ALTOONA – The hopes of Clearfield wrestling fans rested squarely on Christian Stone’s shoulders in the Northwest Region Class AAA Tournament finals Saturday night in the Altoona Area High School Fieldhouse.
And the exciting freshman, coming off a stirring comeback victory in the semifinals, didn’t disappoint them.
Stone (34-7) handed pre-tourney favorite T.J. Brandt of Altoona just his second loss, 4-2, to earn the gold medal at 103 pounds.
The bout really wasn’t that close, though.
Stone took down the Mountain Lion sophomore midway through the first period and reversed 35 seconds into the second period, coming out the back door for two and then lacing a leg and keeping the District 6 champ broken down.
Brandt chose neutral for the final two minutes but was unable to score until getting a takedown with only six seconds remaining.
“That was a dominating win, a great job for a freshman to wrestle with a big crowd and a big situation,” Bison coach Jeff Aveni proclaimed.
Stone really showed his mettle in the semis.
The District 9 bantam champ never led until countering a single-leg takedown shot by once-beaten Godwin Nyama of Brashear with a spladle for a five-point move in the final minute and a 10-6 triumph.
Nyama registered a pair of takedowns off single-leg counters for a 4-1 advantage 52 seconds into the match.
The District 8 titlist tried to ride with legs, but Stone was able to step over for a reversal 18 seconds later.
Midway through the middle period, Nyama made it 6-3 with a tilt.
However, Stone kept working and finally managed a reversal, beating the buzzer by three seconds.
That meant he only needed a takedown when Nyama opted to start the third period on his feet.
His aggressiveness cost him when Stone locked up the spladle and kept him sitting helplessly for the final 52 seconds.
“We knew if we got into some scrambles and stuff like that, we could come out on top,” Aveni said. “Those guys do a lot of wrestling, and they play with a lot of goofy stuff.
“And it was there. As soon as he reached for the leg, he had it locked, and it’s a five-point move to win the match.
“Just an opportunistic thing.”
Stone will be joined at this week’s PIAA Class AAA Championships in Hershey by classmate Nolan Barger (125) and senior Andre Buck (285).
Both District 9 champs battled back through the consolations and defeated Erie Cathedral Prep matmen in the third-place bouts.
Barger (33-8) avenged for his first-round loss to Dan Yori with a near fall at the buzzer for a 5-3 thriller, while Buck (27-8) stood for a quick escape in the second overtime period and then rode Logan Thompson in the next 30-second period for a 3-2 squeaker.
Earlier, Barger was leading 6-1 when he cradled and then stacked Erie Central’s Andy Tarbell for a fall at 3:24 and followed up with a solid 4-1 decision over Punxsutawney’s Neko Cappella.
A 4-2 loss to D-10 champ Caleb Baker in the semis dropped Buck into the wrestlebacks, and he responded by pinning Erie Strong Vincent’s Carlos Saunders with a headlock at 3:42 to reach the consy finals.
“Getting three guys out here is great,” Aveni said. “They did a wonderful job.”
Junior 189-pounder Cliff Hill (32-10) was a win away from making the trip but was limited to three escapes by Lewistown’s Tyson Searer, who won 13-3 with three takedowns and two turnovers.
Three Bisons bowed out in the consy semis, junior Shane Peters (32-7) a 9-3 victim of DuBois senior T.J. Stanton’s 100th career win at 112, senior Kodie Lowder (26-12) edged 3-1 by Erie Cathedral Prep’s John Agnello at 119 and junior Derek Danver (31-8) suffering a heart-breaking 5-4 setback to Warren’s Curtis DeLattre in an overtime tiebreaker at 145.
Lowder was a semifinalist, but Meadville’s once-beaten Shelton Mack took him down six times for a 12-4 major decision en route to his third region championship.
“We had a rough round in the quarterfinals last night, but we came back and wrestled well,” Aveni noted. “We had a good day.
“It’s the regional tournament. You get some good things. You get some bad things. And we had some bad luck.”
The Bisons finished third in the team race with 79 points, one ahead of Corry.
District 6 powerhouse Central Mountain boasted five champions, including four-timers Andrew and Dylan Alton, and amassed 193.5 points to leave runner-up Erie Cathedral Prep far behind with 95.
Nobody doubted the Altons, who will wrestle for Penn State, would reign. And they matched technical falls in the finals with 20-plus point shows, Andrew at 145 and Dylan at 152. Both are 41-0.
Central Mountain’s other champs were Bucknell recruit Jordan Rich (135), Brian Brill (140) and Zach Corl (285).
Also for District 6, Bellefonte had two gold medalists in Tom Traxler (112) and unbeaten Mitchell Port (125).
In addition to Stone, Mark Havers (160) of Bradford and undefeated Sean Sadosky (215) of St. Marys had District 9 fans cheering.
District 10 also three champs in Mack, undefeated Steve Spearman (130) of Erie McDowell and Michael Pollard (189) of Corry.
Havers, Port and Mack are three-time titlists, while Spearman and Easter own two gold medals
This story will be updated Sunday evening, with individual records in the complete results.
The complete results courtesy Escape Sports: http://test.escapesports.com/Results/2010/NW_AAA_2010.html
