Bellefonte, Bald Eagle Area wrestling rivalry over for another year after back-and-forth affair
Bellefonte coach Mike Maney and Bald Eagle Area coach Ron Guenot know what the Red Raiders and Eagles rivalry is like on the wrestling mat.
They’ve experienced it both as athletes and as coaches.
After Maney’s squad topped Guenot’s 42-30 on Thursday, the coaches echoed each other for what the rivalry means to the county.
“This is what high school sports is about,” Maney said. “Personally, I think if we want the sport to grow, you got to have exciting dual meets. I talked to a few of our guys, this was their first experience in a big time dual meet, and that’s not something you can take away when you get to compete in front of crowds or communities.”
Guenot said: “There is nothing like a rival dual meet, where two bordering schools go at it. Sometimes that adds a little extra to the match. I think you saw that tonight. There was a big crowd, which is good for the sport of wrestling. Both sides of the stands were packed. As a coach, that is what you want to see is the stands as full as they were tonight.”
When the match kicked off at 182 pounds, those stands full of Bellefonte fans had a lot to cheer about.
Ethan Rossman raced out to 10-0 lead before pinning BEA’s Matthew Knepp in 3:31. The Red Raiders Max Barrier hung on for a 3-2 victory over Chandler Burns. A forfeit to Tyler Benner at 220 pounds gave Bellefonte an early 15-0 lead.
“Ethan Rossman being a state qualifier is a guy we’ve come to rely on,” Maney said. “195, I don’t think we wrestled our best, but we were able to dig deep and win there.”
However, the Eagles didn’t go away. According to Guenot, his message to his team every time before a match is to “fight until the final whistle.” Well, the fight came alive and so did the BEA fans.
David Close came out at 285 pounds and pinned Tyler Putnam in 47 seconds. Freshman Coen Bainey looked like he was shot out of a cannon, coming out and scoring two quick takedowns before pinning the Red Raiders’ Garrett Choates in 1:16.
Another freshman in Jeffre Pifer stepped to the mat with BEA down 15-12, taking on Aidan O’Shea, who bumped up to 113 pounds. O’Shea looked to almost pin Pifer in the second period, but a reversal and three near-fall points had Pifer leading 5-3 after two periods.
In the third period, Pifer nearly pinned O’Shea, but collected two near-fall points instead and a 7-3 win. One that Guenot knows that his team wasn’t favored to get at the weight class.
“Jeffre Pifer has been wrestling really well. He didn’t place at King of the Mountain,” Guenot said. “I think O’Shea was top 6 in 106. We knew it was going to be a tough match. Jeffre rose to the occasion. It was a good confidence builder for him and a nice win. It got the crowd energized and got us back into it.”
Pifer’s win tied the dual at 15-15, but that’s when momentum swung back to Bellefonte.
The Red Raiders got a 6-2 win from Lane Aikey, who topped childhood friend Cooper Gilham. A forfeit at 126 pounds to Nate Smith and a Jude Swisher fall in 31 seconds put Bellefonte out 30-15.
Alex Coppolo earned a fall in 4:44 for the Red Raiders to push their lead to 21 points.
Again, the Eagles responded.
Gage McClenahan was on the mat for a mere 21 seconds in his 145-pound match against Brady Martin. The senior picked up a fall with a tight cradle, one he said that it was so tight he just had to finish it off.
Drew Koleno followed McClenahan with a fall of his own and BEA was within 36-27 with two bouts to go.
However, state place-winner Ethan Richner still had to hit the mat for Bellefonte.
Richner locked up the dual meet victory for his team with a fall in 1:22 at 160 pounds. The final match of the night went to the Eagles’ Noah Foltz, who topped Stephen Ivicic 10-3, up a weight class.
“Overall, any time you can walk out of this gym with a win it’s a great thing,” Maney said. “Bald Eagle has a great history and program. I don’t think it was our greatest performance. We were sloppy in some places and cost us in some spots. We just got to work on those things. I’m happy with the guys’ effort. Anytime you can beat your rival, it’s a good thing.”
Bellefonte 42, Bald Eagle Area 30
Thursday at Wingate
182: Ethan Rossman, B, pinned Matthew Knepp, 3:31
195: Max Barrier, B, dec. Chandler Burns, 3-2
220: Tyler Benner, B, won by forfeit
285: David Close, BEA, pinned Tyler Putnam, :47
106: Coen Bainey, BEA, pinned Garrett Choates, 1:16
113: Jeffre Pifer, BEA, dec. Aidan O’Shea, 7-3
120: Lane Aikey, B, dec. Cooper Gilham, 6-2
126: Nate Smith, B, won by forfeit
132: Jude Swisher, B, pinned Grace Stem, :31
138: Alex Coppolo, B, pinned Zander Ballock, 4:44
145: Gage McClenahan, BEA, pinned Brady Martin, :21
152: Drew Koleno, BEA, pinned Alec Bosset, 2:36
160: Ethan Richner, B, pinned Camden Comly, 1:22
170: Noah Foltz, BEA, dec. Stephen Ivicic, 10-3
Takedowns: Bellefonte 8, Bald Eagle Area 8
Records: Bellefonte 2-0, Bald Eagle Area 2-1
Next match: Bellefonte at Conestoga Valley Holiday Classic, Dec. 27; Bald Eagle Area at Trojan Wars, Dec. 27
This story was originally published December 19, 2019 at 10:51 PM.
