Report by Hank Wilson
ALTOONA — The Clearfield Bison wrestling team enjoyed a successful first day at the North West AAA Regional Tournament in Altoona, pushing six wrestlers into the semis, and having five more still alive in the consolation round. Semifinalists are Evan Davis, Brady Collins, Mark McGonigal, Carter Chamberlain, Hayden Kovalick, and Oliver Billotte.
Davis, 27-9, scored an 11-0 major decision over Nick Irwin from Altoona in the opening round at 113, then in the quarterfinals, locked up a cradle on Meadville’s Caleb Anderson, pinning the number three seed in 1:42. He’ll face off against Nic Allison, the number two seed from Mifflin County in the semifinals.
Collins, 32-3, the third seed at 126, registered two first period pins on his way to the semis. He started the day by decking Noah Weaver of Bellefonte in 1:15, then flattened Shikellamy’s Gabby Bradigan in 1:19 in the quarterfinals. His opponent in the semis will be Central Mountain’s second seeded Dalton Perry, 35-2.
McGonigal, 28-8, also scored two wins at 172 with an opening round 20-7 major decision of Altoona’s Elijah Houser, followed by an 11-3 win over Aaron Sleeth, the number three seed from Hollidaysburg. Shikellamy’s Gage Wolfe, the tenth seed stands in the way of a trip to the finals.
At 189, top seeded Carter Chamberlain, 27-7, received an opening round bye, then bested State College’s Carter Weaverling 9-2 to reach the semis. He’ll next tangle with Damien Galentine of Central Mountain.
Kovalick, 31-2, also received a first round bye as the number two seed at 215, then pinned Nicklas Eppihimer from Hollidaysburg in 53 seconds. Next up will be Anson Wagner of Mifflin County, the number six seed.
At 285, Billotte, 28-2, recorded two first period falls of his own on his way to the semis. He needed just 38 seconds to press Bellefonte’s Tyler Putnam, then decked Jaxson Pupo of Mifflin County in one minute. He’ll grapple with General McLane’s Wilson Spires, the number two seed in the semifinals.
Falling into the consolation round for the Bison were Xavier Lutz, Adam Rougeaux, Ty Aveni, Nolan Barr, and Karson Kline.
At 106, Lutz, 8-11, was pinned by Teige Berger of General McLane in the opening round. He’ll have a bye to the second round of consolations where he’ll face Jonathan Coates of St. College.
Rougeaux, 13-14, lost his opening round bout at 120 by technical fall to Logan Sallot of McDowell, and will also receive a bye to the consy second round, taking on Luke Seagrave of Williamsport.
Aveni, 14-11, won his opening round match at 132 by decking Santiago Bradbury of Westinghouse in 1:06. He then dropped a 7-0 decision to Bellefonte’s Aiden O’Shea to fall to the consy round. His opponent will be Daniel Painter from Juniata.
At 138, Barr was seeded second, which earned him a first round bye into the quarterfinals. He dropped a 3-0 decision to Gage Long of Bellefonte. His next opponent will be Charles Keener from Shikellamy.
Kline, 19-13, lost by major decision, 14-4, at 152, dropping him to the consies where he’ll wrestle Central Mountain’s Braylen Corter.
Clearfield, with 62 points, is currently third in the team race, behind Central Mountain (71) and Mifflin County (64).
The Bison went 11-5 overall and their match-by-match results are listed below courtesy PA-Wrestling.com.
Wrestling action begins Saturday at 10am with first and second round consolations, followed by semifinal action beginning at 12:30. The Parade of Champions, consolation and championship finals begin at 6pm.
Complete results, courtesy PA_Wrestling.com can be found by clicking HERE.
Championship Round 1
106 – Teige Berger (General McLane) pinned Xavier Lutz, 1:54
113 – Evan Davis pinned Nick Irwin (Altoona), 2:25
120 – Logan Sallot (Erie McDowell) won by tech. fall over Adam Rougeux, 17-2 3:51
126 – Brady Collins pinned Noah Weaver (Bellefonte), 1:15
132 – Ty Aveni pinned Santiago Bradbury (Westinghouse), 1:06
152 – Artis Simmons (Erie McDowell) maj. dec. Karson Kline, 14-4
172 – Mark McGonigal maj. dec. Elijah Houser (Altoona), 20-7
285 – Oliver Billotte pinned Tyler Putnam (Bellefonte), 0:38
Championship Quarterfinals
113 – Evan Davis pinned Caleb Anderson (Meadville), 1:42
126 – Brady Collins pinned Gabby Bradigan (Shikellamy), 1:19
132 – Aidan O’Shea (Bellefonte) dec. Ty Aveni, 7-0
138 – Gage Long (Bellefonte) dec. Nolan Barr, 3-0
172 – Mark McGonigal maj. dec. Aaron Sleeth (Hollidaysburg), 11-3
189 – Carter Chamberlain dec. Carter Weaverling (State College), 9-2
215 – Hayden Kovalick pinned Nicklas Eppihimer (Hollidaysburg), 0:53
285 – Oliver Billotte pinned Jaxson Pupo (Mifflin County), 1:00
Clearfield wrestlers in bold.