Bald Eagle Area sweeps Philipsburg-Osceola in boys, girls wrestling action
It’s always tough to be part of a dual in which the final score is lopsided because it’s unknown what the teams will takeaway from it.
In 12 of the 13 bouts, bonus points were scored by both teams. However, Bald Eagle Area won 10 of those 13 bouts in a 50-16 victory over Philipsburg-Osceola.
“The kids went after takedowns. You see more and more bonus points now with the three-point takedown and four-point back points,” Eagles coach Ron Guenot said. “That’s what it takes to win dual meets, bonus points and falls, that’s what we did tonight.”
Mounties coach Justin Fye added: “Bald Eagle always has a tough team. We felt like we might have to bump a couple guys around to give ourselves a chance tonight. We just didn’t have enough people in certain spots. They were able to bump around to get their matchups. We didn’t really get ours.”
The dual began with BEA’s Caden Judice pinning Memphis Twoey in 1 minute, 28 seconds at 133 pounds.
It allowed Fye to bump his usual starter Ace Foster up against the Eagles’ Dawson Lomison. It was a move he later questioned.
Lomison had a takedown in the first and third period. He also secured a reversal in the second period for an 8-0 major decision to give BEA an early 10-0 lead.
“I thought moving Ace (Foster) up at (1)39 would get us a good jump start. Dawson Lomison wrestled a really good match,” Fye said.
The Mounties stopped the bleeding momentarily as Connor Guenot, who started the year at 127 pounds, bumped up to 145 pounds to take on Easton Grimes.
Guenot held a 4-0 lead after two periods thanks to a takedown in the first period. In the third period, Guenot got a takedown and nearfall points to secure a 10-2 major decision.
“He was aggressive the whole time, even until the end, he was taking a shot,” Fye said of Guenot. “I didn’t like the shot, but he was trying to score more points there.”
The Eagles responded with a major decision of their own when Nick McCully earned an 11-1 win over Hunter Kephart. Alex Surovic received a forfeit at 160 pounds, and BEA was up 20-4.
P-O got to see Colton Chapman make a return to the mat after he’s been working his way back from a football injury. He built up a 9-0 lead before pinning Brody Gardner in 2:53.
“Chapman had a nice win for us. We had him go out and wrestle a couple weeks ago, just to get out on the mat and get a little mat time,” Fye said. “Then, we decided to kind of lay off a little bit, building the stamina up. It’s hard to get in wrestling shape unless you’re out there wrestling a lot.”
Following Chapman’s victory, the Eagles won six of the last seven bouts with bonus points in all but one.
Kyle Watson had a 15-0 technical fall over Brody Jasper at 189 pounds in 6:00. Caleb Close got a forfeit at 215.
After Gage Gardner shut out Evan Eichenlaub, 5-0, at 285, BEA was up 34-10.
Tyler Corey pinned Bradley Peters in 2:50 at 107 pounds. It was a bout that Fye felt was a tossup.
Liam Purcell received a forfeit.
Tanner Guenot closed out the dual with a 10-2 major decision.
“They’ve gotten better in certain areas. I think they believe in themselves more than they did at the beginning of the year,” Ron Guenot said of his team’s progression. “We have the potential to be a good team. It just starts with what they do in the room every day. That’s the bottom line, how hard they’re going to work and their commitment to getting better.”
Lady Eagles rally for victory
The girls got things underway first on Tuesday night, however, it was rather quick.
There was just one contested bout with the remainder of the bouts being forfeits.
Bald Eagle Area collected five straight forfeits to come back for a 36-27 win over Philipsburg-Osceola.
The dual began with the Lady Eagles’ Addison Tice getting a forfeit at 112 pounds.
At 118 pounds, BEA’s Rebekah Guenot faced off against the Lady Mounties’ Veda Kephart. After a scoreless first period, Guenot tallied the bout’s first points with an escape.
Kephart was able to secure a takedown, but was hit for an interlock, giving up a point to Guenot. Guenot then escaped to tie the bout at 3-3 after two periods of wrestling.
Neither wrestler scored in the third period to force sudden victory. Kephart got another takedown with one second left to secure the 6-3 win.
P-O received four straight forfeits to get out to a 27-6 lead.
BOYS
Bald Eagle Area 50, Philipsburg-Osceola 16
Tuesday at Philipsburg
133: Caden Judice, BEA, pinned Memphis Twoey, 1:28
139: Dawson Lomison, BEA, major dec. Ace Foster, 8-0
145: Conner Guenot, P-O, major dec. Easton Grimes, 10-2
152: Nicholas McCully, BEA, major dec. Hunter Kephart, 11-1
160: Alex Surovic, BEA, won by forfeit
172: Colton Chapman, P-O, pinned Brody Gardner, 2:53
189: Kyle Watson, BEA, tech. fall Brody Jasper, 15-0 (6:00)
215: Caleb Close, BEA, won by forfeit
285: Gage Gardner, BEA, dec. Evan Eichenlaub, 5-0
107: Tyler Corey, BEA, pinned Bradley Peters, 2:50
114: Liam Purcell, BEA, won by forfeit
121: Caleb Hummel, P-O, won by forfeit
127: Tanner Guenot, BEA, major dec, Averi Gable, 10-2
Takedowns: BEA 12, P-O 3
JH: Philipsburg-Osceola 62-22
Records: Bald Eagle Area (8-2), Philipsburg-Osceola (5-4)
Next match: Bald Eagle Area at Mid Winter Mayhem, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 4 p.m. Friday; Philipsburg-Osceola at Mountaineer Duals, 9 a.m. Saturday.
GIRLS
Bald Eagle Area 36, Philipsburg-Osceola 27
Tuesday at Philipsburg
112: Addison Tice, BEA, won by forfeit
118: Veda Kephart, P-O, dec. Rebekah Guenot, 6-3 (SV)
124: Casey Davison, P-O, won by forfeit
130: Kendall Meersand, P-O, won by forfeit
136: Charli Hunt, P-O, won by forfeit
142: Anabella Hunt, P-O, won by forfeit
155: Cameron Corl-Alton, BEA, won by forfeit
170: Grace Crestani, BEA, won by forfeit
190: Shaylin Harter, BEA, won by forfeit
235: No match
100: Lily Spicer, BEA, won by forfeit
106: Eden Eveleth, won by forfeit
Takedowns: BEA 0, P-O 2
Records: Bald Eagle Area (4-2), Philipsburg-Osceola (1-2)
Next match: Bald Eagle Area at Mid-Winter Mayhem, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, 9 a.m.; Philipsburg-Osceola at Lady Mountie Invitational, 9:30 a.m..
