DuBois — The Clearfield Bison wrestling team was at DuBois Area High School on Saturday looking to win their first District 9 AAA Team Wrestling Championship since 2011.
Their opponent would be the defending champion St. Marys Flying Dutch, a team that dismantled the Bison just two weeks ago, 52-16.
Unfortunately for the Bison, they were unable to make up all of the deficit from that 36-point loss, but they closed the gap considerably, bowing to the Dutch by 11, 33-22.
Surprisingly enough, all 14 match ups were exactly the same as back on January 15. The Bison only won three matches and were pinned six times the first time around; but doubled that to six wins and were only pinned three times Saturday.
The match started at 182, where Bison Michael Hadden lost 10-3 to Michael Wolfel. Actually a good start for the Bison, as Hadden was pinned in the earlier dual meet.
At 195, Travis Ogden (23-3) gave the Bison a short-lived lead, 6-3, with his second period fall, the same result as previously – right down to the exact time, 2:30.
If the Bison were going to upset the favored Dutch, they would need to make some headway between 220 and turning the corner up to 113. They did make a little headway, but the three-point improvement from the first time the two teams met was not enough though.
Chance Timko lost 10-5 at 113 after being pinned earlier in the season to make up the three points in team score, but Brian Thorpe at 220, Nate Lash at 285, and Matt Ryan at 106 each suffered the same fate as before.
St. Marys made up those three points, and even added one, over the next two weights.
120 pounder Josiah McClarren (19-11) picked up a 6-1 win this go-round, but major decisioned his opponent last time.
St. Marys picked up a fall at 126 to up their lead to 27-9, while last time they only picked up a regular decision.
Bison Senior Noah Cline (24-5) cut the deficit to 26-13 with a major decision at 132. St. Marys was deducted a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct after the Dutchmen threw his head gear. Cline had a third period fall the last time, so the major and the team point deduction was actually a one-point swing for the Dutch.
At 138, Bison Logan Puit lost 5-0, the regular decision being the same as last time.
It was over the final four weight classes where the Bison really showed the most improvement.
145 pound Bison freshman Luke McGonigal (18-10) beat junior Kyle Pecht 6-3 to avenge a one-point loss in the previous dual meet.
Junior Tallin Norris (15-14) of the Bison had the second biggest turnaround of all the Bison on the day. William McGonnel beat Norris 13-5 two weeks ago, but Norris completely turned the table with an 11-6 win to close the Bison to within 10 points at 29-19.
160 pounder Grant Climie was pinned in the regular season dual meet, but fought back to a major decision loss this time around.
The biggest turnaround for the Bison was turned in by 170 pounder Levi Wiser. Wiser (12-15) was pinned in the dual and managed a 2-0 win here.
St. Marys (7-1) will now represent District 9 at the PIAA Team Wrestling Championships in Hershey, beginning Thursday at The Giant Center. St. Marys’ first round opponent will be District 1 champion Boyertown.
The District 9 AA champion was state-ranked Brookville.
The Bison (6-9) will host their final dual meet of the season when the Philipsburg-Osceola Mounties invade the Arthur J. Weiss Gymnasium on Tuesday night.
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182
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Michael Wolfel (Saint Marys) over Michael Hadden (Clearfield) (Dec 10-3)
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0
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3
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|
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195
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Travis Ogden (Clearfield) over Mitchell Cashmer (Saint Marys) (Fall 2:30)
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6
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3
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|
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220
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Daniel Salinas (Saint Marys) over Brian Thorpe (Clearfield) (Dec 7-1)
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6
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6
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285
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Raymond Kline (Saint Marys) over Nate Lash (Clearfield) (Fall 3:07)
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6
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12
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|
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106
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Hayden Tettis (Saint Marys) over Matt Ryan (Clearfield) (Fall 2:46)
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6
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18
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113
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Raymond Dent (Saint Marys) over Chance Timko (Clearfield) (Dec 10-5)
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6
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21
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120
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Josiah McClarren (Clearfield) over Cameron Winters (Saint Marys) (Dec 6-1)
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9
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21
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126
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Cameron Resch (Saint Marys) over Logan Gilbert (Clearfield) (Fall 3:16)
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9
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27
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132
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Noah Cline (Clearfield) over Garret Cook (Saint Marys) (MD 9-1)
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13
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26*
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|
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138
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Tim Beimel (Saint Marys) over Logan Puit (Clearfield) (Dec 5-0)
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13
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29
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145
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Luke McGonigal (Clearfield) over Kyle Pecht (Saint Marys) (Dec 6-3)
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16
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29
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152
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Tallin Norris (Clearfield) over William McGonnel (Saint Marys) (Dec 11-6)
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19
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29
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160
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Christian Steffan (Saint Marys) over Grant Climie (Clearfield) (MD 10-0)
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19
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33
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170
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Levi Wisor (Clearfield) over Nicklas Taylor (Saint Marys) (Dec 2-0)
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22
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33
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| * – one team point deducted for unsportsmanlike conduct after 132 pound match | ||||
Bison Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/05&06 | Top Hat Tourney @ Williamsport | 10th | 0 – 0 |
| 12/09 | DUBOIS | 33 – 39 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/11 | @ Bald Eagle Area | ppd. | 0 – 1 |
| 12/12 | @ Bald Eagle Area | 21 – 46 | 0 – 2 |
| 12/16 | CENTRAL | 24 – 43 | 0 – 3 |
| 12/18 | PUNXSUTAWNEY | 47 – 19 | 1 – 3 |
| 01/02&03 | Tool City Tourney @ Meadville | 5th | 1 – 3 |
| 01/06 | @ Penns Valley | 36 – 33 | 2 – 3 |
| 01/13 | HUNTINGDON | 37 – 36 | 3 – 3 |
| 01/15 | ST. MARYS | 16 – 52 | 3 – 4 |
| 01/17 | CLEARFIELD BISON DUALS | ||
| 01/17 | vs. GAR Memorial | 64 – 15 | 4 – 4 |
| 01/17 | vs. West Branch | 33 – 47 | 4 – 5 |
| 01/17 | vs. Greenville | 27 – 41 | 4 – 6 |
| 01/17 | vs. Coughlin | 40 – 26 | 5 – 6 |
| 01/17 | vs. West Branch | 36 – 39 | 5 – 7 |
| 01/20 | @ Bellefonte | 18 – 34 | 5 – 8 |
| 01/23&24 | @ New Oxford Tourney | 5th | 5 – 8 |
| 01/27 | @ Tyrone | 54-21 | 6 – 8 |
| 01/31 | D9 Team Duals @ DuBois | ||
| 01/31 | vs. St. Marys | 22 – 33 | 6 – 9 |
| 02/03 | PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA | ||
| 02/20&21 | District 9 Champs @ Clarion | ||
| 02/27&28 | Northwest Regionals @ Altoona | ||
| 03/05-07 | PIAA States @ Hershey |