CLARION – Nine Curwensville Area High School wrestlers survived the marathon first session of the District 9 Class AA Tournament in Clarion University\’s Tippin Gym Friday, with four still in the hunt for gold medals.
The Golden Tide semifinalists are returning champion and No. 1 seed Derek Brothers at 119 pounds, second seeds Jake Keller at 112 and Jeff Thomas at 145 and surprising sixth seed Nathan Russell at heavyweight.
\”I was hoping that we would have more in the semis, but we\’re about where I thought we\’d be,\” Curwensville coach Duane Wriglesworth II said. \”Some of those quarterfinal matches could have gone either way.\”
Five Golden Tide matmen bounced back from quarterfinal setbacks to remained alive in the wrestlebacks by producing bonus-point wins in the second round of consolations.
They are fifth seed Greg Koptchak at 103, sixth seed Tyler Peters at 125, sixth seed Jeff Smallwood at 130, fourth seed Brett Sutika at 135 and unseeded Justin Smith at 160.
\”We\’re looking a lot better than last year, and the kids have a good attitude, so we\’re pleased overall,\” Wriglesworth said. \”Right now, we\’re just focusing on keeping everybody in the tournament, making sure they wrestle smart from here on through.\”
Thomas (26-3), a senior, engineered two falls, cradling Johnsonburg\’s Jon DeCecchis at the 1:14 mark and Ridgway\’s No. 7 seed Nate Dornish 34 seconds into the third period after building a 10-0 lead.
The other semifinalists three took care of business after receiving preliminary round byes.
Keller (29-3), a freshman, had Smethport\’s No. 7 seed Damien Kreckel in deep trouble four times, twice with split scissors, for near falls en route to a 16-0 technical fall that stopped the clock at 2:39.
Brothers (29-2) was on the verge of a technical fall when he clamped Cameron County\’s No. 8 seed Chase Kamats in a cradle for his fifth turnover. Instead, the junior tightened the hold and wound up with a fall at the 3:09 mark.
Russell (27-6), who wrestled most of the season at 215, made his decision to move up a weight appear to be the right one when he upset Clarion\’s No. 3 seed Mark Divins 3-2. They were locked in a 1-1 tie when the Golden Tide senior countered Divins\’ single-leg attempt and spun behind him for the winning takedown with 1:12 remaining. Divins, who placed third last year, escaped with 40 seconds left but couldn\’t dent Russell\’s defense after that.
\”Russell got a very big win,\” Wriglesworth said. \”So, we\’re gonna try to keep his momentum going.\”
This is the last go-round for Peters and Smallwood, and the two seniors matched 2-1 records to extend their careers.
Peters (25-7) headlocked Sheffield\’s Travis Mosher for a fall in 2:31 but had his wide-open offense blocked by third seed Max Zimmerman of Johnsonburg in an 8-4 loss that basically came down to one move in the third period. Trailing 3-1, Peters shot a dump, but the Blue Raider sophomore stepped over and caught him on his back for two-and-three.
\”That\’s his style, and you can get burned by that sometimes,\” Wriglesworth said.
In his next bout, Peters broke up a 2-2 duel with Brockway\’s D.J. Forrest by stacking the Rover with a reverse cradle for a fall with only one second left in the second period.
Smallwood (17-8) worked three takedowns to beat Redbank Valley\’s Evan Shirey 11-4, surrendered three takedowns in an 8-6 loss to No. 3 seed Dylan Zimmerman of Brookville and then flattened Cranberry\’s Morgan Huegel in 1:28 by running a bar and clamping on a bar and chancery.
Sutika (20-9) took Ridgway\’s Steve Mitchell to his back for a 6-0 lead midway through the second period but had to fight out of a in combination in the last period to escape with a 7-5 win in the prelims. After being limited to a pair of escapes in a 3-2 loss to No. 5 seed Dustin Dombrowski of Brookville, the Golden Tide junior recovered to major Cranberry\’s Dan Kahle 11-2 with pairs of takedowns, escapes and turnovers.
\”I\’ll tell you what, I wouldn\’t be surprised to see those three, Peters, Smallwood and Sutika, with those same matchups in the consolation finals,\” Wriglesworth said after recounting their quarterfinal losses.
