SHARON — A repeat victory over a District 9 rival earned Curwensville Area High School senior Shae Bloom the 152-pound gold medal at the Northwest Class AA Wrestling Tournament in Sharon High School Saturday.
Golden Tide freshman Blake Passarelli also qualified for the 2016 PIAA Class AA Championships in the Hershey Giant Center next weekend by rebounding from a semifinal loss with two wins to place third at 106.
Bloom earned the distinction of winning region crowns in both Class AAA and Class AA with his hard-fought 6-3 decision over Brookville sophomore Caleb Hetrick. He was the 126-pound champ for DuBois two years ago before transferring back to Curwensville.
The only all-District 9 title bout was the third meeting of the season between Bloom (32-1) and Hetrick and proved much tougher for the Golden Tide standout, who won by injury default in the late January dual meet and 7-1 in the district finals.
After a scoreless first period, Hetrick chose down and reversed to take a 2-0 lead, but Bloom drew even with his own reversal.
Down to start the final period, Bloom quickly reversed and gave up a late escape before adding a takedown at the buzzer when Hetrick attempted a desperation move.
“Shae gave up the reversal, but he responded well,” Curwensville coach Dean Swatsworth said. “He wrestled tough like he always does and came out on top.
“I am very happy for Shae. He works very hard to get where he is, and I know this was one of the many goals he had for this year.”
Bloom, 32-1 with 24 wins in a row, rolled up a 12-2 major decision over D-9 third-placer Terrel Williams of Sheffield in the semifinals, registering four takedowns and one nearfall.
A rare defensive pin meant the difference between third place and fourth place for Passarelli, who was trailing Cochranton junior Devan Davis 6-0 when the fall was called at 2:51.
“The kid tilted with a crab ride and went back to it again, but Blake sat back into him and put him on his back for about 10 seconds when the referee hit the mat.
“I went crazy. I told him it wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it.
“Blake wrestled hard all weekend, and I couldn’t be more happy for him. He‘s worked for it, and I‘m proud of him.”
Reynolds freshman Beau Bayless, the region champ, had dropped Passarelli (28-8) into the consolations with an 11-2 major decision in the morning semis, taking him down three times, twice in the first period for a 4-0 lead, and reversing and cradling him for a near fall in the third period.
In wild bout for the ticket to states, Passarelli avenged a 7-3 Fred Bell Tournament loss to Grove City junior Cory Bable by taking him down in overtime for a 9-7 victory.
They were 3-3 after two periods, and the Golden Tide bantam held a 7-4 lead before surrendering an escape and a late takedown. He answered with the winning takedown to set up a rematch with Davis, whom he had beaten 7-5 in Friday night’s quarterfinals.
After missing most of the season due to an arm injury in the first week of practice, Curwensville sophomore Steven McClure (7-5) was one win away of becoming a first-year state qualifier.
He got the first of two wins he needed to advance by cradling Brockway junior Mark Latuska for a fall with 13 seconds left in the consy quarterfinals.
Unfortunately, two-time region champion Cole Rickert of Reynolds was waiting in the consy semis and shut out McClure 11-0.
“Steven came up one match short to join his teammates at states, but I‘m proud of how he handled himself,” Swatsworth said.
“Overall I am very happy that we had the opportunity to take three kids to regionals and get two through. I thought that the boys fought through some adversity this weekend and handled it well.”
The Golden Tide trio chalked up 40 points for a very respectable eighth-place finish among the 40 teams that were represented.
Reynolds edged Brookville 135-131 to reign for the 19th time.
District 9 had 22 placewinners, including champions Bloom, Gavin Park (113) and No. 1-ranked Taylor Ortz (132) of Brookville, James Duffy (145) of Smethport and BryLee Shumaker (285) of Redbank Valley.
Ortz notched his third region belt, as did Fort LeBoeuf’s Jarret Carter (138).
Reynolds had two champs in Bayless and returning state gold medalist Cole Matthews (126) and five other placewinners.
