MORRISDALE — The Clearfield Bison wrestlers will head to West Branch High School to participate in the 2nd Annual Ultimate Warrior Tournament on Friday and Saturday.
The Bison will be hard pressed to defend their 2016 title, as a 28-team field with combatants from all over the state will do battle.
The Bison have three returning placewinners from last year’s edition of the Ultimate Warrior. They are Matt Ryan, who was sixth at 106, Zane Morgan, who was fifth at 152, and Luke McGonigal, your champion at 170 pounds.
This year, those three returnees, plus Hunter Wright garnered seeds. Ryan (18-8) is seeded third at 120, Morgan (8-9) is eighth at 160, McGonigal (21-1) is first at 182, and Wright (19-9) is sixth at 145.
In addition to host West Branch and Clearfield, the following teams are entered – Altoona, Ambridge, Bald Eagle Area, Bellwood-Antis, Blairsville, Blue Mountain, Brockway, Dallastown, Hickory, Johnsonburg, Juniata, Juniata Valley, Lake-Lehman, Marion Center, Mifflin County, Mo Valley, Oswayo Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola, Richland, Ridgway, Shippensburg, St. Joseph’s Catholic, Towanda, Tyrone, United, and Wilson.
Action begins on Friday at 1:00 p.m. with pigtail and preliminary round matches. There will be a round of consolation matches, and then quarterfinals and a second round of wrestlebacks will begin around 5:30.
Third round consolation matches will get things started on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. The semifinals and consy quarters should then begin about 11. That will be followed by the cony semis to close out the morning session.
The final session begins at 3:30 p.m. with the consolation finals to determine third through eighth place. The Parade of Champions is scheduled for approximately 5:30, immediately followed by the championship matches.