Smith (7-17) accounted for one of the six upsets in the preliminary round, holding on for a 9-8 decision over Johnsonburg\’s Michael Palodino. The eighth seed almost pulled it out, however, when he headlocked the Golden Tide senior in the waning seconds. No. 1 seed Zac Zelcs of Ridgway was too much for Smith in a 16-0 technical fall, but Smith came back to pin Clarion\’s Joel Matticks in 2:53.
Koptchak (13-12) pinned sixth seed Cody Schreiber of Johnsonburg in 4:57 after being on the short end of a 16-0 technical fall against fourth seed Trey Constable of Brookville.
The season came to an end for the Curwensville trio of sophomore Kyle Kyler at 152, fifth seed sophomore Zack Dimmick at 171 and junior Matt Schultz at 189.
Schultz, who just topped the minimum weight of 162.1 pounds to compete at 189, did pick up his first varsity win, notching three takedowns to down Cameron County\’s Kyle Stuart 9-3 in the first consolation round.
\”I was so very happy for him,\” Wriglesworth said. \”That kid has sacrificed so much for the team, and he will do anything that he can to help the team.\”
Curwensville is fifth in the team standings with 48.5 points and might have had more were it not to an injury junior Wes McGarry (11-16), seeded sixth at 140, aggravated in practice this week.
\”He had a hyperextended elbow that was bothering him too bad,\” Wriglesworth explained. \”That got injured two days ago, and it was just too painful for him to be able to wrestle.\”
Heavily-favored Ridgway leads with 63.5 points and nine semifinalists, but Brookville is right behind with 56 points and eight semifinalists. Port Allegany is third with 52.5 points and four semifinalists, but the Gators have 10 wrestlers in the consolation quarterfinals. Redbank Valley is a half-point back with six in the semis and five in the consolations.
All nine returning champions were victorious.
The top two seeds at every weight advanced along with all but two of the No. 3 seeds.
The semis and consy quarterfinals will begin at 10:30 a.m., with the consy semis to follow. The evening session will consist of consy finals at 5:30, inductions for the District 9 Hall of Fame, the Parade of Champions and the championships at approximately 6:30.
TEAM STANDINGS AND KEY
1. Ridgway (R), 63.5; 2. Brookville (Bv), 56; 3. Port Allegany (PA), 52.5; 4. Redbank Valley (RV), 52; 5. Curwensville (Cur), 48.5; 6. Smethport, 39; 7. Johnsonburg (J), 36.5; 8. Keystone (Key), 35.5; 9. Clarion (Cl), 34.5; 10. Coudersport (Co), 32; 11. Brockway (Bw), 31; 12. Cranberry (Cr), 26; 13. Cameron County (CC), 18; 14. Kane (K), 12.5; 15. Sheffield (Sh), 10; 16. Oswayo Valley (OV), 10.
The results, with seeds in parentheses:
CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS
103 – (1) Corey Bush, R, pinned (8) Travis Haupt, OV, 2:30; (4) Trey Constable, Bv, tech fall (5) Greg Koptchak, Cur, 16-0 in 4:13; (3) Nate Schwab, Sm, pinned Nick Schrecengost, RV, 3:01; (2) Mike Bauer, Cl, pinned (7) Troy Halle, PA, 1:13.
112 – (1) Jesse Wolfe, J, tech fall (8) Will Hulings, K, 15-0 in 1:45; (4) Brett Smith, Bv, dec. (5) Garrett McCleary, Key, 6-3; (3) Kyle Caggiano, R, dec. (6) Ryan Kio, PA, 4-1; (2) Jake Keller, Cur, tech fall (7) Damien Kreckel, Sm, 16-0 in 2:29.
119 – (1) Derek Brothers, Cur, pinned (8) Chase Kamats, CC, 3:09; (4) Slade Horner, R, dec. (5) Brandon Goodreau, PA, 6-0; (6) Quinton O\’Rourke, J, dec. (3) Ian Grecco, Bw, 2-1; (2) Tyler McCauley, RV, tech fall (7) Kyle Lightner, Sm, 16-1 in 5:37.
