HYDE — Curwensville senior Shae Bloom wrestled his way to a special niche in the District 9 history book Saturday as one of several Class AA champions who stood head and shoulders above their challengers for the second day in a row in Clearfield Area High School’s Bison Gym.
The once-beaten Golden Tide standout, No. 7 in the latest Off The Mat state rankings, completed his impressive run through the 152-pound weight class with a technical fall and, in the finals, a decisive 7-1 win over second-seeded Caleb Hetrick of Brookville in the lone bout he surrendered a point.
His second Class AA gold medal elevated him into the district’s Four-Time Champion Club, where the 31st member holds the distinction being first to accomplish the feat with titles in both classes and the second to rule for two different teams. He reigned two years in Class AAA for DuBois.
Two Golden Tide underclassmen also earned a trip to Sharon for the Northwest Region Class AA Tournament next weekend.
Freshman Blake Passarelli was runner-up at 106 and sophomore Steven McClure shook off a championship semifinal loss to claim third place at 220.
Coming off a pair of first-period falls Friday, Bloom (29-1) outclassed No. 5 seed Dylan Baumgarner 16-0 in 3:57 with two takedowns and four near falls to set up one of the 12 title bouts between the top two seeds.
He took down Hetrick in each period but couldn’t turn the Raider sophomore who had defaulted to him because of an ankle injury when they met in the Jan. 26 dual meet at Brookville.
“We knew the kid was tough, and Shae handled him pretty well,” Curwensville coach Dean Swatsworth said. “I thought he dominated pretty much all weekend. I was happy for him to win his fourth title.”
Swatsworth pointed out that an early season 3-1 dual-meet loss to Smethport’s James Duffy, who stormed to his 145 gold for the second year in a row, prompted Bloom to change his mind about cutting to the lower weight for the postseason.
“He came to coach (John) Sutika and me and said I think I’m going to stay at 52,” Swatsworth said. “I said, ‘Hey, if you want to wrestle at 52, make sure you weigh 52.’
“From the day he lost to Duffy, he’s lifted every day, and you can tell. He’s in great shape now.”
Passarelli (25-7) ran into a buzz saw in the finals after building a 6-2 lead with two takedowns and a reversal and holding off No. 3 seed Kyle Bush of Ridgway 6-4 in the semis.
Brookville junior Keelan Kunselman simply was too tough for the Golden Tide bantam, who fought off his back four times before the Raider registered a technical fall, 17-0, after 3:25.
Kunselman was a 20-bout winner last season but was kept out of the district lineup by champ Gavin Park.
“Blake got in deep twice, but Kunselman’s just real big, real tall, and he stepped over and laced that ankle, and that was it,” Swatsworth said. “Kunselman is a good wrestler. He wrestled real well down at team duals and beat some good kids.
“Blake will get there, though. For being young and on the big stage for the first time, I thought he wrestled well. I told him how many kids can you say made the finals here, especially from Curwensville.”
After being bumped into the consolation bracket by Port Allegany powerhouse Ethan Budd 10-2, McClure secured a berth in the region tourney with a hard-fought 7-6 victory over Clarion sophomore Tom Wurster. Down 5-2 with under a minute left, McClure turned the bout around with a back trip off an over-and-under tie-up for a five-point move.
On a restart with 17 seconds remaining, McClure turned Wurster loose, and that almost backfired when the Bobcat appeared to have engineered a winning takedown just before the buzzer. However, that was waved off because the clock had not been started on the whistle and it was determined that time had expired.
In the third-place match, McClure turned Brockway junior Mark Latuska with a half-nelson for a near fall with less than 20 seconds to go for a 4-1 win.
“That was a big step for him,” Swatsworth said. “The kid wasn’t seeded at all and got thrown in to the bracket. He came in 2-2 and ended up third, so we’re pretty happy with Steven.”
McClure (6-3) defeated the fourth, fifth, seventh and eighth seeds to become the only unseeded placewinner.
Golden Tide seniors Seth Woolcock (120) and Ben Junod (170) were one win away from advancing, losing in the consy semis after recording wins in the previous round.
Sophomore Dylan Myers (126) and junior Eli Jacobs (160) were eliminated in the consy quarters.
“We brought seven into the second day, and I’m just proud of all our kids,” Swatsworth said.
“I don’t want to say disappointments, but some kids I thought would get through didn’t.”