Park, Duffy and defending state champion Dakota Geer (182) of Franklin reigned for the second time. Duffy edged Reynolds’ Seth Hogue 5-4 in a duel of returning titlists.
The other champions were Charlie Lenox (120) of Fort LeBoeuf, Louie Head (160) of Eisenhower, Cody Milligan (17) of Saegertown and Blake Reynolds (195) and Gage Gladysz (220) of Greenville.
Ortz (40-0), Duffy (33-0), Geer (37-0) and Reynolds (43-0) and Gladysz (43-0) will carry perfect records to Hershey.
In addition to champs Bloom, Park, Ortz, Duffy and Shumaker, District 9 will be represented in the state tourney by seven runners-up, five bronze medalists and five fourth-placers.
District 10 has nine titlists and seven runners-up among its 34 PIAA qualifiers.
Complete bracket results can be found here, courtesy Bob Imhof’s Ridgway Wrestling.
TEAM SCORING AND KEYS
1. Reynolds (Rey), 135 points; 2. Brookville (Bv), 131; 3. Greenville (Gr), 90; 4. Fort LeBoeuf (FL), 84.5; 5. Brockway (Bw), 48; 6. Cambridge Springs (CS), 46; 7. Saegertown (Sae), 44; 8. Curwensville (Cur), 40; 9. Redbank Valley (RV), 38; 10. Harborcreek (HC), 34; 11. Port Allegany (PA), 33.5; 12. Franklin (Fr), 30.5; 13. Jamestown (J), 28.5; 14. Hickory (H), 24; 15. (tie) Eisenhower (E) and Smethport (Sm), 23; 17. Sharpsville (Sv), 19.5; 18. Clarion (Cl), 18; 19. Cranberry (Cran), 17; 20. Seneca (Sen), 16; 21. Ridgway (Ri), 15; 22. (tie) Coudersport (Cou) and Sharon (Sha), 13; 24. Commodore Perry (CP), 11; 25. (tie) Conneaut (Con) and Lakeview (L), 9; 27. (tie) Grove City (GC), North East (NE) and Union City (UC), 8; 30. Cochranton (Coch) and Northwestern (Nw), 7; 32. (tie) Keystone (Key), Sheffield (Shef) and Slippery Rock (SR), 4; 35. Corry (Cor) , Kane (K) and Maplewood (Ma), 2. Iroquois, Johnsonburg and Oswayo Valley did not score.
CHAMPIONSHIPS
(District-Place, Name, Grade, Record, Team)
106 – (10-1) Beau Bayless, 9, (35-7), Rey, dec. (9-1) Keelan Kunselman, 11, (27-11), Bv, 4-2.
113 – (9-1) Gavin Park, 11, (20-2), Bv, dec. (10-1) Abe Guariello, 12, (39-4), FL, 6-2.
120 – (10-1) Charlie Lenox, 12, (44-1), FL, major dec. (10-4) Faris Messai, 12, (26-4), J, 11-2.
126 – (10-1) Cole Matthews, 10, (40-4), Rey, dec. (9-1) Tanner Altobelli, 12, (32-2), RV, 10-6.
132 – (9-1) Taylor Ortz, 12, (40-0), Bv, dec. (10-1) Chaise Hauck, 11, (33-7), Rey, 5-3.
138 – (10-1) Jarret Carter, 12, (35-3), FL, dec. (9-1) Cole Aaron, 12, (34-5), Bv, 5-4.
145 – (9-1) James Duffy, 12, (33-0), Sm, dec. (10-1) Seth Hogue, 12, (36-8), Rey, 5-4.
152 – (9-1) Shae Bloom, 12, (32-1), Cur, dec. (9-2) Caleb Hetrick, 10, (28-9), Bv, 6-3.
160 – (10-1) Louie Head, 12, (34-1), E, pinned (9-1) Paul Zacherl, 12, (36-1), Cran, 3:27.
170 – (10-1) Cody Mulligan, 10, (39-4), Sae, dec. (10-2) Joel Leise, 11, (36-8), Rey, 6-0.
