After a grueling 15-dual meet season interspersed with weekend tournaments, Bradford High wrestlers are ready for the postseason.
Nine Owls enter Friday and Saturday’s District 9 Class AA championships at Clearfield High School, led by a pair of top seeds. Tyler Thompson, with his 26-3 record, is No. 1 at 132 pounds, while teammate Dillon Keane (20-1) tops the 145-pound bracket.
“I expect championships out of them, and that’s what they want,” BHS coach Jamey Miller said. “We sat down at the beginning of the season, set goals and knew what everyone’s goals were. Those two point-blank said they wanted the district championships.”
Three other Bradford High grapplers sport winning records: Colby Keane, Jaron Ambrose and Derek Sunafrank. Colby Keane (20-5), fifth at 126 pounds, and Ambrose (19-7), sixth at 152 pounds, give Miller’s squad depth at the top of brackets.
Kholton Fuller (2-8; 16th at 170), Hunter Gray (3-19; 8th at 182) and Austin McCracken (9-12; 10th at 220) round out the Owls’ lineup.
“This year, we’ve been improving leaps and bounds,” Miller said, noting some of his athletes lack the years of youth experience customary in wrestling. “The kids just refuse to quit. They know they’re going to get bumped, they know they’re going to get bruised up. That’s part of the sport.”
As far as team goals go, Miller has kept it simple all season long: give 110 percent and the rest will come naturally. He’s hoping that same motto carries into this weekend and continues at the regional and, hopefully, the state level.
“We always concentrate on the individual goals and as long as we meet our individual goals, our team goals follow,” Miller said.
Brookville, last year’s team state champions and the district’s current team champion, leads the charge in D-9 with seven No. 1 seeds, led by a foursome wrestlers with 30 wins: Gavin Park (32-2, 120 pounds), Caleb Hetrick (33-3, 152 pounds), Xavier Molnar (30-6, 195 pounds) and Tyler Cook (32-4, 220 pounds).
Bradford, Brockway and Ridgway each have two top seeds each. Coudersport has the other top seed in the district, Gage Arnold at 160 pounds. Arnold is the district’s lone undefeated wrestler at 31-0.
Elsewhere around the coverage area, Coudersport has five second- or third-seeds, while Ridgway has three. Coudersport edged Ridgway for second place and a trip to states earlier this month by taking second to Brookville in the team duals.
The top-four wrestlers in each bracket advance to next weekend’s regional competition in Sharon. Below is a breakdown by weight class.
106
Top seed: Anthony Giasi (26-6), Brookville
Area contenders: Dylan Pesock (19-3), Oswayo Valley, 2nd; Reese Vollmer (26-5), Port Allegany, 4th; Ben Westerburg (16-5), Kane, 5th
113
Top seed: Keelan Kunselman (24-10), Brookville
Area contenders: Kyle Bush (23-2), Ridgway, 3rd; Payton Caden (19-11), Port Allegany, 5th
120
Top seed: Gavin Park (32-3), Brookville
Area contenders: Trevor Olney (22-10), Coudersport, 2nd; Luke Tomaski (11-11), Ridgway, 4th
126
Top seed: Steven Sorbin (23-10), Brookville
Area contenders: Bryce Barclay (22-6), Ridgway, 2nd; Treyton Stiles (11-4), Port Allegany, 3rd; Noah Blankenship (17-5), Kane, 4th; Colby Keane (20-5), Bradford, 5th
132
Top seed: Tyler Thompson (26-3), Bradford
Area contenders: Lukas McClain (20-7), Ridgway, 2nd; Devon Norlin (20-8), Johnsonburg, 4th
138
Top seed: Logen McClain (26-3), Ridgway
Area contenders: David Kudrick (17-6), Coudersport, 2nd; Isaiah Barney (21-5), Oswayo Valley, 3rd
145
Top seed: Dillon Keane (20-1), Bradford
Area contenders: Alec English (14-4), Kane, 3rd; Tyler Watts (17-10), Johnsonburg, 4th; Dustin Kudrick (26-8), Coudersport, 5th
152
Top seed: Caleb Hetrick (33-3), Brookville
Area contenders: Aiden Hulings (20-3), Kane, 2nd; Julian Smith (6-3), Coudersport, 4th; Jaron Ambrose (19-7), Bradford, 6th
160
Top seed: Gage Arnold (31-0), Coudersport
Area contenders: Jacob Kallenborn (25-4), Port Allegany, 2nd: Teddy Race (19-7), Kane, 5th
170
Top seed: Garrett McClintick (24-6), Brookville
Area contenders: Akete Kindle (21-4), Smethport, 2nd; Isaac Wright (17-11), Coudersport, 3rd
182
Top seed: Noah Cielski (27-6), Brookville
Area contenders: Eli Ayers (25-7), Coudersport, 2nd; Grant West (18-6), Oswayo Valley, 6th
195
Top seed: Xavier Molnar (30-6), Brookville
Area contenders: Matt Stratton (16-8), Smethport, 5th
220
Top seed: Tyler Cook (32-4), Brookville
Area contenders: Corey Thompson (24-9), Coudersport, 2nd; Hunter Kos (10-16), Ridgway, 4th
285
Top seed: Colton McClain (23-3), Ridgway
Area contenders: Billy Morrison (14-8), Oswayo Valley, 4th
