Bald Eagle Area wrestling tops rival Bellefonte, as Raiders’ Jude Swisher earns historic win
Experience usually plays a key role when it comes to sports.
When it comes to experience, Bald Eagle Area and Bellefonte wrestling are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
With most of the starting lineup from last season back, the Eagles stacked up five pins to top their cross-town rival Raiders, 45-24, on Tuesday night.
“It’s exciting. I think it was a fun way to start out the year for us,” BEA coach Ron Guenot said. “Any time you can get together with a neighboring school and see the stands full on both sides, it’s good for the sport. It’s why we do what we do.”
Bellefonte, on the other hand, had half of its starters competing in their first ever wrestling match, according to head coach Mike Maney. However, the night began with the Raiders getting victories from familiar faces in Addison Shawley and Tyler Putnam.
Shawley began the dual with a 7-3 win over the Eagles’ Matthew Knepp at 215 pounds. Putnam followed with a pin of Eric Clark in 4:53 to give Bellefonte an early 9-0 lead — the last time the Raiders led the dual.
“We have a lot of work to do. Certainly going down 12-0 to start the match,” Maney said, “you never like to forfeit any matches, especially against a good quality team like Bald Eagle. We got to get back to work tomorrow as we got King of the Mountain this weekend. I love our team and our guys.”
BEA claimed those forfeits at 106 and 113 pounds with newcomers Gavin Guenot and Edan Eveleth getting their hands raised. It made the score 12-9 Eagles.
BEA turned to returning starters in Lucas Fye (120 pounds) and Coen Bainey (126) for back-to-back pins. Bainey, who finished fourth in the state as a sophomore, had the quickest pin of the pair in 1:35.
Momentum flipped in Bellefonte’s favor when Aidan O’Shea picked up a fall of Grace Stem in 1:09 at 132 pounds. However, the Eagles’ Jeffre Pifer flipped the momentum back in his team’s favor with a pin of Alex James in 28 seconds.
Gage Long got another win for the Raiders at 145 pounds. He used a five-point first period on a reversal and three near-fall points to top Tayten Yoder, another new face for BEA, 7-2. The win got Bellefonte to within 30-18.
Senior Jude Swisher stepped on the mat at 152 pounds for the Raiders, taking on Mason Reese. The Penn commit built up a 9-1 lead before pinning Reese in 2:30.
The victory was win No. 100 for Swisher’s high school career, but it was also his 50th career pin. Last season, Swisher was able to set the school’s season record takedown mark. This year, he is gunning for Bellefonte’s pin mark for a season that is held by Raiders’ great Mitchell Port.
“It’s a night like no other. I was just looking up in the stands seeing all my fans and supporters,” Swisher said. “This was the first time that the whole Swisher family was here for a Jude Swisher wrestling match. I have five brothers and sisters. Everyone came out, my sibling, grandparents, cousins and strength coach. Just to look up after I got that win and have my hand raised, and everyone so excited for me, I’m just a very lucky guy. I’m just grateful that I was able to come out here and do what I love to do in front of fans that love to watch it.”
Added Maney: “There is not a whole lot to say about Jude Swisher, he speaks for himself. He is the first one in the room, the last one to leave. I honestly couldn’t tell you if we’ve had a 100th win in the gym here. It is certainly extra special when you can do it at home. He certainly has earned all the accomplishments he has.”
After Swisher’s historic win, Bellefonte was within 30-24 with three bouts to go. However, the Eagles swept the matchups.
Cameron Dubbs used two first-period takedowns to collect a 5-2 win over Grady Garrison. Caleb Close built up a 7-1 lead on Nolan Weaver, before sticking Weaver in a cross-face cradle for a pin in 1:28.
Senior Noah Foltz closed the dual out by sticking the Raiders’ Nash Irwin in 1:11.
The win for BEA starts a challenging beginning to its season. The Eagles, like the Raiders, travel to the tough King of the Mountain tournament at Central Mountain High School on Friday and Saturday.
BEA, which is ranked No. 9 in the state in Class 2A by PA Power Wrestling, follows that with two home duals. It will face Centre County-foe Philipsburg-Osceola on Dec. 21, and then have a top-15 tilt with No. 12 Brookville on Dec. 23.
“We saw some good things and some things we need to work on,” Guenot said. “Being that this is our first competition, I guess that is maybe to be expected. We got through it, as far as I know, healthy, so that’s a plus. I think it’s good that we can see what we got to work on, so we will go from there.
“We’ll get back in the room tomorrow. I guess it is good to start off like this as we got a big weekend coming up. Hopefully, this gets the jitters out and we are ready to go for King of the Mountain on Friday.”
Bald Eagle Area 45, Bellefonte 24
Tuesday at Bellefonte
215: Addison Shawley, B, dec. Matthew Knepp, 7-3
285: Tyler Putnam, B, pinned Eric Clark, 4:53
106: Gavin Guenot, BEA, won by forfeit
113: Edan Eveleth, BEA, won by forfeit
120: Lukas Fye, BEA, pinned Garret Choates, 5:13
126: Coen Bainey, BEA, pinned Noah Weaver, 1:35
132: Aidan O’Shea, B, pinned Grace Stem, 1:09
138: Jeffre Pifer, BEA, pinned Alex James, :28
145: Gage Long, B, dec. Tayten Yoder, 7-2
152: Jude Swisher, B, pinned Mason Reese, 2:30
160: Cameron Dubbs, BEA, dec. Grady Garrison, 5-2
172: Caleb Close, BEA, pinned Nolan Weaver, 1:28
189: Noah Foltz, BEA, pinned Nash Irwin, 1:11
Takedowns: BEA 10, Bellefonte 10
Records: BEA 1-0, Bellefonte 0-1
Next match: Bald Eagle Area and Bellefonte at King of the Mountain Tournament, Central Mountain HS, Friday, 11 a.m.
