CLARION – Bradford High junior Tim Keane captured a District 9
Class AAA wrestling title Saturday night at Clarion University.

Keane (21-10), wrestling at 140 pounds, decisioned Zach Bussard
(25-13) of DuBois 4-1 in the championship finals. Keane was the
only Owl to win a title. Bussard was the district champion last
season.

“Tim wrestled a smart tournament,” said Matt DeGolier, Bradford
coach. “Coming into the tournament we were confident. Tim wrestled
him earlier in the season in a dual meet. Timmy got caught and
pinned by Zach in that match.

“Saturday’s match played out to our favor. In the second period,
Bussard chose a neutral position, on his feet, and we wrestled a
tough second period… At the end of the second period, Tim did a
double leg takedown to win the match. We had a game plan and it all
fell together. He was determined to be district champion.”

Also for the Owls, senior Adam Priest (19-10) was third at 189
and junior Ryan Mongillo (19-12) third at 275. Keane, Priest and
Mongillo qualified for the regional tournament next weekend at
Altoona.

“Adam had a nice tournament, but we were hoping for better out
of him,” said DeGolier. “He had problems in his semifinal match
with Alex Cressley, but after that, I told Adam, ‘It’s your senior
year, how are you gonna end it?’ By bouncing back and placing
third, he advances onto regionals.”

DeGolier was very pleased with the performance of Mongillo, who
overcame a bloody nose at one point for his strong finish.

“Ryan wrestled very well this weekend,” DeGolier declared. “He
took third but really didn’t lose his match. He dealt with some
adversity on Monday with an injury.

“Ryan pinned his first boy in the first period of the match. In
his second match against Gabe Bowley from DuBois, with the
condition of his knee and ankle, we decided to forfeit the
match.

“In the consolation finals, he got Kyle Bond (St. Marys) who had
pinned Ryan in our dual meet. Again, Ryan wrestled with intensity,
he had a couple of blood times (bloody nose), but coach Cosper gave
him excellent coaching points while he was being treated. When Bond
shot a double leg with his head down, when his (Bond) head came
down, Ryan caught him in a throwing position and was able to throw
Bond to his back and pin him.”

The Owls trio will compete at the Altoona Regional Tournament on
Friday and Saturday with first round action starting at 5 p.m.

“I’m proud of the boys and their efforts,” DeGolier concluded.
“We had a decent season for us being as young as we were and with
the forfeits we had. I’m proud of our team. We never gave up, and
we had a nice season.”