HYDE — Sixteen teams from around the state of Pennsylvania competed on Saturday in the Arthur J. Weiss and Bison Gymnasiums with the host Clearfield Bison going 5-0 and claiming their fourth Bison Duals title.
The Bison (11-0) handed the Benton Tigers (10-1) their first loss of the season 39-27 in the final. The Curwensville Golden Tide also had a great day, going 4-1, to raise their season record to 12-4, to finish ninth overall.
The Bison defeated Port Allegany 52-17 in their opening match to earn the number two seed in the 16-team bracketed tourney to follow. They then defeated Wilkes-Barre 71-0, an undefeated Canton squad 44-23, and then beat defending Bison Duals champion Montoursville 43-21 to reach the championship final against Benton, who had defeated top-seeded Forest Hills 34-25 in the other semifinal.
During the Canton match, Bison 172 pound senior picked up his 100th career win. The last Bison to do so was older brother Luke McGonigal in 2017.
Going 5-0 on the day for the Bison were freshman Brady Collins (19-2 overall), and seniors Karson Kline (10-6), Hayden Kovalick (19-1), and Oliver Billotte (16-0). Billotte ended the day with 90 career wins.
Junior Evan Davis (14-6) and sophomore Carter Chamberlain (14-5) each went 4-1. Freshman Ty Aveni (5-5) went 3-1.
A trio of Bisons went 3-2 – sophomore Adam Rougeux (8-8), and seniors Luke Freeland (14-6) and McGonigal (16-5).
Sophomore Xavier Lutz (4-5) and senior Nolan Barr (12-9) each went 2-3.
The Golden Tide won their opening round match 60-16 over Union City, but ran into a tough Butler (10-1) team in their first bracket match and lost 42-24.
The Tide then ran off three straight wins in the consolation bracket to finish in ninth. They beat West Branch 39-30, narrowly defeated DuBois 37-36 in a match that came down to the final bout, and then beat District 9 foe Port Allegany 48-24 in their medal match.
Jake Carfley (14-1), Chase Irwin (10-8), and Trenton Guiher (13-5) all went 5-0 for the Tide.
A quartet of Tide wrestlers went 4-1 – Damian Brady (16-4), Ryder Kuklinskie (15-5), Nik Fegert (12-6), and Logan Aughenbaugh (12-3).
Also having a winning record on the day for the Tide was Alex Shaffer (9-5), who went 3-2.
Zach Shaffer (9-9) was 2-3, while Grady Hoyt (1-4) went 1-2 and Jarrett Anderson (4-8) was 1-4.
Complete Placings as follows: 1st – Clearfield, 2nd – Benton, 3rd – Montoursville, 4th – Forest Hills, 5th – Butler, 6th – Canton, 7th – General McLane, 8th – Hempfield, 9th – Curwensville, 10th – Port Allegany, 11th – DuBois, 12th – Erie McDowell, 13th – West Branch, 14th – Union City, 15th – Wilkes-Barre, 16th – Indiana
Both local teams will be in action on Tuesday night on their home mats. Clearfield will host the Huntingdon Bearcats (12-4) and the Tide will host the Punxsutawney Chucks (4-12).