DUBOIS – The Clearfield Area High School Wrestling Team participated in the 2019 District 4-9 AAA Team Wrestling Championships on Saturday.
The sixth seeded Bison went 1-1 on the day and came just short of wrestling in the finals. The Bison wrestled Cranberry (7-3) in the quarter-finals, besting them 43-32, but fell to Selinsgrove (13-2) 40-32 in the semis.
The first match began at 11 am in the DuBois Area High School at 113 pounds. Freshman Nolan Barr (13-10) quickly took down Cranberry’s Michael Stanley and worked arm bars for a 48 second fall. Then fellow freshman Karson Kline (18-10) went out and pinned Cranberry’s Evan Hepler with an arm bar for an even quicker 45 second fall at 120. Clearfield immediately was leading 12-0.
Moving up to 126 pounds, freshman Luke Freeland (15-11) met up against Cranberry’s Carter Stanley. Stanley lateral dropped Freeland to his back 20 seconds in, but Freeland fought it off. Following a couple of reversals and escapes, Stanley picked up a single leg takedown in the second period to lead 9-4. In the third period, Freeland tried to throw Stanley to his back, but Stanley countered and put Freeland on his back and pinned him in 4:27. This made the score 12-6, Clearfield.
Following two major decisions in Cranberry’s favor at 132 and 138 pounds, Cranberry suddenly led the team score 14-12. Mitchell Rossey beat Peyton Smay (5-15) 19-8, and Duane Clark defeated Justin Hand (5-8) by an 11-2 mark.
Cranberry then added to the lead when senior Jude Pallo (12-7) was cradled to his back and pinned in 1:15, making the score 20-12.
Clearfield would turn the momentum though when senior Caleb Freeland (19-6) met Cranberry’s Garret Hogue at 152 pounds. Freeland used a cement mixer and led 5-0 after one period. Then in the second, Freeland used an escape and an arm drag for a takedown to lead 8-0. In the third period, Hogue was called for a stall point and Freeland won the match 9-0, closing Cranberry’s lead to 20-16.
Freshman Mark McGonigal (19-7) then put the stampeding herd back in front when he pinned Cranberry’s Cody Deloe in the first period at 160 pounds. McGonigal used an arm drag to take Deloe down, and then he ran an arm bar and then a half to put Deloe on his back for the fall. Clearfield now led 22-20.
Then senior Cole Smay (5-13) came up big when he faced Cranberry’s Daniel Wry. Smay used a double leg to take down Wry late in the first period, but Wry reversed him to tie the match 2-2. Smay took bottom in the second period, and Wry surrendered two penalty points for an interlock and an illegal headlock. Then Smay reversed Wry to his back and got the fall in 3:42. This made the score 28-20, Clearfield.
Heading into the 182-pound bout, junior Brett Zattoni (8-14) had plans on extending that lead. After a scoreless first period, Zattoni escaped Cranberry’s Jesse York and then scored a go-ahead takedown when York took a bad shot. Zattoni led 3-0 after two periods. In the third, Zattoni again worked his good short offense by working another go-behind takedown. York had a couple of escapes in the third period, and Zattoni won the match 5-2.
Clearfield then forfeited at 195 to Cranberry’s Brayden Crocker, and Clearfield maintained a five-point lead with three matches left, 31-26
At 220, Bison Freshman Oliver Billotte (6-4) then pinned Cranberry’s Xavier Barton in the first period. Billotte used an ankle pick to take down Barton, and then he locked up two cradles to pin Barton in 1:50 and he put Clearfield up 37-26 with two matches remaining.
After a scoreless first period at heavyweight, senior Avry Gisewhite (12-12) was lateral dropped by Cranberry’s Trey Wright. Gisewhite was pinned in 2:58, and the score was 37-32 going to the final match.
The 106-pound match was wrestled between Bison senior Johnathan Thomas and Cranberry’s Jacob Umstead. Thomas lateral dropped Upstead to his back in the first period and got two nearfall points. Then Upstead got an escape and Thomas got another takedown. At the end of the first period, Upstead got another escape and a takedown of his own to make the score 6-4, Thomas.
In the second period, Thomas used three more takedowns to lead 14-8 after two. Thomas used two more takedowns, and on the second one he put Upstead on his back and got the fall at 5:13.
The final score of the quarter-finals match was 43-32, Clearfield, and they were moving on to the semi-finals after upsetting the third seeded Cranberry Berries.
In the next round, Clearfield faced second seeded Selinsgrove, and the match started at 120 pounds. Here, Bison Karson Kline squared off with the Seals’ CJ Boyer, where he had another dominating performance. Kline led 9-0 after the first period by using a takedown and three sets of back points from tilts. In the second period, which started in the neutral position, Kline scored a defensive takedown to lead 11-0. In the third period, the wrestlers again started in the neutral position. Kline used a double leg takedown and a final tilt to win the match by technical fall 15-0 in 5:04.
Luke Freeland then extended Clearfield’s lead in the 126-pound bout. Freeland used a spin-around takedown to take down Selinsgrove’s Walker Garden in the first period and then cradled Garden for three more back points. Then in the second period, Freeland used a switch for a reversal, then arm-barred Garden to his back for the fall in 2:19. Clearfield led 11-0.