Curwensville wound up 10th in the team chase with 71.5 points
PIAA Team Duals champion Brookville (29-0) showed why it was ranked No. 1 in the state by blowing away two District 9 records with 257.5 points, nearly doubling second-place Brockway’s 129.5.
Coach of the Year Dave Kepler’s Raiders, who outscored the combined total for the Rovers and third-place Ridgway, erased the standards of 231.5 points by the 2014 Brookville team and 83-point winning margin by Ridgway in 2007.
Accounting for the bulk of their points were six champions and three runners-up.
Following Kunselman to the top of the winner’s stand were sophomore Park at 112, senior Cole Aaron at 132, senior Taylor Ortz at 138, sophomore Xavier Molnar at 170 and junior Noah Cieleski at 182.
Ortz, ranked No. 1 by Off The Mat, was the coaches’ selection for the Outstanding Wrestler Award after chalking up his fourth district crown with three falls. The Clarion commit pinned Ridgway’s Logan McClain at 1:49 in the finals.
Aaron triggered the crowd’s biggest roar when he flattened defending champion and No. 1 seed Adam Shunk of Smethport at the 5:26 mark after breaking a 1-1 tie with a takedown with 41 seconds on the clock.
Park won his second title by edging Brockway’s Mitchell Overbeck 4-2 on two takedowns in the first period.
Molnar prevented Brockway’s Michael Martino from becoming a two-timer by prevailing 3-0 in a match that was up in the air until the Raider countered the Rover’s deep shot for a takedown with 12 seconds left.
Cieleski became Brookville’s 100th district champ with a 13-1 major decision over Keystone’s Evan Redding.
No other team was able to boast of more than one titlist.
Repeating as champions were Redbank Valley’s Tanner Altobelli at 126, Duffy at 145, Clarion’s Zach Sintobin at 195 and Budd at 220.
Altobelli was a 5-3 survivor against Brockway’s Mason Lindenmuth in a duel of returning champs. Lindenmuth reigned at 132 last year.
Duffy took down Coudersport’s Julian Smith three time in a 7-0 win, Sintobin was ahead 7-2 when he pinned Brookville’s Dane Clever with 10 seconds left and Budd put on a takedown clinic against Brookville’s Tyler Cook with five two-pointers for a 10-5 triumph.
Ryan Carlson, the 106 champ in 2014, also joined the two-time champion list by blanking Ridgway’s Lukas McClain 6-0 at 120 pounds.
Paul Zacherl of Cranberry kept his record unblemished with six takedowns against Port Allegany’s Mac Tanner in a 15-5 major decision at 160.
The final bout produced an upset as No. 2 seed Tyler Beal of Keystone worked a reversal and takedown in the third period for a 6-3 victory over Redbank Valley’s BryLee Shumaker, ranked No. 2 in the state by Off the Mat.
Four wrestlers per weight advance to the Northwest Region Tournament, which has six qualifiers from District 10.
TEAM SCORING AND KEY:
1. Brookville (Bv), 257.5 points; 2. Brockway (Bw), 129.5; 3. Ridgway (R), 113.5; 4. Port Allegany (PA), 92.5; 5. Clarion (Cl), 86; 6. Keystone (Key), 80; 7. Coudersport (Cou), 78; 8. Redbank Valley (RV), 76.5; 9. Cranberry (Cr), 73.5; 10. Curwensville (Cur), 71.5; 11. Smethport (Sm), 54.5; 12. Kane (K), 36.5; 13. Sheffield (Sh), 34; 14. Oswayo Valley (OV), 29; 15. Johnsonburg (J), 22; 16. Cameron County (CC), 4.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
(Wrestler’s name preceded by seed and followed by grade, record and team)
106 – (1) Keelan Kunselman, 11, (25-10), Bv, tech fall over (2) Blake Passarelli, 9, (25-7), Cur, 17-0 (3:25).
112 – (1) Gavin Park, 10, (17-2), Bv, dec. (2) Mitchell Overbeck, 12, (26-5), Bw, 4-2.
120 – (1) Ryan Carlson, 12, (29-1), Bw, dec. (3) Lukas McClain, 10, (22-6), R, 6-0.
126 – (1) Tanner Altobelli, 12, (29-1), RV, dec. (2) Mason Lindenmuth, 12, (28-4), Bw, 5-3.
132 – (2) Cole Aaron, 12, (32-4), Bv, pinned (1), Adam Shunk, 12, (26-4), Sm, 5:26.
