Lancers Win Section
1-AA Title - Crown Three Champs!
Going
into Fridays' Section 1-AA Tournament, most wrestling fans considered
Union City the favorite to win the title. It turned out to be
a battle between the Bears and the Lancers and it came down
to the wire. GM held a slim lead for most of the tournament
but Union City pushed 5 wrestlers into the finals to GM's 4
and grabbed the top spot briefly. But the Bears lead slipped
away as 3 of General McLane's 4 finalists scored upsets (2 by
fall) in the finals while the Bears managed to win just 2 of
5. In the end, GM won the title by a mere 4 points, but incredibly,
they did it with just 13 wrestlers (due to an injury at 138
lbs.). Of the 13 Lancers who entered the tournament, 10 of them
wrestled well enough to advance to next week's District 10 AA
Tournament in Sharon.
Hunter
Robison (106), Andrew Brest (113) and James Laird
(170) all nabbed titles in their respective weight classes!
Jackson Spires (145) also made the finals but fell in
the finale to finish 2nd. Matt Leehan (132) took the
bronze while Beau Caro (120), Cody Stempka (182)
and Hunter Dickson (285) all took 4th. Seth Yarger
(220) placed 5th and Wyatt Hall (195) was 7th.
Hunter
Robison went 3-0 with 3 falls, including a pin over the
#1 seed, Jack Martinec of Cochranton in the finals. Robison
started the tourney by pinning Union City's Smith in the quarterfinal
round and then followed that up by decking the #4 seed, Lucas
Munsee of Union City. In the finals, Robison and Martinec went
toe to toe, trading several shot attempts, but each managed
to fend off the other, resulting in a scoreless opening period.
Robison chose bottom in the 2nd period. Martinec worked on a
series of tilts and finally turned Hunter to take a 2-0 lead.
Robison managed to escape with just 2 seconds remaning to cut
the deficit to 2-1. In the final period, Robison rode Martinec
tough but wasn't able turn him. With time quickly becoming a
critical issue, Hunter cut Martinec free with a minute remaing
to go for the tying takedown. Robison shot on Martinec, locked
up a cradle and got the fall with just 4 seconds remaining in
the bout!
Andrew
Brest posted a fall over Corry's Reyda in the quarters and
then cruised to a 5-2 decision over Harborcreek's Connor Pierce
in the semis. Andrew also had to face the #1 seed and last year's
state place winner, Logan Jaquay in the finals. Brest held a
slim 1 point lead after the first period but escaped in the
2nd, took his opponent down and exposed his back to take a commanding,
8-2 lead into the 3rd. From there, Brest cruised to an 11-5
win!
Of
the 3 GM champs, James (Chuck) Laird's performance may
have been the most inspiring. Laird (seeded #4) knocked off
the #5 seed in the quarterfinals, then pulled out a last second
win over the #1 seed in the semis in OT. In the finals, Laird
faced off against the #2 seed in a head-to-head against Union
City's Marshall VanTassel. The two wrestled to a 0-0 stalemate
in the first period, but Laird reversed his opponent in the
second stanza, locked up a tight cradle and got the fall. That
clinched the team title for the Lancers!
Jackson
Spires was McLane's other finalist at 145 lbs. Spires, a
sophomore who had wrestled a grand total of 6 matches since
8th grade due to injuries, came into the tournament unseeded.
He posted 3 straight wins, one by injury default and two by
fall to make the finals in what may have been the tournament's
toughest weight class. Jackson's semifinal match was a sight
to behold. Number 1 seed, Owen Jefferson of Seneca and Spires
were in an evenly matched, knock down drag out battle with non
stop action through two periods. But Jackson kept the pressure
on and wore his opponent down. In the 3rd period, Spires cut
Jefferson loose with 1:30 remaining, took him down and ended
it with a fall at 4:53! Spires had to settle for runner up honors
when he dropped a major decision to #2 seed, Caiden Mooney of
Northwestern in the finals.
Matt
Leehan went 3-1 with 2 pins and took 3rd place in the 132
lbs. weight class. Leehan's only loss was to #2 seed and state
ranked, John Wheeler of Northwestern in the semifinal round.
