Elkers clip Bisons

by Rich Murawski Assistant Sports Editor Progress

Posted on February 20, 2010

HYDE - There were seven bouts decided by three points or less, including two overtimes. There were a pair of last-second takedowns that brought the crowd to its feet. And there were a total of nine lead changes in Thursday's Clearfield-Ridgway dual meet.
But unfortunately for the Bisons, it was Ridgway that scored the final lead change as the Elkers topped Clearfield 30-27 in front of a raucous crowd at Arthur J. Weiss Gymnasium.
"It was a great dual meet," Clearfield head coach Jeff Aveni said. "We wrestled with a lot of heart and a lot of pride and a lot of emotion. It was a shame it didn't come out (in our favor) because there were a lot of guys who laid it on the line tonight."
"The ebb and flow of that match was really something," Ridgway head coach Gary Gerber said. "You could tell both teams really wanted it with the way we switched the lineups. It was just a great dual meet.
"They are a quality program and very well-coached, and we had to battle to get the win. We needed the flip, and we got it. That allowed us to get the matchups we wanted, and we lost a couple close ones, but the kids did what they had to do and it really was a total team effort."
The dual meet started at 119 where Clearfield's Kodie Lowder and Ridgway's Slade Horner needed overtime to produce a winner. Lowder scored a takedown in each of the first two periods and Horner escaped both times, setting up a 4-2 score heading to the third.
There Horner got the takedown with 1:05 left and rode Lowder out to force overtime. In the extra period, Lowder got in deep on a single and took Horner to the mat 10 seconds into overtime to earn a 6-4 win.
At 125, Bison Nolan Barger and Elker Kyle Caggiano put on a great show through two scoreless periods before the Clearfield freshman drew first blood with an escape.
Later in the period, Caggiano had Barger in trouble, looking for a potential bout-winning takedown when Barger hit a Peterson and turned it into a two-point takedown for him. Barger then held on for a 3-0 win to give Clearfield a 6-0 lead in the match.
Barger also fought off four good Caggiano shots in the first period, then totally controlled the second, riding the Elker sophomore the entire two minutes.
"That was a huge win over Caggiano," Aveni said. "Outstanding for a freshman in his first real big venue. This was a rowdy crowd with a lot of people into it, and Barger goes out and gets a great win."
Ridgway got on the board in the 130-pound bout as a pair of wrestlers with identical 15-17 records took center stage.
After a scoreless first period, Bison Andrew Hill escaped early in the second and then got a takedown to take a 3-0 lead.
Ridgway's Jeff Slattery earned an escape before the period ended, then scored another early in the third. Slattery then took down Hill for a 4-3 lead, before the Bison junior escaped to knot the score and send it to overtime.
There, Slattery's takedown with 33 seconds left gave him a 6-4 win.
Ridgway took its first lead after the 135-pound bout as Steven Mitchell won by 13-1 major decision over Bison Troy Danver.
The Elkers extended their lead to 13-6 as Garet Pisani bumped to 140 and pinned Cody Lansberry with a cradle in 24 seconds.
Ridgway looked well on its way to a third consecutive win when Clearfield's Shane Harper hit a big move and completely turned the bout around.
Elker Nate Dornisch built an 8-3 lead in the first period using the take-him-down-let-him-up strategy. But Dornisch let Harper up one too many times as after letting the Bison up after another takedown in the second period, Harper went headhunting.
Harper hit a headlock on Dornisch, taking him to the mat and getting a five-count for three nearfall points to tie things up at 10-10. The second-period buzzer sounded with Dornisch fighting all he was worth to avoid the fall.
Dornisch escaped to start the third period, but Harper used a throw-by to score a takedown and take a 12-11 lead. Dornisch escaped again and notched another takedown to go back in front 14-12.
But Harper got out very quickly, escaping with 44 seconds left. He then hit a takedown at the edge of the mat with three seconds left to send the Bison fans into a frenzy. Harper's 15-14 win got Clearfield to within four of the lead, 13-9.
"Outstanding performance from Shane. Gutsy," Aveni said. "He found an opportunity and hit a big move and got himself back in the match. He believed in himself. Once you believe in yourself, good things happen."
Derek Danver kept the Bisons rolling at 152 as he showed Ridgway's Jake Himes the lights in 2:46. Danver built a 10-2 lead heading into the third period when he missed a headlock and got taken down. But he reversed Himes to his back and pressed him for the fall at 2:46 to put Clearfield back on top 15-13.