138 – (1) Taylor Ortz, 12, (37-0), Bv, pinned (2) Logan McClain, 10, (27-5), R, 1:49.
145 – (1) James Duffy, 12, (30-0), Sm, dec. (2) Julian Smith, 10, (23-6), Cou, 7-0.
152 – (1) Shae Bloom, 12, (29-1), Cur, dec. (2) Caleb Hetrick, 10, (26-8), Bv, 7-1.
160 – (1) Paul Zacherl, 12, (34-0), Cr, major dec. (2) Mac Tanner, 12, (28-2), PA, 16-6.
170 – (1) Xavier Molnar, 10, (24-8), Bv, dec. (2) Michael Martino, 12 (17-4), Bw, 3-0.
182 – (1) Noah Celeski, 11, (29-6), Bv, major dec. (3) Evan Redding, 12, (23-5), Key, 13-1.
195 – (1) Zach Sintobin, 12, (28-2), Cl, pinned (2) Dane Clever, 12, (24-9), B, 5:50.
220 – (1) Ethan Budd, 12, (28-2), PA, dec. (2) Tyler Cook, 10, (27-9), Bv, 10-5.
285 – (2) Tyler Beal, 12, (27-2), Key, dec. (1) BryLee Shumaker, 12, (32-2), RV, 6-3.
CONSOLATION FINALS
106 – (3) Kyle Bush, 10, (25-7), R, major dec. (7) Dylan Pesock, 10, (14-12), OV, 9-1.
112 – (6) Bryce Barclay, 10, (25-7), R, dec. (3) Trevor Olney, 11, (18-6), Cou, 6-4.
119 – (2) Kai Sorbin, 10, (23-12), Bv, dec. (5) Trey Stiles, 10, (18-6), PA, 12-7.
126 – (3) Drew Baumgratz, 11, (19-10), R, dec. (4) Dustin Kudrick, 10, (24-8), Cou, 9-2.
132 – (3) Josh Hancock, 11, (31-7), Cr, dec. (4) Devon Norlin, 10, (20-11), J, 4-2.
138 – (4) Alec English, 9, (22-4), K, dec. (5) Dustin Jamison, 12, (28-10), Bw, 3-0.
145 – (7) Colton Rapp, 10, (21-13), Cl, dec. (6) Jacob Kallenborn, 10, (22-10), PA, 3-1.
152 – (6) Terrel Williams, 11, (23-11), Sh, dec. (3) Gage Arnold, 11, (26-7), Cou, 4-3.
160 – (3) Chad Rogers, 12, (28-5), Key, dec. (7) Dom Palmer, 12, (14-11), Bv, 7-3.
170 – (3) Josiah Ramadhan, 12, (25-7), PA, injury default over (7) Mike Lefay, 12, (21-11), Cl, 01.
182 – (2) Grant West, 11, (20-7), OV, dec. (6) Garrett McClintick, 9, (22-15), Bw, 9-8.
195 – (3) Tyler Vantassel, 9, (18-7), Key, pinned (7) Pierce Yahner, 10, (11-19), Bw, :58.
220 – Steve McClure, 10, (6-3), Cur, dec. (8) Mark Latuska, 11, (11-17), 4-0.
285 – (6) Colton McClain, 11, (28-7), R, dec. (3) Bryce Town, 12, (21-6), Bv, 2-0.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
106 – Pesock, OV, dec. (5) Reese Vollmer, 9, (17-13), PA, 1-0; Bush, R, tech fall over (8) Darien Gregory, 9, (12-14), Sm, 17-0 (3:00).
112 – Olney, Cou, dec. (4) Alex Struble, 12, (21-11), Cl, 7-0; Barclay, R, tech fall over (8) Isaac Smoker, 9, (20-13), PA, 17-0 (3:00).
120 – Stiles, PA, pinned (7) Seth Woolcock, 12, (11-16), Cur, :22; Sorbin, Bv, dec. (4) Dawson Wilson, 11, (16-12), RV, 9-6.
126 – D. Kudrick, Cou, dec. (6) Ryley McMaster, 10, (17-11), Cl, 11-9; Baumgratz, R, dec. (5) Dontae Constable, 10, (12-22), Bv, 9-2.
132 – Norlin, J, dec. (6) Santino Inzana, 9, (21-15), Bw, 3-2; Hancock, Cr, pinned Chucky Gardner, 10, (7-11), K, 1:31.