182 – (10-1) Dakota Geer, 12, (37-0), Fr, pinned (10-2) Hunter Cox, 12, (29-8), CS, 4:34
195 – (10-1) Blake Reynolds, 11, (43-0), Gr, pinned (9-1) Zach Sintobin, 12, (30-3), Cl, 1:36
220 – (10-1) Gage Gladysz, 12, (43-0), Gr, dec. (9-1) Ethan Budd, 12, (29-3), PA, 5-3.
285 – (9-2) BryLee Shumaker, 12, (35-2), RV, pinned (10-2) Jared Miley, 12, (21-11), 1:33.
CONSOLATION FINALS
106 – (9-2) Blake Passarelli, 9, (28-8), Cur, pinned (10-3) Devan Davis, 11, (31-9), Coch, 2:51.
113 – (10-3 Nick Oosterkamp, 10, (32-8), HC, dec. (9-2) Mitchell Overbeck, 12, (28-7), Bw, 2-1.
120 – (9-1) Ryan Carlson, 12, (33-2), Bw, dec. (10-5) Sam Sallot, 10, (38-8), HC, 1-0.
126 – (9-2) Mason Lindenmuth, 12, (31-5), Bw, tech fall over (10-3) Hunter Goodlin, 12, (32-11), J, 17-0.
132 – (10-2) Michael Lineman, 11, (32-15), Gr, dec. (10-6) Brock Salvatore, 10, (32-13), Sv, 2-1
138 – (10-3) Hunter Michaels, 10, (25-15), Rey, dec. (9-4) Dustin Jamison, 12, (32-11), Bw, 11-4.
145 – (10-3) Chris Hibbler, 12, (32-4), Sen, dec. (10-2) John Mott, 11, (30-4), CP, 5-4.
152 – (10-1) Nick Monico, 12, (36-5), Sae, dec. (9-4) Gage Arnold, 11, (30-7), Cou, 7-2.
160 – (9-2) Mac Tanner, 12, (31-3), PA, dec. (10-2) Nick McClimans, 11, (33-4), Sha, 3-2
170 – (10-6) Gavin Wilkerson, 11, (38-8), Gr, dec. (10-3) Julian Gorring, 9, (35-14), FL, 7-4.
182 – (9-1) Noah Cieleski, 11, (32-6), Bv, major dec. (10-3) Dan Kuhn, 12, (26-13), HC, 9-0.
195 – (10-3) Chris Mueller, 12, (31-6), Sv, dec. (10-2) Devin Simpson, 12, (37-8), CS, 1-0.
220 – (10-3) Cole Rickert, 11, (27-15) Rey, dec. (9-2) Tyler Cook, 10, (29-11), Bv, 3-1.
285 – (10-3) Zach Stafford, 12, (29-6), CS, dec. (9-3) Colton McClain, 11, (30-8), Ri, 6-4.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
106 – Passarelli, Cur, dec. (10-6) Cory Bable, 11, (21-9), GC, 9-7 (OT); Davis, Coch, dec. (10-2) Aaron Gelvin, 10, (33-10), Gr, 7-4.
113 – Oosterkamp, HC, pinned (9-3) Bryce Barclay, 10, (26-9), Ri, 4:21; Overbeck, Bw, dec. (10-2) Kenyon Andrews, 11, (), Ma, 11-6.
120 – Carlson, Bw, dec. (10-3) Gage Bayless, 11, (16-9), Rey, 5-1; Sallot, HC, dec. (10-2) Ty Vardnell, 9, (33-8), CS, 1-0.
126 – Goodlin, J, dec. (9-3) Drew Baumgratz, 11, (26-9), Ri, 6-1; Lindenmuth, Bw, dec. (10-2) Garrett Kopp, 10, (24-9), NE, 7-1.
132 – Lineman, Gr, dec. (10-4) Peyton Hearn, 9, (29-14), Con, 3-2; Salvatore, Sv, dec. (10-3) Mike Doerflinger, 10, (28-8), SR, 5-0.
138 – Michaels, Rey, dec. (9-3) Alec English, 9, (15-8), K, 4-0; Jamison, Bw, dec. (10-2) dec. Jude Mattocks, 11, (27-12), Sae, 7-6.
