MORRISDALE – The Clearfield Bison enjoyed some success over the weekend, as they traveled to West Branch to participate in a grueling 31 team tournament. Clearfield finished in 12th place with 95 points, and four wrestlers finished on the podium, including 195 pound champion Luke McGonigal.
McGonigal had a great tournament, pinning all four of his opponents. In his semi-final match, McGonigal was able to pin PO’s Brandon Anderson in 4:17 before wrestling Bald Eagle’s David Close in the finals. McGonigal scored a takedown and three nearfall points using a three-quarter nelson in the first period, and with another set of backpoints, he was up 8-0 to close the period. In the second period, McGonigal chose bottom, got an escape and a takedown, and then teed off and pinned Close in 2:42, earning McGonigal his third Ultimate Warrior crown.
With that pin, McGonigal improved his record to 25-0 on the season, improving his career record to 125-19. This ties him with former Bison wrestler Brad Pataky’s 125-5 record, and he is now in striking distance of Tommy Barger (134-31) and Matt Kyler (136-13). If McGonigal finishes his season absolutely perfect, he will have just enough wins to become Clearfield’s all time wins leader with 137 victories.
Senior Matt Ryan took fourth place in a hard fought rematch from Friday night’s quarterfinals won by Ryan 9-7 against Brockway’s Anthony Glasl. After a scoreless first period, Glasl was able to reverse Ryan before Ryan got an escape. The two wrestlers were very evenly matched on their feet, and while Ryan was more aggressive, both were able to use funk rolls and savvy mat position to keep the score 2-1, Glasl, after two periods.
In the final period, Ryan chose neutral, but when Ryan sat on a single leg, Glasl deftly was able to escape
Ryan’s clutches and turn right into his own takedown. After Ryan got an escape with about one minute remaining, the two spent the vast majority of the time remaining funking each other, with no clear advantage or takedowns being awarded.
Still, Ryan went 4-2 on the weekend, and looked technically sound, using smart wrestling throughout the tournament. Head coach Jeff Aveni was very happy with “Mattie” over the weekend, even in the matches he lost. “Mattie was in a couple of scrambles in his last match, and he created those scrambles. He just came out on the wrong side of the scraps.” said Jeff.
Junior Caleb Freeland placed eighth after injury defaulting to Wilson’s Jon Fischer in overtime rideout. In a battle where both wrestlers went back and forth, trading blow after blow, neither could actually score offensively on the other. The score was 1-1 going into overtime, and 2-2 when the rideout began.
But the most important thing about this match wasn’t the victor, but that Freeland ended up being safe. With 11 seconds remaining, Freeland was taken out of bounds and had the wind knocked out of him. After speaking with Coach Aveni, he told me Freeland is almost certainly alright and more than likely just had the wind knocked out of him.
Senior Hunter Wright was the sole winner in the consolation finals for Clearfield, taking fifth place by upending Bradford’s Derek Sunafrank 4-0. Wright stuck to basic wrestling, and it paid dividends for him. In the second period, Wright chose bottom and was able to reverse Sunafrank and then ride him out for the remainder of the period. Knowing he couldn’t escape Wright, Sunafrank took his chances and chose neutral to begin the third period. But after the abuse Sunafrank had taken, he got a little worn out and Wright was able to use some energy he had left in his tank to convert a double leg takedown. Wright then rode out Sunafrank for the rest of the match, working an arm bar and continuing to wear down his opponent.
Wright ended up going 4-2 on the weekend, improving his overall record to 20-9, and maintaining his winning percentage at 69%.
The two other Bison who survived Friday night both lost their opening consolation matches on Saturday morning. Jude Pallo was pinned in 4:49 and Quentin Edwards was defeated 9-2.
The Clearfield Bison will now have the week off to rest and prepare for the Team District IX Tournament. Clearfield will most likely wrestle Saint Marys first, and if they win that match they will wrestle the winner of the heavily favored DuBois Beavers and Punxsutawney Chucks.
A filled out, final bracket for the Ultimate Duals can be found here.