138 – English, K, dec. (3) Kyle Holden, 12, (21-12), Sh, 6-2; Jamison, Bw, pinned (6) Jake Zimmerman, 10, (16-18), J, 4:00.
145 – Rapp, Cl, pinned (4) Nick Baughman, 2, (14-12), Key, 2:24; Kallenborn, PA, dec. (8) Zach Gilbert, 11, (6-9), Bv, 4-1.
152 – Williams, Sh, dec. (5) Dylan Baumgarner, 12, (21-9), PA, 9-7; Arnold, Cou, pinned (8) Jonathan Francis, 11, (22-13), R, 2:53.
160 – Palmer, Bv, dec. (5) Akete Kindle, 11, (18-7), Sm, 6-5; Rogers, Key, dec. Devin Schimp, 12, (17-17), RV, 5-0.
170 – Lefay, Cl, dec. (5) Isaac Wright, 10, (Cou), 9-5; Ramadhan, PA, dec. (4) Ben Junod, 12, (20-10), Cur, 9-2.
182 – G. McClintick, Bw, dec. (5) Ty Stahli, 9, (18-12), K, 3-1; West, OV, dec. (4) Alexander Burkhart, 12, (16-8), 6-3.
195 – Yahner, Bw, dec. (5) Joe Lawton, 12, (14-13), Cou, 4-3; Vantassel, K, dec. (4) Devin Bowser, 12, (15-17), RV, 9-5.
220 – McClure, Cur, dec. (7) Tom Wurster, 10, (15-10), Cl, 7-6; Latuska, Bw, dec. (3) Patrick Crawford, 11, (9-6), RV, 9-2.
285 – Town, Bv, dec. (4) Timmy McCauley, 10, (11-4), Cr, 4-0; C. McClain, R, pinned (5) William Peluso, 12, (16-11), J, 4:31.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
106 – Kunselman, Bv, tech fall over Vollmer, PA, 18-2 (6:00); Passarelli, Cur, dec. Bush, R, 6-4.
112 – Park, Bv, pinned Struble, Cl, 3:16; Overbeck, Bw, dec. Barclay, R, 5-4 (UTB).
120 – Carlson, Bv, major dec. Stiles, PA, 14-1; Lu. McClain, R, dec. Sorbin, Bv, 6-4.
126 – T. Altobelli, RV, pinned D. Kudrick, Cou, 5:46; Lindenmuth, Bw, dec. Baumgratz, R, 6-0.
132 – Ortz, Bv, pinned Norlin, J, 3:50; Lo. McClain, R, major dec. Hancock, Cr, 12-3.
138 – Shunk, Sm, dec. English, K, 4-2; Aaron, Bv, dec. Zimmerman, J, 7-1.
145 – Duffy, Sm, pinned Baughman, Key, 2:59; Smith, Cou, dec. Kallenborn, PA, 9-7.
152 – Bloom, Cur, tech fall over Baumgarner, PA, 16-0 (3:57); Hetrick, Bv, dec. Arnold, Cou, 6-4.
160 – Zacherl, Cr, pinned Kindle, Sm, :50; Tanner, PA, dec. Rogers, Key, 3-1.
170 – Molnar, Bv, pinned Wright, Cou, 2:50; Martino, Bw, dec. Ramadhan, PA, 5-0.
182 – Cieleski, Bv, pinned Stahli, K, 1:29; Redding, Key, pinned West, OV, 5:59.
195 – Sintobin, Cl, dec. Lawton, Cou, 6-1; Clever, Bv, pinned Vantassel, Key, 1:36.
220 – Budd, PA, major dec. McClure, Cur, 10-2; Cook, Bv, pinned Crawford, RV, 1:46.
285 – Shumaker, RV, pinned McCauley, Cr, 3:17; Beal, Key, dec. C. McClain, R, 5-3.
CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS
(Curwensville results)
120 – Woolcock, Cur, dec. (6) Brock Foltz, 12, (12-12), CC, 1-0.
126 – Constable, Bv, pinned (8) Dylan Myers, 10, (11-17), Cur, 2:48.
160 – Schimp, RV, dec. (8) Eli Jacobs, 11, (3-8), Cur, 9-6.
170 – Junod, Cur, pinned (8) Lukas Frontino, 10, (10-10), Sm, 4:17.
See complete bracket results here, courtesy Bob Imhof’s Ridgway Wrestling.