CLARION – Bradford High’s Tim Keane advanced to the Northwest
Regional Tournament after winning a District 9 Class AAA wrestling
title Saturday at Clarion University.
Keane (24-5), competing at 145 pounds, defeated St. Marys
sophomore Shane Claar (26-8) 3-1 in overtime. It was Keane’s second
district title.
“Tim had a real nice tourney,” commented Bradford coach Rob
Cosper. “He wrestled very solid matches both times to get his
second district championship.”
Both wrestlers escaped from the bottom position in the second
and third periods, forcing overtime. In the extra session, Keane
scored a takedown right at the buzzer to win 3-1.
Also advancing for the Owls were second-place finishers Zach
Smith (119), Jake McMurtrie (125) and Ryan Mongillo (285).
“We had nice performances from our two freshmen Smith and Jake
McMurtie. They learned some real valuable lessons,” Cosper
stated.
“It’s going to be who shows up to wrestle in the regionals,”
Cosper added.
“Even Ryan Mongillo had a nice district tournament, but we have
to look for him to put some big matches together at regionals.
“The same goes with all of our guys. We need to crank up the
intensity level a little bit more to get through regionals.”
Team-wise, DuBois continued its dominance with an impressive run
to the team title.
DuBois put 10 wrestlers in the finals and captured eight titles
while advancing 13 of its 14 wrestlers to the Northwest Regional
Tournament in Altoona on Friday and Saturday. DuBois easily beat
St. Marys 201.5-143.5 for the team crown.
Beaver seniors Nick Wykoff (112), Ethan Swope (119), Nick Centra
(135), Brian Hineman (140), Zach Lundgren (160), Sean Zimmerman
(189) and Pat Lydick (215), along with junior David Whitaker (125)
won district crowns.
The victories by Lundgren and Zimmerman highlighted the night.
Lundgren’s win over Clearfield’s Lee Zalno gave the Beaver his
fourth district title, becoming just the 21st wrestler in District
9 history to achieve the milestone. He also broke his cousin’s
(Mario Morelli) school record for wins (127) with his semifinal
victory. Lundgren also was named the Class AAA Outstanding
Wrestler, while DuBois coach Denny Nosker was named the Class AAA
Coach of the Year.
Zimmerman scored the biggest upset in the Class AAA tournament,
beating top-seeded Alex Cressley of Punxsutawney in a thrilling 9-8
match. Cressley, ranked 24th in the state in the latest Off the Mat
Rankings, beat Zimmerman 14-4 in a dual-meet match last Monday.
However, Zimmerman wrestled impressively Saturday. Cressley
scored the opening takedown, but Zimmerman reversed the Chuck, only
to have Cressley escape for a 3-2 lead after one period.
Cressley escaped and took down Zimmerman to open the second
period, but Zimmerman again reversed the Chuck. Cressley escaped
before the end of the period to lead 7-4.
Zimmerman owned the third period though, escaping from the
bottom, then taking down Cressley to even the bout at 7-7.
Zimmerman then tilted Cressley to earn two backpoints and take a
9-7 lead. Zimmerman let Cressley up on a late restart and held off
the Chuck for his first district title.
St. Marys placed six in the finals and got titles from Zach Hoy
(103), Derek McCullough (130) and Travis Reed (171). The Dutchmen
had 10 wrestlers advance to regionals.
Clearfield, which had four finalists, finished third in the team
race with 109 points. Sean Owen won the Bisons’ lone crown, a far
cry from what Clearfield is accustomed to. Owen pinned Mongillo in
1:08 at heavyweight. Clearfield had eight wrestlers advance.
Punxsutawney had one champion. Chuck Steve Cressley won at
152.
Wykoff, the top seed at 112, started things off in the finals
for DuBois, and despite showing the affects of a knee injury,
captured his second straight title with a 5-0 win over St. Marys’
Steve Simchick. Wykoff, last year’s champ at 103, scored takedowns
in both the first and second periods, while getting a penalty point
in the second.
Swope, a top seed, followed with his second consecutive District
9 title, pinning third-seeded Smith in 2:11. Swope, who won at 112
last year, jumped out to a 5-0 lead after one period and needed
just 11 seconds in the second period to beat Smith.
DuBois junior Whitaker, the top seed at 125, struggled to get
any offense going against McMurtrie, but the Beaver scored when he
needed it most, right at the final buzzer to win his first district
title.
Both wrestlers held the other at bay the entire bout and
Whitaker let McMurtrie up to start the third period. McMurtrie held
that lead the entire period, but Whitaker made one final takedown
attempt near the edge of the mat as the buzzer sounded. The Beaver
was awarded the takedown and won 2-1.
Beaver freshman Matt Zimmerman (130) tried to make it four
titles in a row for DuBois, but fell victim to top-seeded
McCullough (24-6). McCullough scored takedowns in the first and
third periods and used a five-point move in the second to break
open the match.
Zimmerman (8-18), the third seed, made the finals with a
hard-fought 5-4 decision over Clearfield’s Anthony Schultz (second
seed) who had beaten Zimmerman the previous two times they wrestled
this year.
Top-seeded Centra, a senior, won DuBois’ fourth title of the
evening at 135, besting Clearfield’s Shawn Hall, 7-0. Centra
recorded a takedown in each period and an escape in the second en
route to his first district crown.
Hineman, another DuBois senior, collected his first district
title at 140 when he topped Clearfield’s Anthony Moore, 9-3.
Hineman jumped out to a quick 7-1 first-period lead on two
takedowns and a headlock that earned him three backpoints. Moore
escaped in the second, while Hineman added a takedown in the third
before Moore escaped to set the final at 9-3.
Zach Lundgren notched DuBois’ sixth title of the night with a
13-3 major decision over second-seeded Lee Zalno of Clearfield.
Lundgren scored the opening takedown in the first period and added
three backpoints from the top position in the second before
exploding in the third. Lundgren employed the take-them-down,
let-them-up approach, scoring four takedowns en route to 13-3
victory.
Beaver Eric Lundgren finished second at 171, dropping a 12-4
major decision to St. Marys’ Eric Reed. Reed broke open a 2-0 bout
with a six-point second period. The Dutchman then added two
takedowns in the final period to win his second straight district
title.
Lydick capped DuBois’ big night with his first title at 215.
Lydick led 3-2 going into the second period against Punxsy’s Chris
Neal before reversing the Chuck and getting the fall in 2:58.
Joining the finalists at regionals for DuBois will be
underclassmen T.J. Stanton (103), Billy Morrison (145) and Luke
Bennett (285) who all placed third. Morrison, the fourth seed, went
2-1 on the day, beating third-seeded Rich Queen of Clearfield to
advance. Stanton, one of three wrestlers at 103, and Bennett were
both seeded third and held those seeds.
While Hoy, McCullough and Reed won titles for St. Marys,
Simchick, Claar and Justin Brem (152) all finished second.
Dutchmen Butch Yetzer (125), Kyle Bish (135) Calvin Geer (160)
and Sean Sadosky (215) all placed third to advance to regionals.
Yetzer, who bumped up to 125 from 119 prior to the tournament, was
seeded fourth and beat third-seeded James Bullers of Punxsy to
advance. Sadosky, a two seed, rebounded from a last-second loss in
the semifinals to beat Clearfield’s Nick Redden, 5-1, in the
consolation finals.
While Owen won a title for Clearfield, Hall, Moore and Zalno
were second. For the Binsons, who placed third and moved on were
Holden Lowe (119), Kasey Casher (152), Jacob Riglin (171) and Andre
Buck (189). Buck’s win in the consolation finals was his first of
the year (1-2) and punched his ticket to regionals.