At 160, D.J. Skraba bumped up from 152 and Bison Wil Beauseigneur went right with him. Skraba won a 4-2 decision, breaking a 2-2 tie with a takedown late in the third period. Ridgway regained its lead, 16-15, with the win.
"Wil wrestled great against a great kid," Aveni said. "We had our opportunities there."
But the Elkers' lead was short-lived as Logan Shadeck made a pair of first-period takedowns stand up in a 4-2 win over Sam Skraba, who bumped up from 160 pounds. Skraba came into the bout with a record of 28-5.
Another lead change was in order, however, as Zac Zelcs bested Bison 189-pounder Cliff Hill by 16-5 major decision. Zelcs, who weighed in at 171, put Hill on his back three times in the bout, scoring seven of his points via nearfalls.
The Zelcs' win gave Ridgway a 20-18 advantage.
"Zac Zelcs impressed me tonight," Aveni said. "That was a bout that I thought we would give him fits. And we did in some situations but I'll tell you what ... Cliffy made two mistakes and he paid for both of them."
The seesaw tipped back the Bisons' way at 215 as Clearfield senior Andre Buck countered a late Jesse Sheasley takedown attempt to score his own as the third-period clock expired. Buck won, 4-2, and Clearfield led, 21-20.
"Andre is capable of making the other guy make the mistake," Aveni said. "He fought off a takedown. (Sheasley) was in on a good shot, and Andre battled and battled and battled it. As soon as the guy was like 'oh, shoot I didn't finish the shot,' Andre spun behind him and took two."
The teams then traded falls to give Clearfield a 27-26 advantage heading into the final bout.
Undefeated Ridgway heavyweight Joe Chittester (31-0) pinned Ryan Renaud in 25 seconds before Bison 103-pounder Christian Stone decked Ricky Javier in 3:06.
That set up the 112-pound bout for all the marbles as Bison Shane Peters took the mat against Elker Corey Bush, who was bumping up from 103.
Peters came out on fire, using a double to take Bush down, then tilting the Elker sophomore for two nearfall points. He rode Bush out the rest of the period, then chose top to start the second. Peters rode Bush for about half the period, before Bush got on the board with a reversal.
Trailing 4-2 heading into the third, Bush chose down and reversed Peters 29 seconds in to tie the bout at 4-4. Bush then used a series of tilts to add eight nearfall points and end up with a 12-4 major decision to give the Elkers a 30-27 victory.
"Peters has never beat (Bush)," Aveni said. "It was great to be up 4-0, and we were hoping we could keep it rolling. We tried to stay on top to do that. But that Bush kid is tough.
"He and Shane just clash styles. Caliber-wise they could each win anywhere. They saw that advantage and moved Bush away from Stone. That was a tough loss, but we didn't get it done early."
With the loss, Clearfield dropped to 15-2.
"We had our chances," Aveni said. "Everyone remembers the one it came down to, but it was an early one that cost us the match. But we won some that we weren't favored in, too. Overall we wrestled great. We just didn't come out on top tonight.
"They placed fourth in the state, and we took them to the wire. They were down in Hershey wrestling the best teams in the state and finished in the top 4, and we had our chances against them.
"It would have been a great win, but it's not a season-ruining loss. It was a good loss to a great team. I have to give Ridgway credit. They have a great team."
Clearfield is back in action Feb. 27 at the District 9 Class AAA Tournament at Clarion University.
NOTE: Clearfield honored seniors Beauseigneur, Buck, Lowder, Renaud and Shadeck before the match in Senior Night festivities.
Ridgway 30, Clearfield 27
119-Kodie Lowder, C, dec. Slade Horner, R, 6-4 ot. (0-3).
125-Nolan Barger, C, dec. Kyle Caggiano, R, 3-0. (0-6).
130-Jeff Slattery, R, dec. Andrew Hill, C, 6-4 ot. (3-6).
135-Steven Mitchell, R, maj. dec. Troy Danver, C, 13-1. (7-6).
140-Garet Pisani, R, pinned Cody Lansberry, C, 0:24. (13-6).
145-Shane Harper, C, dec. Nate Dornisch, R, 15-14. (13-9).
152-Derek Danver, C, pinned Jake Himes, R, 2:46. (13-15).
160-D.J. Skraba, R, dec. Wil Beauseigneur, C, 4-2. (16-15).
171-Logan Shadeck, C, dec. Sam Skraba, R, 4-2. (16-18).
189-Zac Zelcs, R, maj. dec. Cliff Hill, C, 16-5. (20-18).
215-Andre Buck, C, dec. Jesse Sheasley, R, 4-2. (20-21).
285-Joe Chittester, R, pinned Ryan Renaud, C, 0:25. (26-21).
103-Christian Stone, C, pinned Ricky Javier, R, 3:06. (26-27).
112-Corey Bush, R, maj. dec. Shane Peters, C, 12-4. (30-27).

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