SHARON — The Curwensville wrestling team had a tough day at the Northwest Class 2A Regional Tournament.
The Golden Tide went 0-5 Friday at Sharon High School, dropping three bouts by fall, one by major decision and the other in Sudden Victory.
Curwensville freshman 107-pounder Kael McGary got pinned by Hickory freshman Garrett Stevenson in 1:09 his preliminary round bout. That dropped McGary (23-13) into the first round of consolations where he will face Fort LeBoeuf freshman Denny Church (28-12) in an elimination bout.
Golden Tide sophomore Russell Bloom was also pinned in his opener at 114. Bloom was tied with Commodore Perry freshman Reid English 4-4 after one and led 8-5 after two. But English came back to score a fall in the third. Bloom (21-12) gets St. Marys freshman JJ Hanslovan (15-13) in his consolation matchup. Hanslovan defeated Bloom by tech fall last week at the D-9 Tournament.
At 172, Curwensville junior Reed Hawkins fell by 10-0 major decision to Commodore Perry junior Ethan Johnson. Hawkins (24-12) wrestles Clearfield sophomore Tim Taylor (20-17) in his consolation bout on Saturday.
Tide 215-pounder Caleb Hendershot gave up a takedown with 14 seconds left in the Sudden Victory period to drop a 5-2 decision to Corry freshman Brody Nickerson. Hendershot opened the scoring with a second-period reversal, but Nickerson escaped nine seconds later to make it 2-1. Nickerson notched another escape early in the third and the bout went to the extra period tied 2-2. Hendershot (13-8) faces Brockway junior Madox Decker (26-11) in the first round of conseys.
Curwensville senior heavyweight Brooks Hendershot scored first in his quarterfinal bout against Titusville senior Bryce Watkins, escaping early in the second. But Watkins countered with a takedown and two nearfall points to take a 5-1 advantage. After another Hendershot escape, Watkins picked up a takedown before turning the Tide senior and pinning him at 3:07. Hendershot (27-13) matches up with Franklin junior Kaden Kiselka (27-12) in the consolation round. Kiselka topped Hendershot 7-2 at the Fred Bell Tournament.
The Tide wrestlers will need to win three consey bouts Saturday to get back to the third-place bout and qualify for the PIAA Tournament.
District 9 as a whole had a rocky first day. The district only has 11 of the 52 semifinalists in Saturday’s opening session.
Wrestling begins at 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.
Complete tournament results can be found HERE
Curwensville results:
Championship Round 1
107 – Garrett Stevenson (Hickory) pinned Kael McGary, 1:09
114 – Reid English (Commodore Perry) pinned Russell Bloom, 6:21
172 – Ethan Johnson (Commodore Perry) maj. dec. Reed Hawkins, 10-0
215 – Brody Nickerson (Corry Area) dec. Caleb Hendershot, 5-2 SV
Championship Quarterfinals
285 – Bryce Watkins (Titusville) pinned Brooks Hendershot, 3:07
Curwensville wrestlers in bold.