125 – (1) Tim Hubbard, Sm, pinned (8) Pat Lacher, PA, :10; (4) Jeff Slattery, R, dec. (5) Ron Clark, Bv, 3-0; (3) Max Zimmerman, J, dec. (6) Tyler Peters, Cur, 8-4; (2) Trevor McCauley, RV, major dec. (7) John Stiglitz, Key, 9-0.
130 – (1) Garet Pisani, R, pinned (8) Kenny Gadley, J, 1:17; (5) Zach Baughman, Key, won by default over (4) Kyle Freer, Sm, :34; (3) Dylan Zimmerman, Bv, dec. (6) Jeff Smallwood, Cur, 8-6; (2) Chet Tanner (PA) pinned (7) Ricki Elliot, Cl, 4:31.
135 – (1) Trevor Hartless, Bw, dec. (8) Dominick Manginell, CC, 7-4; (5) Dustin Dombrowski, Bv, dec. (4) Brett Sutika, Cur, 3-2; (3) Matt Bauer, Cl, pinned (6) Justin Lewis, PA, 3:10; (2) Nick McCauley, RV, dec. (7) Tanner Hannold, Key, 2-1.
140 – (1) Jon-Marc Burdick, Sm, pinned (8) Chase McKissick, Cr, 2:39; (4) Derek Shattenberg, Bv, tech fall (5) Keegan DeLung, Co, 16-0 in 5:32; (3) Preston Mahoney, J, pinned (6) Brad Goodreau, PA, 3:46; (2) Jaron Licatovich, Bw, pinned (7) Matt Mosher, Sh, 2:47.
145 – (1) Nathan Hartless, Bw, major dec. (8) Caleb Spring, Co, 11-1; (5) Logan Kellog, OV, dec. (4) Alex Gunter, Cl, 16-9; (3) Kasey Haines, RV, tech fall (6) Koty Milford, PA, 15-0 in 4:34; (2) Jeff Thomas, Cur, pinned (7) Nate Dornish, R, 4:34.
152 – (1) Josh Woodford, J, pinned (8) Benn Baxter, 1:52; (4) Sam Skraba, R, major dec. (5) Brandon Ferringer, Cr, 13-5; (3) Tyler Dombrowski, Bv, dec. (6) Ryan Terwilliger, Bw, 3-1; (2) Dirk Cowburn, Co, pinned Jacob Peffer, Sm, :38.
160 – (1) Zac Zelcs, R, tech fall Justin Smith, Cur, 16-0 in 5:18; (5) Mike Baker, CC, major dec. (4) Chris Rushmore, Co, 18-4; (3) Adam Greenman, PA, pinned (6) Aaron Kornhauser, Bv, 1:53; (2) Mike Switzer, Key, dec. (7) Cody Freer, Sm, 3-2.
171 – (1) Logan Shirey, RV, pinned (8) Hunter Bardo, C, 1:48; Kyle Nobles, Sm, dec. (4) Stephen Terwilliger, Bw, 4-2; (3) Zigmund Reichenbach, PA, dec. (6) Jacob Cieleski, Bv, 6-3; (2) Kyle Jones, Key, major dec. (7) Justin Loll, Cr, 13-2.
189 – (1) Dylan Major, PA, pinned Cody Sheasley, R, :45; (4) Rich Keagle, Co, dec. (5) Shiloh Buchleitner, RV, 6-0; (3) Colt Puhala, Bw, dec. (6) Derek Kreitzer, 3-1; (2) Jacob Shields, Bv, pinned (7) Kenny Alsop, Key, 2:20.
215 – (1) Ross Nicholson, K, pinned (8) Chris Symans, Co, 2:49; (5) Jake Thompson, R, pinned (4) Damon Brodhun, PA, 2:32; (3) Jimmy Hahn, Sh, pinned (6) Braden Bowser, RV, 2:51; (2) Joel Yahner, Bw, tech fall (7) Caleb Cooper, Sm, 18-1.
285 – (1) Joe Chittester, R, pinned Lee Russell, Cr, 4:51; (4) Logan Stout, Bv, dec. (5) Zach Manning, PA, 3-0; (6) Nathan Russell, Cur, dec. (3) Mark Divins, Cl, 3-2; (2) Shane Bowser, RV, pinned (7) Ethan Hannold, Key, 1:26.
