CURWENSVILLE — Because of forfeits, the Indiana and Curwensville schoolboy wrestling teams matched up at only five weights on Parents Night in Patton Hall Tuesday.
Wins in three of those bouts enabled the Golden Tide to hold off the Indians 42-36, halting a four-meet losing streak
Kaleb Witherite broke up a tight one with Keegan Ryan by reversing to a headlock for a fall 33 seconds into the third period at 182 pounds, while Cole Bressler at 138 and Steven McClure at heavyweight came through with two-point decisions.
“I know we got one more forfeit than they did, but we won three of the five and that was the difference,” Curwensville coach Dean Swatsworth said.
With no Indian weighing in at the first five weights, Zach Holland at 106, Blake Passarelli at 113, Mason Gasper at 120, Dylan Myers at 126 and Ethan Collins at 132 paraded to center mat for the formal hand-raising.
Bressler made it 33-0 by spinning behind Trent Davis for takedowns in the first and third periods and adding an escape to prevail 5-3.
Indiana (7-13) quickly got back into it via forfeits to David McElravy at 145, A.J. Ryan at 152 and Frank Pennington at 160 plus a fall in 2:44 by Dylan McAnulty at 170.
McAnulty bumped up a weight and built a 9-0 lead prior to running a half nelson and barring Mason Lancaster’s far arm for the bonus win that closed the gap to 33-24.
Witherite got those six points back with his pin, but the Indians kept the outcome in doubt when Alex Donahue received a forfeit at 195 and Jordan Smith turned Nick Stewart with a half nelson for a fall just 15 seconds into the second period at 220.
The sudden finish came after a wild first two minutes in which Stewart, up a weight, twice reversed Smith right to his back for five-point moves. However he surrendered three takedowns, with Smith adding a three-point near fall in the final seconds to take an 11-10 lead.
With Curwensville (3-7) up 39-36, McClure reversed Brent Johnson midway through the second period for a 4-2 lead and tacked on three crucial back points with 1:15 remaining before surrendering an escape and two penalty points that made it a 7-5 decision.
“Had everyone in the lineup, and that helped,” Swatsworth said. “Not a lot of wrestling, so it’s hard to see where everyone’s at, but the kids that wrestled stepped up and some wrestled better than they did (Monday) night.”
He noted that some of the better wrestlers on both teams did not get matches.
“It’s tough to not wrestle, especially when you’re trying to keep your weight down,“ Swatsworth said, adding the Golden Tide is in the same situation as many other schools without full lineups. “I thought (Indiana) wrestled us pretty well. We just ended up on top.”
The Golden Tide wrestlers and their parents were introduced prior to the meet, with special tribute going to the three seniors – Collins, Lancaster and Witherite.
“I gave em all a big hug before they went out,” Swatsworth said, who is in his third season as head coach. “I’ve been with them for six years. They were my seventh graders when I took over the junior high. I’ve seen them mature throughout the years, and it’s really nice to have at least those three.
“I just told them thanks for sticking with it, and working hard with me and trusting me as a coach.
“I really want to send them all out with a big bang and help them get as far as they can through districts, regionals and states.”
Before beginning the tournament trail next week, the Golden Tide will be back on their home mat again Thursday for their dual meet finale against Brockway.
CURWENSVILLE 42, INDIANA 36
106 – Zach Holland, C, won by forfeit. (6-0).
113 – Blake Passarelli, C, won by forfeit. (12-0)
120 – Mason Gasper, C, won by forfeit. (18-0)
126 – Dylan Myers, C, won by forfeit. (24-0)
132 – Ethan Collins, C, won by forfeit. (30-0)
138 – Cole Bressler, C, dec. Trent Davis, 5-3. (33-0)
145 – David McElravy, I, won by forfeit. (33-6)
152 – A.J. Ryan, I, won by forfeit. (33-12)
160 – Frank Pennington, I, won by forfeit. (33-18)
170 – Dylan McAnulty, I, pinned Mason Lancaster, 2:44. (33-24)
182 – Kaleb Witherite, C, pinned Keegan Ryan, 4:33. (39-24)
195 – Alex Donahue, I, won by forfeit. (39-30)
220 – Jordan Smith, I, pinned Nick Stewart, 2:15. (39-36)
285 – Steven McClure, C, dec. Brent Johnson, 7-5. (42-36)
Referee – Nick Sipes.
Golden Tide Scoreboard:
| Date | Opponent | Score | Record |
| 12/10 | Mountaineer Tourney @ PO | 77 pts. | 8th place |
| 12/13 | @ Redbank Valley | 27 – 54 | 0 – 1 |
| 12/17 | @ Redbank Valley Duals | ppd. | 0 – 1 |
| 12/22 | @ Ridgway | 27 – 53 | 0 – 2 |
| 01/04 | @ Punxsutawney | 48 – 36 | 1 – 2 |
| 01/07 | @ Indiana Tourney | 90.5 pts. | 8th place |
| 01/12 | @ West Branch | 28 – 51 | 1 – 3 |
| 01/19 | JOHNSONBURG | 42 – 30 | 2 – 3 |
| 01/24 | BROOKVILLE | 9 – 64 | 2 – 4 |
| 01/26 | MO VALLEY | 24 – 47 | 2 – 5 |
| 01/27 & 28 | Fred Bell Tourney @ Grove City | 52 pts. | 22nd place |
| 01/31 | CLARION | ppd. | 2 – 5 |
| 02/02 | GLENDALE | 33 – 42 | 2 – 6 |
| 02/04 | @ Juniata Valley Tourney | 162.5 pts | 3rd place |
| 02/13 | CLARION | 18 – 51 | 2 – 7 |
| 02/14 | INDIANA | 42 – 36 | 3 – 7 |
| 02/ 16 | BROCKWAY | ||
| 02/24 & 25 | District 9 AA Champs @Clfd HS | ||
| 03/03 & 04 | Northwest Regionals @ Sharon | ||
| 03/09-11 | PIAA States @ Hershey |
