Here’s why Bellefonte’s wrestling coach was critical of his team after a season-opening win
Is it possible that a win could feel like a loss?
That’s the exact way Bellefonte wrestling coach Michael Maney felt after the Red Raiders topped Tyrone 46-31 to open their season Tuesday night.
“It’s definitely not our best match,” Maney said. “We need to do some soul searching.
“The things we stress in practice about doing the little things right, we got beat on the little things. It was sloppy from mental preparation to making weight right to getting ready for the match. If we are going to compete and get ourselves ready for the postseason, there is a lot of things we have to work on, starting tomorrow.”
Tuesday’s dual began at 285 pounds with Bellefonte’s Dan Orndorf picking up a forfeit and an early 6-0 lead for the Red Raiders.
From there, it was all the Golden Eagles — at least for a little while.
Ashton Sipes raced out to a 7-1 lead after the first period over Bellefonte’s Aiden O’Shea. Sipes hit a nice double leg to begin the scoring and a high crotch later. He also turned O’Shea over for back points.
O’Shea gave a penalty point up for an illegal figure-four on Sipes’ body. Sipes hit a reversal and led 10-1 after two periods. He went on to earn an 11-3 major decision.
Tyrone’s Hunter Walk handed his team a 10-6 advantage after his 113-pound bout against the Red Raiders’ Aaron Little. Walk methodically worked his way up to a 12-0 lead before pinning Little in 4:12.
At 120 pounds, Lane Aikey looked as if he was going to flip things for Bellefonte. He picked up two first-period takedowns on Mason Walls but got sloppy and trailed 5-4 after the first period. Walls reversed Aikey and earned near-fall points for the advantage.
A Walls escape in the second period were the lone points. Aikey got a reversal in the third but Walls reversed him again with one minute to go. Aikey was only able to record an escape but no takedown in the 8-7 loss.
“I wouldn’t say Bellefonte came out flat. We started with our tougher guys,” Tyrone coach Terry Tate said. “We are looking to get a lot of points out of those first three guys. It was kind of what we expected of ourselves.”
The Golden Eagles led 13-6, but it was short lived after giving up three straight forfeits. It was the momentum the Red Raiders needed, but Maney may have wanted it to be with wrestling rather than forfeits.
Cole Stewart, who bumped up to 145 pounds, picked up a pin for Bellefonte in 1:37. Ethan Richner came up a point shy of the technical fall in a 14-0 shutout at 152. Kenneth Simpson followed Richner with another pin in 2:58, and Bellefonte’s lead ballooned to 40-13.
The Red Raiders won just one of the final four matches of the dual. Ethan Rossman earned a pin at 182 pounds in 5:17.
“We got to work better on our feet and better setups, We had positions where we could have got pins, and we were just too loose on top,” Maney said. “We got to tighten some things up. You have to want to improve in those areas and not take things for granted. They seem basic but those are the areas that a lot of times cost you.”
Tate’s squad collected pins in three of the last four bouts, which made the dual much closer after giving up four forfeits.
Tyrone’s Tommy Hicks hit a spladle on Andrew Howe at 170 pounds for the fall in 1:27. James Lewis took care of Pierre James in 25 seconds. Braeden Nevling Ray finished the dual off with a pin of Max Barrier in 4:34 at 220 pounds.
“We are having some issues with weight in general. A couple of our guys aren’t certified until that two-pound allowance kicks in,” Tate said. “It kind of eliminates two of our wrestlers right now. We’ll have guys in there after Christmas, but until then we have to start 24 down, so to start 24 down, and pull it to within what we did, I’m pretty happy about that.”
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Bellefonte 46, Tyrone 31
Tuesday at Tyrone
285: Dan Orndorf, B, won by forfeit
106: Ashton Sipes, T, major dec. Aiden O’Shea, 11-3
113: Hunter Walk, T, pinned Aaron Little, 4:12
120: Mason Walls, T, dec. Lane Aikey, 8-7
126: Alex Coppolo, B, won by forfeit
132: Ryan Smith, B, won by forfeit
138: Brady Martin, B, won by forfeit
145: Cole Stewart, B, pinned Brandon Ixtepan, 1:37
152: Ethan Richner, B, major dec. Alex Weaver, 14-0
160: Kenneth Simpson, B, pinned Zach Lash, 2:58
170: Tommy Hicks, T, pinned Andrew Howe, 1:27
182: Ethan Rossman, B, pinned Aric Reader, 5:17
195: James Lewis, T, pinned Pierre James, :25
220: Braeden Nevling Ray, pinned Max Barrier, 4:34
Records: Bellefonte 1-0, Tyrone 0-1
Next match: Bellefonte at King of the Mountain Tournament, Friday, 2 p.m.
This story was originally published December 11, 2018 at 9:56 PM.