Being benefactors of four forfeits and under the watchful eye of their patriarch, the Clearfield Bison wrestling team stayed perfect on the year with a 45-25 victory over the State College Little Lions Thursday evening.
Arthur J. Weiss, who is considered the dean of high school wrestling in the state and who recently celebrated his 101st birthday, was in attendance to support the Bisons, and even took part in the pre-match flipping of the disc to determine team choice.
“With State College giving up 24 points in forfeits, we knew the outcome (of the dual meet) wasn’t in question, so we wanted to see some intriguing match-ups tonight,” said assistant coach Brent Lykens.
Things got under way at 285 lbs with Jordan Lancaster receiving the first of those six point forfeits.
At 103 lbs, Clearfield’s Shane Peters earned another six points for the Bisons the traditional way as he clamped Ty Millward with a cradle in 3:41. The win made the team score 12-0 in favor of the Bisons and upped Peters’s record to 18-2 on the season.
Another State College forfeit, this time awarded to Christian Stone at 112, and a fall by Nolan Barger over Joe Powers in 2:55 put the Bisons out in front 24-0. Barger ran his season record to 18-4 with the victory.
At 125, Kodie Lowder moved to 14-7 on the year as he continued the Bison shutout with an 8-3 decision over Josh Kunig.
Max Von Gunden at 130 had his arm raised in victory as he claimed the third State College forfeit, which gave the Bisons a 33-0 lead.
The Little Lions would then reel off six straight victories starting with Erik Galloway’s pin of Bison Andrew Hill in 5:09 at 135.
At 140, Adam Powers was all over Clearfield’s Shane Harper, racking up a 14-0 major decision.
State College cut the Bison lead almost in half at 33-16 when Chris Barksdale at 145 pinned Cody Hepfer in 3:48.
One of those intriguing match-ups Lykens referred to played out at 152 with Clearfield’s Derek Danver getting the call against State College’s Scott Bosak. A state qualifier the previous year, Bosak led 2-1 after the first period then hit a spladle for a five-point move at the end of the second period. Danver managed a reversal in the third, but couldn’t get any closer as Bosak came away with a 6-3 victory.
At 160, Bison Wil Beaseigneur came up a point shy against Tyler McElhaney. Down 3-1 late in the third period, Beaseigneur scored the tying takedown but wasn’t able to hold McElhaney down in the end, falling 4-3.
The Little Lions got as close as they would to the Bisons, 33-25, with Joe Kelly pulling a 4-0 mild upset over Logan Shadeck at 171.
At 189, Bison Cliff Hill had had enough of the Little Lions run when he stuck Thomas Truglio in 2:59. Leading 8-0 at the time, Hill used a reverse half nelson to pick up the fall.
The dual meet ended uneventfully at 215 as Andre Buck received the fourth forfeit of the evening and sealed the Bisons 45-25 dual meet victory, Clearfield’s 695th win in its storied history.
The Bisons don’t get much rest as they will be back in action Saturday, hosting eleven other teams at the 2nd annual Bison Duals. Wrestling action gets under way at the high school at 8:30 and will continue throughout the day.
Box Score
285 Jordan Lancaster, Won by Forfeit C 6-0
103 Shane Peters, WBF 3:41, Ty Millward C 12-0
112 Christian Stone, Won by Forfeit C 18-0
119 Nolan Barger, WBF 2:55, Joe Powers C 24-0
125 Kodie Lowder, WBD 8-3, Josh Kunig C 27-0
130 Max Von Gunden, Won by Forfeit, C 33-0
135 Andrew Hill, LBF 5:09, Erik Galloway C 33-6
140 Shane Harper, LBMD 14-0, Adam Powers C 33-10
145 Cody Hepfer, LBF 3:48, Chris Barksdale C 33-16
152 Derek Danver, LBD 6-3, Scott Bosak C 33-19
160 Wil Beauseigneur, LBD 4-3, Tyler McElhaney C 33-22
171 Logan Shadeck, LBD 4-0, Joe Kelly C 33-25
189 Cliff Hill, WBF 2:59, Thomas Truglio C 39-25
215 Andre Buck, Won by Forfeit C 45-25