JOHNSTOWN— Four falls weren’t enough to overcome two forfeits Tuesday night, as Bald Eagle Area fell at Westmont Hilltop in the quarterfinals of the District 6 Class AAA wrestling duals 37-27.
The sixth-seeded Eagles (9-5) had 12 wrestlers take the mat against the No. 3 Hilltoppers, who grabbed nine of the 14 weights including forfeits at 132 and 138.
BEA coach Steve Millward juggled his lineup, trying to make the most of his opportunities.
Eagles Clint McCaslin (126), Dustin Coakley (160), Jake Taylor (170) and Aaron Varner (195) had pins.
“Our guys really wrestled hard,” Millward said. “It’s tough when you’re trying to fill two holes and you don’t have guys to send out there. You’re trying to get the right matchups.”
The close matches went Westmont’s way, as the Hilltoppers (9-2) advanced to meet second-seeded Mifflin County on Saturday in the district semifinals at Tyrone High School.
“Winning dual meets is all about guys going for pins when they get their opponent on their back, and winning the close matches,” Westmont head coach Matt Beaujon said.
Westmont’s lone fall launched the home team to an early lead.
Rugged heavyweight Josh Duplin decked BEA’s Ryan Hicks in the night’s second bout, and the Westmont lightweights built a 34-9 lead from
McCaslin pinned Westmont’s Nick Mical in 3:15 at 126.
The key bout came at 145, where Westmont’s Ian Helsel got past BEA’s Matthew Dillon 4-3 in sudden- death overtime. Then at 152, Westmont’s Tanner Patton blanked Tyler Baney 4-0.
“Dillon and Baney wrestled two really good kids from Westmont,” Millward said. “I was impressed with the way they wrestled, even though they lost.”
The Eagles got three falls in the final four bouts.
After a scoreless first period, Coakley cradled Westmont’s Jonah Cramer and got the pin 1:08 into the second period at 160.
At 170, BEA’s Taylor had a 14-0 lead on the strength of a takedown and five near falls after the first and got the fall 21 seconds into the second.
Varner took just 36 seconds to pin Eric Kowalewski at 195.
The lone Eagle to win by decision was Nate Sharkey, who opened the meet with a 5-3 win over Dan Shovestull at 220 pounds.
“Obviously we wanted to come out of here with a win,” Millward said. “But, we’re getting near the end of the season, and we’re looking to the individual tournaments. The kids are turning it up a little bit. They’re really into competing.”
