CLEARFIELD — In their final tune up before heading to Hershey for the PIAA team championships, the Clearfield Bison wrestling team put on a show for the home fans, delivering an old fashioned thrashing of the Curwensville Golden Tide. The Bisons recorded five falls and won all but one bout for a thundering 67-3 victory over their rivals from up the river.
Max Von Gunden got things rolling at 135, receiving the first of five Tide forfeits. Troy Danver followed at 140 with a dominating 10-0 major decision over Nathan Wriglesworth, giving the Bisons a 10-0 early lead.
Clearfield quickly made it 22-0 with back-to-back first period falls in the next two bouts. At 145, senior Andrew Hill decked Hunter McCracken in 1:56 and fellow senior Shane Harper flattened Austin Pollick in 1:09 at 152.
Curtis Owens kept the momentum going for the Bisons with a 10-1 major decision over Lewis Rhine at 160. Cody Hepfer stepped in at 171 to receive a forfeit, pushing the Bison lead to 32-0.
Wrestling up a weight class at 189 didn’t seem to bother Derek Danver, as the senior upped his record to 24-5 on the year with a 20-5 technical fall over Chad Desmett in 4:20.
The scoreboard really lit up for the Bisons to the tune of 55-0 as they received three consecutive forfeits in the match. Cliff Hill at 215, Jordan Lancaster at 285, and Shane Peters at 112 were all beneficiaries of the easy six points. There was no match at 103.
The Bisons put back-to-back pins together for the second time in the match when Christian Stone improved to 23-2 on the year with a second period fall over Greg Koptchak at 119. Dylan Graham made it 67-0 when he flattened Alex Holt in 1:52 at 125.
The last bout of the evening, matching two of the area’s top grapplers, was the most anticipated and entertaining of the contest. Clearfield’s Nolan Barger (20-6) and Curwensville’s Jake Keller (26-1) didn’t disappoint the fans as they went back and forth for six minutes.
Both wrestlers came close to recording takedowns in the first two minutes, but the period ended with a 0-0 score. Keller started the second period in the bottom position and was able to score a two point reversal early on. Barger nearly tied the bout with a reversal of his own late in the second, but wasn’t able to score any points.
Still trailing 2-0, Barger chose down to start the third period and had numerous escape attempts thwarted by Keller. The final seconds of the bout saw Keller hold of a strong reversal attempt by Barger, and give the Tide junior a well-earned 2-0 victory.
The Bisons, now 11-2, will compete in the PIAA team championships in Hershey starting on Thursday where they’ll meet District 2 champion Delaware Valley. They will return to dual meet action next Tuesday with a trip to Indian Valley.
Bout Recap Team Score
135 Max Von Gunden, WBForfeit, C 6 – 0
140 Troy Danver, WBMD, 10-0, over Nathan Wriglesworth C 10 – 0
145 Andrew Hill, WBF, 1:56, over Hunter McCracken C 16 – 0
152 Shane Harper, WBF, 1:09, over Austin Pollick C 22 – 0
160 Curtis Owens, WBMD, 10-1, over Lewis Rhine C 26 – 0
171 Cody Lansberry, WBForfeit C 32 – 0
189 Derek Danver, WBTF, 20-5, 4:20, over Chad Desmitt C 37 – 0
215 Cliff Hill, WBForfeit C 43 – 0
285 Jordan Lancaster, WBForfeit C 49 – 0
103 no match
112 Shane Peters, WBForfeit C 55 – 0
119 Christian Stone, WBF, 2:51, over Greg Koptchak C 61 – 0
125 Dylan Graham, WBF, 1:52, over Alex Holt C 67 – 0
130 Nolan Barger, LBD, 2-0 to Jake Keller C 67 – 3