145 – Mott, CP, dec. (10-5) Daniel Simmerman, 12, (25-15), Sae, 4-2; Hibbler, Sen, pinned (9-3) Colton Rapp, 10, (22-15), Cl, 3:28.
152 – Monico, Sae, dec. (10-2) Joshua Christner, 10, (27-11), Gr, 7-1; Arnold, Cou, dec. (9-3) Terrel Williams, 11, (21-6), Shef, 4-2.
160 – Tanner, PA, dec. (10-4) Tyler Carey, 12, (34-12), Fr, 10-6; McClimans, Sha, dec. (10-6) Austin Mattocks, 12, (19-11), UC, 5-0.
170 – Wilkerson, Gr, pinned (9-2) Michael Martino, 12, (18-6), Bw, 2:30; Gorring, FL, major dec. (9-1) Xavier Molnar, 10, (26-10), Bv, 10-2
182 – Cieleski, Bv, pinned (10-4) Drew Rose, 12, (24-21), FL, 1:54; ; Kuhn, HC, dec. (10-6) Brenden Calvin, 10, (32-19), Gr, 7-6.
195 – Mueller, Sv, (10-4) Braden Morris, 12, (34-12), Con, dec. 3-1; Simpson, CS, dec. (10-5) Lane Reinwald, 11, (31-16), FL, 1-0.
220 – Cook, Bv, major dec. (10-2) Bryce Laughlin, 12, (31-5), Sha, 9-1; Rickert, Rey, major dec. (9-3) Steven McClure, 10, (7-5), Curwensville, 11-0.
285 – McClain, Ri, dec. (10-1) Gene Ringer, 12, (32-11), Rey, 3-2; Stafford, CS, pinned (9-1) Tyler Beal, 12, (28-4), Key, 2:31.
CONSOLATION QUARTERFINAL
(Curwensville Result)
220 – McClure, Cur, pinned (9-4) Mark Latuska, 11, (12-19), Bw, 4:47.
CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS
106 – B. Bayless, Rey, major dec. Passarelli, Cur, 11-2; Kunselman, Bv, dec. Gelvin, Gr, 8-5.
113 – Park, Bv, major dec. Barclay, Ri, 15-2; Guariello, FL, pinned Overbeck, Bw, 3:40.
120 – Lenox, FL, dec. G. Bayless, Rey, 5-1; Messai, J, pinned Vardnell, CS, 1:09.
126 – Altobelli, RV, dec. Baumgratz, Ri, 6-1; Matthews, Rey, pinned Lindenmuth, Br, :57.
132 – Ortz, Bv, pinned Lineman, Gr, 4:24; Hauck, Rey, dec. Doerflinger, SR, 6-2.
138 – Carter, FL, major dec. Michaels, Rey, 14-4; Aaron, Bv, dec. Mattocks, Sae, 7-5.
145 – Duffy, Sm, pinned Mott, CP, :24 Hogue, Rey, dec. Hibbler, Sen, 11-6.
152 – Hetrick, Bv, dec. Monico, Sae, 2-1; Bloom, Cur, major dec. Williams, Shef, 12-2.
160 – Head, E, dec. Tanner, PA, 3-1; Zacherl, Cran, major dec. McClimans, Sha, 11-3.
170 – Leise, Rey, pinned Wilkerson, Gr, 2:31; Mulligan, Gr, dec. Gorring, FL, 5-2.
182 – Cox, CS, dec. Cieleski, Bv, 9-3; Geer, Fr, pinned Kuhn, HC, 3:30.
195 – Reynolds, Gr, dec. Mueller, Sv, 5-0; Sintobin, Cl, dec. Simpson, CS, 5-2.
220 – Budd, PA, tech fall Laughlin, Sha, 16-1; Gladys, Gr, dec. Rickert, Rey, 7-2.
285 – Shumaker, RV, dec. Ringer, Rey, 3-0; Miley, H, dec. Beal, Key, 2-1 (TB).