.

 

Peters earned bonus points in three matches, too, pinning Riverview\’s Mark Accettulla in 2:27, rolling up a 17-0 technical fall against Cranberry\’s Lance Nelson and majoring Marion Center\’s Ed Turner 13-5.

 

\”Peters continues to look good and dominate kids not only on his feet but also down on the mat,\” Wriglesworth said. \”He\’s looking tough on top with good bar series.\”

 

Brothers finally got to see considerable mat time and responded with a 43-second fall against Erie Central\’s Justin Ruggiero, a 7-1 decision against Hollidaysburg\’s Steve Shiffler and a 5-1 victory over Brockway\’s Ian Grecco.

 

He\’s now beaten Grecco five times in two seasons, but the last two were 2-1 in December and 1-0 on Jan. 31.

 

\”Grecco is much improved from last year, and it\’s tough to beat someone three times, so it was nice to see Brothers handle him in much more convincing fashion,\” Wriglesworth said. \”He got the first period takedown he didn\’t get earlier this year, and that\’s an area we\’ve struggled against that team.

 

\”Brothers hasn\’t wrestled a lot because most of the teams we\’ve wrestled haven\’t had 119-pounders, and that\’s unfortunate. But he had some good competition this weekend, especially with Grecco. And they\’ll probably be wrestling again in a couple of weeks.\”

 

Koptchak, who edged Tussey Mountain\’s Kyler Runk in the semis, triggered Curwensville\’s sweep of the first six weights with his 3:37 fall against Indiana senior Alex Rhodes, the first girl to vie for a title in the Bo Wood tourney.

 

\”I was happy for him,\” Wriglesworth said. \”He didn\’t let wrestling a girl distract him.\”

 

McGarry avenged a 6-2 quarterfinal loss to Erie Central\’s Mike Silvis with a 3-1 win in the third-place bout after handling Indiana\’s Tyler Pearce 11-3.

 

Michaels dropped a 5-2 decision to Cranberry\’s Joe Zacherl in the consy finals for a 2-2 mark. He was pinned in 1:25 by eventual champ Jake Walls of Hollidaysburg after a 3:29 fall against Indiana\’s Walter Schroth in 3:29. He followed up with a 10-8 victory over Tussey Mountain\’s Zach Morrow.

 

The OW Award went to Indiana heavyweight Jordan Kucinski, who had two falls in 4:59.

 

Curwensville (13-7) closes the dual meet season Tuesday at backyard rival Clearfield (16-2) before turning its attention to the District 9 Class AA Tournament booked for Feb. 20-21 at Clarion University.

 

 

1. Curwensville (Cur), 223.5; 2. Tussey Mountain (TM), 177; 3. Brockway (B), 167; 4. Hollidaysburg (H), 146; 5. Indiana (I), 142; 6. Cranberry (Cran), 139; 7. Marion Center (MC), 107; 8. Erie Central (EC), 67; 9. Carrick (Car), 48.5; 10. Riverview (R), 42; 11. Schenley (S), 26.

 

 

103 – Greg Koptchak, Cur, pinned Alex Rhodes, I, 3:37.

112 – Jake Keller, Cur, pinned Zach Long, I, :49.

119 – Derek Brothers, Cur, dec. Ian Grecco, B, 5-1.

125 – Tyler Peters, Cur, major dec. Ed Turner, MC, 13-5.

130 – Jeff Smallwood, Cur, pinned Morgan Huegel, Cran, 1:00.

135 – Brett Sutika, Cur, dec. Trevor Hartless, B, 6-3.

140 – Nathan Hartless, B, major dec. Derek Heisler, H, 13-0.

145 – Jeff Thomas, Cur, major dec. D.J. Brown, TM, 13-3.

152 – Jed Peterson, MC, dec. Scott Blystone, I, 12-11.

160 – Josh Bussard, TM, pinned Zach Brinkley, B, :51.

171 – Justin Loll, Cran, major dec. Jordan LaVan, MC, 16-8.

189 – Jake Walls, H, dec. Colt Puhala, B, 8-4.

215 – Nathan Russell, Cur, dec. Joel Yahner, B, 2-1.

285 – Jordan Kucinski, I, pinned Sean Foster, TM, 4:34.

 

Other Curwensville results:

 

 

140 – Wes McGarry, Cur, dec. Mike Silvis, EC, 3-1.

189 – Joe Zacherl, Cran, dec. Jonathan Michaels, Cur, 5-2.

 

 

103 – Koptchak dec. Kyler Runk, TM, 7-5.

112 – Keller pinned Dewie Dempsie, H, 2:49.

119 – Brothers dec. Steve Schiffler, H, 7-1.

125 – Peters won by technical fall over Lance Nelson, Cran, 17-0.

130 – Smallwood pinned Nathan Kaplon, MC, 1:22.

135 – Sutika dec. Mark Brown, TM, 3-2.

145 – Thomas pinned Daniel Maharaj, I, 1:44.

189 – Walls pinned Michaels, 1:25.

215 – Russell pinned Ean Villemien, I, 1:42.

 

 

140 – McGary major dec. Tyler Pearce, I, 11-3.

189 – Michaels dec. Zach Morrow, TM.

 

 

285 – Lee Russell, Cran, dec. Walter Koontz, Cur, 5-2.

 

 

112 – Keller pinned Emseto Laureano, EC, :17.

119 – Brothers pinned Justin Ruggiero, EC, :43.

125 – Peters pinned Mark Accettulla, R, 2:27.

135 – Sutika pinned Alec Raynor, EC, :40.

140 – Mike Silvis, EC, dec. McGary, 6-2.

145 – Thomas pinned DeAngelo Ramos, EC, :45.

189 – Michaels pinned Walter Schroth, I, 3:29.

215 – Russell pinned Jesse McCandless, H, 4:21.

285 – Charlie Keller, H, dec. Koontz, 2-1.