The Warriors (4-1) won ten of the fourteen bouts, picking up six falls and two forfeits along the way.
Curwensville head coach Duane Wriglesworth gave praise to the Warriors afterwards saying, “West Branch has a very seasoned team and a lot of their guys have been around for awhile which is a big plus for them.”
The match started right at the top, at 103, with the Warriors picking up a forfeit by Dustin Deliman to be followed by two straight pins.
At 112 Warrior Abe Albright pinned the Tide’s Tyler Mays in 5:07 after leading 9-5 then saw teammate Parker Bumbarger take Tide 119 pounder Greg Koptchak to his back for a fall in 2 minutes and 11 seconds putting the Warriors out in front 18-0.
Dustin Fisch of West Branch then edged Curwensville freshman Trey McKenzie 7-5 at 125 with two takedowns, a reversal and one escape to remain unbeaten at 5-0 on the year.
The West Branch squad then upped their margin to 27-0 as 130 puunder J. P. Hayles pinned Brandon Sass in the second frame at the 3:20 mark after being out in front 9-0.
The Tide would put twelve unanswered points on the board as Alex Holt made quick work of Warrior Curtis Lamb with a fall at 1:14 at 135 with Jake Keller getting a forfeit at 140 keeping the Tide alive trailing by fifteen, 27-12.
The teams split the next two weights. Warrior Ethan Slippey pinned Austin Pollick at 145 in 2:53.
Then the best match of the night kept the fans in their seats at 152 where Curwensville sophomore Hunter McCracken and Warrior junior Ryan Miles fought to the bitter end with McCracken coming out on top 7-5 to earn his second win of the season. McCracken had two three point near falls and an escape for his seven points while Miles had a takedown and a three point near for his five spot.
Lucas Kristofits put the Tide out of reach as the Warrior sophomore pinned Curwensville junior Jason Baker in just 1:38 at 160 pounds to give West Branch a 39-15 margin.
The quickest pin of the night award went to Todd Rees of West Branch at 171 when he pinned the Tide’s Lewis Rhine in just 50 seconds.
Chad Speigle of the Warriors and Kyle Kyler of Curwensville went at it at 189 with the West Branch sophomore topping the Curwensville senior by an 8-5 margin. Kyler lead 3-2 after one period and 5-4 after two before Speigle registered a reversal and a two point near fall in the final two minutes to pull out the win.
The Tide would get their final points of the night at 215 when Chad Desmett pinned Warrior Trey English in 2:20. It was the first bout of the year for the Curwensville junior.
The Warriors set the final score at 54-21 as Broc Bell received a forfeit at 285.
Wriglesworth summed up the night with a final comment, “I did see some improvement in certain areas but one area that we need immediate improvement in is getting better movement from the bottom position.”
In junior high activity it was West Branch beating Curwensville by a final score of 66-36.
The Tide won’t return to the mat until they travel to Punxsutawney on Thursday, January 6 to battle the Chucks.
RESULTS C – WB
103 Dustin Deliman, WB won by forfeit 0 – 6
112 Abe Albright, WBF 5:07, Tyler Mays, C 0 – 12
119 Parker Bumbarger, WB, WBF 2:11, Greg Koptchak, C 0 – 18
125 Dustin Fisch, WBD 7-5, Trey McKenzie, C 0 – 21
130 J. P. Hayles, WBF 3:20, Brandon Sass, C 0 – 27
135 Alex Holt, C, WBF 1:14, Curtis Lamb, WB 6 – 27
140 Jake Keller, C won by forfeit 12 – 27
145 Ethan Slippey, WBF 2:53, Austin Pollick, C 12 – 33
152 Hunter McCracken, C, WBD 7-5, Ryan Miles, WB 15 – 33
160 Lucas Kristofits, WBF 1:38, Jason Baker, C 15 – 39
171 Todd Rees, WB, WBF :50, Lewis Rhine, C 15 – 45
189 Chad Speigle, WBD 8-5, Kyle Kyler, C 15 – 48
215 Chad Desmett, C, WBF 2:20, Trey English, WB 21 – 48
285 Broc Bell, WB won by forfeit 21 – 54
OFFICIAL: Dick Wood