CLARION — Junior Blake Passarelli and senior Steven McClure of Curwensville were seeded first and second, respectively, for the District 9 Class AA Wrestling Tournament by the 17 head coaches at the seedings and pairings meeting in Ralston Hall on the Clarion University campus Sunday afternoon.
Passarelli (23-4) rated the top seed at 113 pounds, while McClure (25-2) was ranked second at heavyweight.
Coach Dean Swatsworth’s Golden Tide have four lower seeds in junior Mason Gasper, No. 5 at 120; sophomore Zach Holland, No. 6 at 132, freshman Jake McCracken, No. 6 at 152, and junior Cole Bressler, No. 6 at 160.
The other No. 1 seeds are Bryent Johnson of Smethport at 106, Anthony Glasl of Brockway at 120, Steven Sorbin of Brookville at 126, Bryce Barclay of Ridgway at 132, Lukas McClain of Ridgway at 138, Caleb Hetrick of Brookville at 145, Alec English of Kane at 152, Jacob Kallenborn of Port Allegany at 160, Isaac Wright of Coudersport at 170, Garrett McClintick of Brockway at 182, Xavier Molnar of Brookville at 195, Tyler Cook of Brookville at 220 and Colby Whitehill of Brookville at 285.
The tourney gets under way Friday at 4 p.m. in Clearfield Area High School’s Bison Gymnasium with preliminary round matches on three mats. Championship quarterfinals and two consolation rounds will follow.
Holland, McCracken and Bressler will be in action in the prelims along with unseeded Ty Guelich at 126, Caleb Stiles at 138, Adam Straw at 145 and Nick Holbert at 170.
Two sessions are on tap Saturday.
Three mats also will be utilized for championship semifinals and consolation quarterfinals at 10:30 a.m. and the ensuing consy semifinals.
District 9 Hall of Fame inductions are set for 3:30 p.m. with the Parade of Champions to follow immediately and then the championship and consolation finals at 4 o’clock.
Doors will open one hour prior to the start of each session with ticket prices $6 for adults and $3 for students. Fans also can purchase series tickets at $18 for adults and $9 for students.