Two of Leehan's wins came by way of fall. Beau Caro wrestled
a great tournament and knocked off the #1 seed, Ethan Herman
of Girard by major decision in the quarterfinals. Ironically,
Caro lost to Herman in the consolation finals. Cody Stempka
and Hunter Dickson also placed 4th. Stempka upset #4
seed Andrew Kightlinger of Iroquois in the quarterfinals and
then lost to eventual champion Gavin Henry of Union City. He
posted a 6-1 decision over Corry's Dylan Gourley in the consi
semis but then lost to Mike McCurdy of Seneca. Dickson
pulled off a 3-1 overtime decision in the quarterfinals over
the #5 seed before losing to eventual 285 pound champ, Matt
Long of Union City. Dickson bounced back with a 3-0 shutout
against Corry's Xavier Reyda in the consolation semifinals,
before losing to Jake DiSimone of Youngsville in the consi finals.
Seth
Yarger qualified for districts with a 5th place finish in
the 220 lbs. weight class. Yarger lost by DQ in the quarterfinals
to #5 seed, Shawn Proctor of Corry. He bounced back with a pin
in the second consolation round before losing in the consi semis
to Dalton Boozer of Cochranton. He finished the tournament by
evening the score with a 3-1 victory in a rematch with Proctor.
Wyatt Hall rounded out the GM district qualifiers at
195 lbs. Hall came into the tournament with only two varsity
matches under his belt and won by decision in his first and
last bouts to secure a 7th place finish. Landon Beachly
just missed making the trip to districts with an 8th place finish
in the 152 lbs. weight class.
The
GM wrestlers will be back in action next weekend at the District
10 AA Tournament in Sharon.
Notes
From Sections:
With
his 3 pins at the section tournament, Hunter Robison
broke the record for 'Most Pins by a Freshman.' Hunter
recorded his 19th pin of the season in the finals and surpassed
Matt Leehan and Hadley Harrison who both recorded
17 as freshmen.
Andrew
Brest not only won the 113 lbs. section title, he became
the first GM wrestler to go over the 30 win mark for the season.
He also increased his career win total to 108. He needs just
two more wins to tie former McLane wrestler, Hudson Harrison,
who also happens to be one of Andrew's coaches!
A
tip of the cap to James (Chuck) Laird for his outstanding
performance at the section tournament. James came into the tournament
with a modest 20-13 record. He proceeded to knock off the #5
and #1 seeds and then in the finals he decked the #2 seed. That
pin not only earned him the 170 lbs. gold, it clinched the team
title for General McLane!
----------------------
Team
scores: 1. General McLane 180 1/2,
2. Union City 176 1/2, 3. Cochranton 162, 4. Eisenhower 139,
5. Saegertown 133 1/2, 6. Corry 126 1/2, 7. Cambridge Springs
103, 8. Maplwood 100, 9. Harborcreek 96 1/2, 10. Girard 91 1/2,
11. Northwestern 81, 12. Fort LeBoeuf 80, 13. Seneca 36, 14.
Iroquois, 14. Youngsville 31, 16. North East 30.