Selinsgrove got some points on the board in the next match, though. Selinsgrove’s Shawn Matthews caught Peyton Smay in the second period when Smay was deep on a double leg takedown and put Smay on his back. Matthews scored the fall in 4:31 and the score was 11-6, Clearfield.
In a pivotal match of the night, senior Bison Jude Pallo met with the Seals’ Teague Hoover at 138 pounds. Pallo scored first with a single to a double leg shot for a takedown. Then Jude tried to hit a cradle, but he lost it and was reversed to his back. This costly change of fortunes would prove to change the entire ebb and flow of the match. Hoover was up 5-2 after the first period. Then in the second period, Pallo chose bottom and was rode out the entire period. In the third period Hoover chose bottom and got an escape and a takedown. Pallo returned the favor with his own escape and takedown. Towards the end of the match, Pallo went out front and tried to mix Hoover, but the attempt failed and Hoover scored a reversal to win the match 10-5. This made the score 11-9, Clearfield.
Moving up to 145 pounds, Bison Justin Hand wrestled the Seals’ Scott Kissinger. Kissinger led 8-0 after one period with a takedown and two cradles for back points. In the second period, Hand chose bottom and was cradled three more times before Kissinger got the fall in 3:47. This turned the match in Selinsgrove’s favor to 15-11.
Once again senior Caleb Freeland turned the momentum back in Clearfield’s favor at 152 pounds, as he took on the Seals’ Max Charles. Freeland capitalized with two single leg takedowns to lead 4-2 after one period. In the second period, Freeland took bottom and hit a switch for a reversal and the score was 6-2. Then in the third period Charles took bottom and Freeland was hit with a stall call for a point. The final score was 6-3 Freeland, and the team score was 15-14, Selinsgrove.
Freshman Mark McGonigal used the momentum built by Freeland when he wrestled the Seals’ Dean Hollenbach. McGonigal hit an ankle pick for a takedown to lead 2-0 in the first period. In the second, McGonigal chose to start down and got a switch reversal. Then Mark muscled Hollenbach over to his back and got the fall in 2:55. Clearfield changed the lead in their favor to 20-15.
However, the momentum went to the Seals again in the next four matches, as they won bouts at 170, 182, 195, and 220, picking up bonus points in all of them.
Bison Cole Smay was quickly pinned by Coy Bastian in just 47 seconds from a front headlock. Then junior Brett Zattoni was majored by Selinsgrove’s Ryan Aument at 182 pounds by an 11-1 score. Then the Seals picked up a forfeit at 195 pounds, and freshman Oliver Billotte met against sophomore Nate Schon at 220, who is currently ranked second in the state. Schon took Billotte down twice and put him on his back for a 52 second fall.
Things looked bad for the Bison, who now trailed 37-20 to Selinsgrove, and all eyes were set on the heavyweight bout between Bison senior Avry Gisewhite and the Seals’ Aaron Hoke.
In the first period, Gisewhite was given a point when Hoke didn’t have his shoe lace tied. Then Gisewhite scored a takedown to lead 3-0. In the second period, Hoke chose bottom and Gisewhite continued trying to work cement mixers to put Hoke on his back. Gisewhite was eventually given a stall point to lead 4-0 going into the final period. Gisewhite chose neutral in the third, and threw Hoke to his back! Gisewhite got the fall in 5:10 and gave the Bison a shot for another upset.
With a forfeit given to the Bison’s Johnathan Thomas at 106, the match was 37-32, Selinsgrove. Everything came down to the 113-pound bout between freshman Nolan Barr and the Seals’ Aiden Gaugler.
Gaugler got a takedown in the first period to be up 2-0 after the first. In the second period, Gaugler took bottom and Barr locked up a cradle for three near fall points but was unable to get the fall. In the third period, Gaugler chose neutral and got another takedown for a 4-3 final score.
Clearfield dropped out of the tournament with a 40-32 loss to Selinsgrove, who went on to face Williamsport in the District 4-9 AAA Finals. There, Selinsgrove defeated Williamsport by a 39-33 score to win the 2019 team title.
Williamsport reached the finals by beating Shikellamy 42-35 in the quarter-finals and then upsetting the number one seeded DuBois 37-36 in the semis.
In District 9 AA action, Brookville defended their crown for the sixth time in a row by defeating Port Allegany 45-21 in the finals. Brookville beat Brockway 32-29 in the semis and Port Allegany reached the finals by beating Redbank Valley 35-26.
Clearfield now travels to Bellefonte on Tuesday night before hosting their annual Bison Duals on Saturday, February 9 to close out their regular season. Clearfield eclipsed the 50-fall mark on the year, now up to 52 pins and 25 major decisions.
The PIAA Team Wrestling Championships will now continue on Monday at regional sites, and then will be held at the Hershey Giant Center on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. AAA Brackets, courtesy of PA Wrestling, can be found here, and AA Brackets will be found here. Selinsgrove will meet the winner of Northampton and Central Dauphin Thursday night, while Brookville will wrestle Lake Lehman at 2pm on Thursday.
