Bald Eagle Area wrestling comes up short in District 6 Class 2A dual semifinals
Everything had lined up well for Bald Eagle Area when the District 6 Class 2A dual championship brackets came out.
The Eagles were the No. 1 seed and had the opportunity to host the semifinals and championship bout, should they make it.
BEA got to that spot, but they had the defending two-time District 6 Class 2A champions in Forest Hills on its side of the bracket.
The pair squared off in the semifinals on Saturday morning with the Rangers edging the Eagles, 32-30.
“It stings, there is no doubt about it. We knew it was going to be a tough one,” BEA coach Ron Guenot said. “Hats off to them (Forest Hills). They are a really tough team, good group of kids and coaches. We were hoping we’d be on opposite ends of the bracket, but it didn’t work out that way, so we’ll try and move on from this.”
The Eagles rebounded from the semifinals loss to throttle Huntingdon, 53-13.
Forest Hills went on to defend its crown by edging Tyrone, 39-34. The Golden Eagles got to the finals match by topping the Bearcats, 39-21.
BEA’s semifinals match didn’t quite get started so well, as the Eagles saw the Rangers race out to a 23-point lead. Forest Hills won the first four bouts with all bonus points.
Easton Toth rolled up a 16-0 technical fall at 138 pounds over Jeffre Pifer. Noah Teeter followed with a pin of Tayten Yoder in 40 seconds.
N.C. State commit Jackson Arrington stuck Mason Reese in 44 seconds at 152 pounds. Tye Templeton finished off the pin parade for the Rangers in 4:29 over BEA’s Gavin Bennett.
“It wasn’t a huge deal. We knew going in starting at (1)38,” Guenot said, “we were starting at their strength. We knew they would have some momentum. We grabbed it back there toward the upper weights.”
As Guenot mentioned, the Eagles got some momentum started at 172 pounds.
Caleb Close used two takedowns and a reversal, to secure a 6-1 win over Dustin Flinn. Cameron Dubbs, who bumped up two weights, followed Close with a 7-5 come-from-behind win over Kory Marsalko. Dubbs had a takedown with 10 seconds remaining for the winning points.
Noah Foltz made short work of the Forest Hills’ Dalton Gable at 215 pounds with a pin in 21 seconds. BEA was within 23-12.
The Rangers rebounded with Kirk Bearjar holding off a charging Matthew Knepp at 285. Bearjar stuffed a late Knepp takedown attempt to secure a 3-2 win.
Isaiah Shilcosky kept the momentum rolling for Forest Hills at 106 pounds when he earned a 6-3 win over Gavin Guenot. The Rangers extended their lead to 29-12.
The Eagles then went on a pin parade of their own to climb back into the dual.
Lucas Fye quickly took down Hunter Adams, and then flattened Adams in 49 seconds at 113 pounds. Owen Johnson was inserted into the lineup at 120 pounds for BEA.
Johnson led 5-2 after one period over Brevin Michuk. Johnson had a solid top game that he choose to use to start the second period. Johnson pinned Michuk in 3:13, leaped to his feet and Eagles’ fans went crazy.
Coen Bainey stuck TJ Carroll with 8 seconds remaining in the first period at 126 pounds. BEA claimed its first lead of the dual, 30-29, with one bout left.
Forest Hills’ Hunter Forcellini then secured the win for his team with a 7-4 defeat of Kevin Taylor.
“It was a tough pill to swallow,” coach Guenot said. “We just lost a couple of close matches.”
Rangers coach Jake Strayer knew his team was in for a battle with the Eagles. However, he had nothing but the utmost respect for BEA.
“It’s tough with two good teams on the same side,” Strayer said. “I give them a ton of credit. It was a really good match on both parts. We respect them a lot.”
Raiders fall in D6 3A semifinals
Bellefonte, which was the No. 2 seed, headed to Mifflin County High School on Saturday morning to take on No. 3 Central Mountain in the District 6 Class 3A semifinals. The Huskies were the top seed, and had a bye to the finals after No. 4 seed State College decided earlier in the week not to participate.
The Raiders won 6 of the 11 contested bouts with the Wildcats, but came up short in the end of a 37-26 defeat to see their dual postseason come to an end.
“You’re never happy when you come up on the short end of the stick,” Bellefonte coach Mike Maney said. “In a loss, we seen a lot of our guys make gains. We are definitely not disappointed in any effort or any matches. We just came up a little short today.”
The dual began with the Raiders seeing Nolan Weaver get pinned by Damien Galentine at 189 pounds in 27 seconds.
However, Bellefonte won the next four bouts with bonus points in three of the victories.
Addison Shawley pinned Central Mountain Micah Walizer in 5:19 at 215. Tyler Putnam needed a takedown to edge Bradyen Blackwell at 285.
