SHARON — The Clearfield and Curwensville wrestling teams will combine to send a baker’s dozen to the Northwest Regional Class 2A Championships Friday and Saturday at Sharon High School.
Eight Bison in seniors Bryndin Chamberlain (133), Colton Bumbarger (152) and Colton Ryan (160), juniors Brayden Wills (189) and Ryan Ludwig (215) and sophomores Bo Aveni (127), Tim Taylor (172) and Matthew Peace (285) along with Curwensville senior Brooks Hendershot (285), juniors Reed Hawkins (172) and Caleb Hendershot (215), sophomore Russell Bloom (114) and freshman Kael McGary (107) all placed in the Top 4 of their respective weight classes in the District 9 Tournament to advance to regionals.
Aveni, Bumbarger, Chamberlain, Ludwig and Ryan are all previous regional qualifiers. Aveni and Ryan are returning PIAA qualifiers.
Ten of the 13 weight classes will be represented by a Clearfield or Curwensville wrestler.
McGary (23-12), the fourth-place D-9 finisher at 107 and one of eight freshmen in the 12-man bracket, opens with Hickory freshman Garrett Stevenson (22-7), the fifth-place D-10 placewinner. Whoever wins that preliminary bout advances to face District 10 champion Van Ward of Union City. One of two seniors (along with Brockway’s Gage Park), in the bracket, Ward (32-4) was the regional runner-up at 107 last season.
Bloom (23-11), who took third at D-9 at 114, matches up with Commodore Perry freshman Reid English (21-17), the No. 8 placer in D-10. The winner moves on to a quarterfinal matchup with Erie Cathedral Prep’s District 10 runner-up sophomore Mason Gregor (28-11), a returning regional qualifier.
At 121, Hickory’s Elijah Scriven (21-4) and Ridgway’s Michael Coppello (25-7) are the respective D-10 and D-9 champs that headline the bracket with no Bison or Tide wrestler in it. Scriven is a two-time regional champ, who placed fourth at PIAAs last season at the weight.
Aveni (32-9), the District 9 champ at 127, gets a bye in the preliminary round before a quarterfinal matchup with either Saegertown sophomore Milan Harrison (28-7) or Cochranton senior Cole Scmitt (20-20). Harrison pinned Schmitt in last week’s D-10 Tournament. A potential semifinal opponent for Aveni is Grove City freshman Kagan Painter (31-6), the runner-up to Reynolds junior Logan Stewart (44-2) in the D-10 title bout. Stewart is a two-time regional champ and two-time PIAA placewinner at 127.
Another Clearfield District 9 champ, Chamberlain (35-8), gets a bye to the quarterfinals where he’ll get either Reynolds freshman Sabatino Sciullo (34-14) or Union City sophomore Joshua Mitchum (34-10), who placed fourth and sixth, respectively, at the D-10 tourney. Seneca sophomore Kaleb Komisarski (31-7), the D-10 runner-up, is a potential semifinal opponent for Chamberlain.
Neither the 139- or 145-pound weight class has a Clearfield or Curwensville wrestler in the bracket.
Ridgway junior Nathan Steger (22-6) and Cathedral Prep sophomore Kamdyn Borrero (40-3) are the D-9 and D-10 champions in the 139-pound bracket. Borrero was third at 127 last season at regionals.
At 145, Greenville senior Rudy Gentile (33-4), the D-10 champ, and St. Marys freshman Greyson Meyer (37-1), the District 9 champ, highlight the bracket, along with Reynolds senior Greydan Gustas. Gentile was fourth last season at regionals at 160, while Gustas is a two-time runner-up at 145.
Bumbarger (27-11). District 9’s 152-pound champ is making his third trip to regionals. He is a 4-time regional qualifier, but missed last season’s tournament with an injury. He gets a bye into the quarterfinals where he will meet either Greenville junior Kaysom Mataria (32-6) or Slippery Rock junior Ayden Shay (29-11), who were fourth and sixth, respectively, in the D-10 tournament. General McLane senior Clay Kimmy (41-5), the D-10 runner-up, awaits as a possible semifinal bout. Kimmy was eighth in the state at 145 last season. Grove City senior Hudson Hohman (38-2), a three-time regional champ and three-time PIAA placewinner that was the runner-up to Bishop McCort’s Bo Bassett at 145 in the PIAA finals last year, is on the other side of the bracket.
Ryan (29-9), the District 9 runner-up, has a potential semifinal matchup with Slippery Rock’s senior D-10 champ Zachary Turberville (35-4) should both win their quarterfinal bouts. Ryan will meet the winner of Cathedral Prep’s Gabe Dorman (26-8) and North East sophomore John McGuigan (27-16) in his opener.
At 172, Taylor (20-16) and Hawkins (24-11), the second- and third-place finishers out of District 9 are on opposite sides of the bracket. Taylor gets a bye before meeting either General McLane senior Derek Dube (32-16) or North East senior Pascal LaPorte (16-15). Cochranton senior Cash Morrell (32-2), the District 10 champ and returning PIAA qualifier at the weight, looms as a semifinal opponent. Hawkins meets Commodore Perry junior Ethan Johnson (13-12), the eighth-placer from D-10, in the prelims with the winner moving on to a quarterfinal bout with Cathedral Prep sophomore Sam Harrington (35-6). who lost to Morrell at last week’s D-10 finals and in the third-place bout at last year’s regional tournament.
Wills (28-14) matches up with Cathedral Prep junior Bode Terry (32-9), the fifth-place finisher out of D-10, in the preliminary round at 189. The winner moves on to face D-10 champ Hunter Cox (34-4). The Greenville junior has a pair of fifth-place regional finishes.
Caleb Hendershot (13-7) and Ludwig (21-15), who met in the D-9 consolation finals last week, are on the opposite side of the 215-pound bracket. Hendershot begins the tournament against Corry freshman Brody Nickerson (25-8), the eighth placer out of D-10. Cathedral Prep junior Omar Arrington (28-5), the District 10 runner-up, gets the winner. Ludwig’s preliminary bout is against Fort LeBoeuf junior Dan Duran (31-12), D-10’s fifth-place finisher. Reynolds senior District 10 champion Colton Tupper (40-4) awaits the winner.
At 285, Brooks Hendershot (27-12) and Peace (23-16) landed on the top half of the bracket, but would not meet until the semifinals. To get there, Peace has to navigate Commodore Perry freshman Trevor Shearer (12-11) in the prelims and Corry senior Owen Nickerson (35-8), the D-10 champ, in the quarterfinals. Hendershot gets a quarterfinal bout against the winner of Mercer senior Kyle Suhrie (27-9) and Titusville senior Bryce Watkins (33-7).
The preliminary round begins at 5:15 p.m. Friday and will be followed by the quarterfinals.
Session II is set for 9:15 Saturday morning with the first round of consolations, semifinals, second-round conseys and consolation semis. The third- and fifth-place bouts will open session III at 3:30 p.m. with the Parade of Champions and the finals starting at 5.
A link to the tournament can be found HERE
