HERSHEY — The most storied program in PA wrestling history had never won a PIAA Team Wrestling championship round match in Hershey until the 2023-24 Clearfield Bison defeated District 7 runner-up Burgettstown (15-2) 42-27 at the Giant Center Thursday afternoon.
The come-from-behind victory sends the District 9 champion Bison (16-1) into the quarterfinals against District 3 champion Bishop McDevitt (16-0), 41-25 winners over Montoursville in the round of 16, Friday.
The Bison quickly fell behind 12-0 to the Devils when 285 pounder Joey Baronick (29-6), sixth in the state last year, pinned Bison Nick Bailor (13-15) in the first period and 107 pounder Darius Simmons (22-9), up 4-0 at the time, pinned Xavier Lutz (15-15) in the second period.
Dakota Shugarts (18-12) got the Bison on the board at 114 when he needed less than a minute to pin Noah Leininger (17-12).
At 121 the Bison’s Cash Diehl (24-8) evened the score at 12 a piece when up 5-0 he secured bonus points by picking up a fall at the 5:58 mark, just two seconds before the final buzzer.
Dylan Slovick (24-13) put the Devils back on top after the 127 pound bout when he won a hard fought 7-4 decision over Bison Bryndin Chamberlain (19-14). The match was 2-2 entering the final period, and then was tied 4-4 after the two traded reversals in the third, but Slovick added an escape and deciding takedown to set the final.
Burgettstown added to the lead when 133 pound Parker Sentipal (32-4), a 3-time state qualifier, handed Colton Ryan (29-9) an 8-0 loss.
Up 19-12, the Devils scored bonus points at 145 to double up the Bison 24-12 when Gaven Suica (30-5), another 3-time state qualifier, tech falled Colton Bumbarger (20-13) 21-5 primarily on the strength of seven takedowns.
Ty Aveni (29-14) took away some of the Devils’ momentum at 145 when he pinned Logan Noyes (16-11) right before the first period came to a close at the 1:56 mark.
In the biggest mismatch of the night, Brady Collins (34-2) had no trouble with Jason Murray (1-10) at 152, building up a quick 6-1 lead before getting the fall in just 34 seconds.
With the match knotted once again, at 24-24, the Devils were heavily favored at 160, but Bison Will Domico (20-10) gave Rudy Brown (35-4) all he wanted in what turned out to be a 7-4 Brown win, despite already being up 4-1 after one period.
Down 27-24 with three bouts to go, the Bison were heavily favored in one remaining bout, but needed a win at either 172 or 189 to secure the victory.
The Bison won both.
Tied 2-2 in the final period, Devil Eric Kovach (25-12) chose neutral, which turned out to be his downfall. Bison strong boy Carter Freeland (10-6) used a big upper body move to flatten Kovach in 5:41, almost sealing Burgettstown’s fate, as the Bison took their first lead of the match after 11 bouts, 30-27.
At 189, Hunter Ressler (15-16) definitely sealed the Devil’s fate as only up 2-1 in the second period he turned and pinned Aiden States (9-16) at the 2:51 mark to lock up the historical come-from-behind Clearfield Bison victory.
In anticlimactic fashion, Carter Chamberlain (25-6) received a forfeit at 215 to set the final at 42-27.
Dual Result (with Clearfield wrestler in bold):
285 – Joey Baronick pinned Nick Bailor, 1:26 (0-6)
107 – Darius Simmons pinned Xavier Lutz, 2:53 (0-12)
114 – Dakota Shugarts pinned Noah Leininger, 0:48 (6-12)
121 – Cash Diehl pinned Daniel Smith, 5:58 (12-12)
127 – Dylan Slovick dec. Bryndin Chamberlain, 7-4 (12-15)
133 – Parker Sentipal maj. dec. Colton Ryan, 8-0 (12-19)
139 – Gaven Suica won by tech. fall over Colton Bumbarger, 21-5 4:21 (12-24)
145 – Ty Aveni pinned Logan Noyes, 1:57 (18-24)
152 – Brady Collins pinned Jason Murray, 0:34 (24-24)
160 – Rudy Brown dec. Will Domico, 7-4 (24-27)
172 – Carter Freeland pinned Eric Kovach, 5:40 (30-27)
189 – Hunter Ressler pinned Aiden States, 2:49 (36-27)
215 – Carter Chamberlain won by forfeit (42-27)