Cameron Garcia received a forfeit at 106 pounds. Garrett Choats racked up three takedowns, a reversal and some nearfall points to secure a 10-2 major decision at 113 pounds that gave the Raiders a 19-6 lead.
The Wildcats picked up a forfeit at 120, and Luke Ananea earned a first-period fall in helping get his team to within one point.
Bellefonte’s Nate Smith did a stellar job against Central Mountain’s freshman phenom Dalton Perry at 132 pounds. Smith didn’t allow any bonus points to Perry in a 10-5 loss, but the Wildcats reclaimed the lead 21-19.
Smith’s teammate Aidan O’Shea got the Raiders back out front with a 7-1 win, but Central Mountain’s Luke Simcox earned a fall at 145 that gave the Wildcats a lead they wouldn’t lose.
Jude Swisher picked up the final win for Bellefonte at 152 pounds where he racked up an 18-5 major decision on Griffin Walizer.
Central Mountain used a major decision from Jacob Weaver and a fall from Rocco Serafini to close the dual out.
“Overall, from top to bottom, I thought we wrestled pretty solid,” Maney said. “It was certainly a match that was within reach, but Central Mountain is a solid team. We just got to get back to work and continue to get better.”
District 6 Championships
Class 2A
Saturday at Wingate
Bald Eagle Area 53, Huntingdon 13
Consolation finals
145: Devin Grubb, H, dec. Tayten Yoder, 6-2
152: Shawn Knepp, BEA, pinned Alex Gibson, 1:58
160: Mason Reese, BEA, pinned Thomas McDivitt, 3:44
172: Cameron Dubbs, BEA, pinned Mason Taylor, :33
189: Caleb Close, BEA, pinned Lincoln Miller, :55
215: Matthew Knepp, BEA, pinned Trey Poorman, 1:49
285: Gunner Singleton, H, dec. Noah Foltz, 3-2 (SV2)
106: Gavin Guenot, BEA, pinned Liam Simpson, 3:38
113: Lucas Fye, BEA, tech. fall Ryan Yocum, 17-0 (4:00)
120: Coen Bainey, BEA, pinned Alex Gladfelter, 1:11
126: Landon Dunsmore, H, major dec. Hunter Gardner, 9-0
132: Eden Wagner, H, dec. Kevin Taylor, 10-4
138: Jeffre Pifer, BEA, pinned Eric Mykut, 1:33
Takedowns: H 11, BEA 11
Records: Huntingdon 13-7, Bald Eagle Area 12-3
Next match: Bald Eagle Area at District 6 Class 2A Championships, Altoona, Feb. 18, 9 a.m.
Forest Hills 32, Bald Eagle Area 30
Semifinals
138: Easton Toth, FH, tech. fall Pifer, 16-0 (4:00)
145: Noah Teeter, FH, pinned Yoder, BEA, :40
152: Jackson Arrington, FH, pinned Reese, :44
160: Tye Templeton, FH, pinned Gavin Bennett, 4:29
172: Close, BEA, dec. Dustin Flinn, 6-1
189: Dubbs, BEA, dec. Kory Marsalko, 7-5
215: Foltz, BEA, pinned Dalton Gable, :21
285: Kirk Bearjar, FH, dec. Knepp, 3-2
106: Isaiah Shilcosky, FH, dec. Guenot, 6-3
113: Fye, BEA, pinned Hunter Adams, :49
120: Owen Johnson, BEA, pinned Brevin Michuk, 3:13
126: Bainey, BEA, pinned TJ Carroll, 1:52
132: Hunter Forcellini, FH, dec. Taylor, 7-3
Takedowns: FH 17, BEA 8
Records: Forest Hills 13-3, Bald Eagle Area 11-3
Class 3A
Saturday at Lewistown, Mifflin County HS
Central Mountain 37, Bellefonte 26
Semifinals
189: Damien Galentine, CM, pinned Nolan Weaver, :27
215: Addison Shawley, B, pinned Micah Walizer, 5:19
285: Tyler Putnam, B, dec. Brayden Blackwell, 4-2
106: Cameron Garcia, B, won by forfeit
113: Garrett Choates, B, major dec. Clayton Foster, 10-2
120: Derek Keen, CM, won by forfeit
126: Luke Ananea, CM, pinned Noah Weaver, 1:57
132: Dalton Perry, CM, dec. Nate Smith, 10-5
138: Aidan O’Shea, B, dec. Taylor Weaver, 7-1
145: Luke Simcox, CM, pinned Gage Long, 3:49
152: Jude Swisher, B, major dec. Griffin Walizer, 18-5
160: Jacob Weaver, CM, major dec. Grady Garrison, 9-1
172: Rocco Serafini, CM, pinned Nash Irwin, 2:40
Takedowns: CM 14, Bellefonte 14
Records: Central Mountain 10-2, Bellefonte 10-2