CHAMPIONSHIP PRELIMINARIES
103 – Schrecengost major dec. (6) Cody Schreiber, J, 9-1.
112 – Hulings pinned Dustin Young, Cl, 2:42; Kio tech fall Joel Rinker, Cr, 15-0 in 4:36.
119 – O\’Rourke pinned Jordan Asp, K, :30.
125 – Lacher dec. Lance Nelson, Cr, 13-7; Clark dec. D.J. Forrest, Bw, 8-6; M. Zimmerman pinned Caleb Hauss, CC, :49; Peters pinned Travis Mosher, Sh, 2:31.
130 – Baughman tech fall Devon Shenkle, Bw, 17-2 in 4:00; K. Freer major dec. Morgan Huegel, Cr, 8-0; Smallwood dec. Evan Shirey, RV, 11-4; Elliot pinned Dan Harris, OV, 3:15.
135 – T. Hartless dec. Zac Wolfe, J, 9-5; Sutika dec. Steve Mitchell, R, 7-5; M. Bauer pinned Dan Kahle, Cr, 2:48; N. McCauley pinned James Bright, Co, :32.
140 – McKissick pinned Gus Babington, Cl, 3:18; Mahoney pinned Mat Bailey, CC, 2:53; Brad Goodreau major dec. Robbie Alexander, Key, 12-2.
145 – N. Hartless tech fall Brett Ferringer, Cr, 16-0 in 5:46; Spring pinned Ed Lingenfelter, CC, :51; Kellogg tech fall Emil Zuzek, K, 20-5 in 6:00; Gunter pinned Garrett Hoy, Sm, 2:30; Haines pinned Hunter Smith, 3:41; Milford major dec. Matt Hergenroeder, Key, 12-0; Dornish pinned Brendon Beyer, Bv, 1:31; Thomas pinned Jon DeCecchis, J, 1:14.
152 – Baxter dec. Corey Cyphert, RV, 8-2; Skraba pinned Kyle Kyler, Cur, 4:22; Peffer major dec. (7) Mike Chittester, Sh, 12-3.
160 – Zelcs pinned Nolan Cypher, RV, 4:59; J. Smith dec. (8) Michael Palodino, J, 9-8; Rushmore pinned Sean Welch, K, :37; Kornhauser major dec. Tyler Hanna, Cr, 10-0; Switzer pinned Joel Matticks, Cl, 1:39.
171 – L. Shirey pinned Ben Capatch, Co, 1:17; Bardo pinned Zach Allen, K, 2:28; Nobles dec. (5) Zack Dimmick, Cur, 4-2; Reichenbach dec. Bryce Norton, OV, 3-2; Cieleski pinned Shane Munson, R, 2:16; Loll pinned Pat Rudolph, Sh, 1:08.
189 – Major pinned Justin Williams, OV, :16; Sheasley dec. (8) Joe Zacherl, Cr, 4-0; Alsop pinned Kyle Stuart, CC, 1:39; Shields pinned Matt Schultz, Cur, 1:19.
215 – Symans major dec. Matt Melott, CC, 14-4; Thompson pinned Luke Geer, Bv, :12; B. Bowser pinned Cory Redmond, J, 2:19; Yahner pinned Isaac Seniour, Cr, 3:55.
285 – L. Russell pinned (8) Ryan Neyman, CC, 4:51; Stout pinned Eric Schoolmaster, OV, 3:51; Divens pinned Chad Hefright, J, :27; S. Bowser pinned Andy Streicher, Sm, 1:34.
The results for Curwensville wrestlers in the wrestlebacks:
CONSOLATION SECOND ROUND
103 – Koptchak pinned Schreiber, 4:57.
125 – Peters pinned Forrest, 2:59.
130 – Smallwood pinned Huegel, 1:28.
135 – Sutika major dec. Kahle, 11-2.
152 – R. Terwilliger major dec. Kyler (3-14), 9-1.
160 – J. Smith pinned Matticks, 2:53.
171 – Cieleski pinned Dimmick (11-13), 2:58.
189 – Sheasley pinned Schultz (1-5), :35.
CONSOLATION FIRST ROUND
189 – Schultz dec. Stuart, 9-3.