Championship
Finals
106
Hunter Robison (GM) wbf
J. Martinec (Cochranton) 5:56
113 Andrew Brest (GM) wbd
L. Jaquay (Eisenhower) 11-5
120 A. Kightlinger (Saegertown) wbf S. Peterson (Cochranton)
4:19
126 J Reagle (Saegertown) wbd W Burgess (Union City) 2-1
132 T Varndell (Camb Spgs) wbd J Wheeler (Northwestern) 9-4
138 K Kiser (Saegertown) wbmd J Huck (Fort LeBoeuf) 16-3
145 C Mooney (Northwestern) wbmd Jackson
Spires (GM) 14-6
152 D. Muscarella (North East) wbd E Waldman (Union City) 7-3
160 J Bratt (Harborcreek) wbd A Barnett (Eisenhower) 3-2
170 James Laird (GM) wbf
M. Vantassel (Union City) 3:37
182 G Henry (Union City) wbd J McFadden (Maplewood) 6-0
195 D. Viscuso (Harborcreek) wbd H. Linkerhof (Corry) 8-4
220 J Bauer (Eisenhower) J King (Maplewood) wbd 9-4
285 M Long (Union City) wbf J Schell (Girard) 0:39
Consolation
finals:
106: Lucas Munsee (Cor) wbmd Alex Cottrell (NW) 14-4
113: Ayden Miller (CS) wbdd Connor Pierce (HC) 2-1
120: Ethan Herman (Gir) md Beau Caro
(GM) 16-8
126: Jonathan Ploss (FLB) wbf Willis Morrell (Coch) 4:10
132: Matt Leehan (GM) wbd
Dawson Bartholomew (Saeg) 7-4
138: Justin Boozer (Coch) wbd Josh Bortz (Eis) 11-8
145: Marshall Marfinetz (Gir) wbf Garrett Head (Eis) 4:28
152: Jesse Parker (MW) wbd Eli Mosconi (CS) 5-3
160: Louden Gledhill (Coch) wbf Austin Sacchetti (Cor) 2:17
170: Matt Petrilla (Cor) wbf Jacob Jones (CS) :15
182: Mickael McCurdy (Sen) wbd Cody
Stempka (GM) 7-2
195: Dylan Lee (NW) wbd Chevy Blake (MW) 4-3
220: Tyler Hedderick (UC) wbf Dalton Boozer (Coch) 3:57
285: Jake DeSimone (Young) wbf Hunter
Dickson (GM) 2:26
5th/6th:
106: Logan Gerow (CS) wbf Karleigh Steiner (Sae) 1:21
113: Stephen Martinec (Coch) wbmd Kayden Reyda (Cor) 10-1
120: Thomas Johson (Iroq) wbd Damion Kinney (Cor) 6-1
126: Easton Hedman (Eis) wbf Tucker Urey (MW) 1:19
132: Tallin Henry (UC) wbd Brendan Ace (Coch) 7-1
138: Judah Gardner (UC) wbtf Matt Stenger (HC) 15-0 4:48
145: Kalob Brown (Coch) wbd Owen Jefferson (Sen) by inj def
152: Hunter Lewis (HC) wbd Landon Caldwell (Sae) 11-8
160: Justin Cornelius (FLB) wbf Jackson Carico (CS) 1:59
170: Tim Church (FLB) wbd Ethan Chambers (Eis) 3-2
182: Dylan Gourley (Cor) wbd Andrew Kightlinger (Iroq) 3-1
195: Cael Black (Eis) wbd Nick Kaday (UC) 5-1
220: Seth Yarger (GM) wbd
Shawn Proctor (Cor) 3-1
285: Xavier Reyda (Cor) wbf Jesse Gourley (Eis) 1:30
7th/8th:
106: Adam Johnson (FLB) wbf Gavin Herman (Gir) 2:05
113: Dylan Marie (Sen) wbmd Quintin Hedderick (UC) 13-2
120: Joe Capan (HC) wbf Jayson Soliwoda (UC) :55
126: Dakota Slomski (Gir) wbf Ryan Slupski (Iroq) :34
132: Gannon Jaquay (Eis) wbf Dave Hall (Sen) 1:41
138: Brad Roae (MW) wbd Alex Brown (Gir) 5-4
145: Jack Rimpa (FLB) wbf Matt Posego (Sae) 2:28
152: Stetson Boozer (Coch) wbf Landon
Beachly (GM) 1:15
160: Mitchell Marfinetz (Gir) wbd Jacob Reisinger (Sae) 4-2
170: Jesse McFadden (MW) wbd Brandon Richter (Coch) 8-5
182: Matt Nale (Sae) wbf Jordan Miller (CS) 2:55
195: Wyatt Hall (GM) wbd
Sam Hoover (Young) 2-1
220: Zach Barker (Iroq) wbd Steven Herring (NW) 1-0
285: Jerry Mosconi (CS) wbf Steven Heme (MW) 3:41
-------------------------------
Individual
GM Wrestlers at the 2019 Section 1-AA Tournament
|
106-Hunter
Robison #2
Pre: Bye
QF: Robison wbf E Smith (UC) 1:14
SF: Robison wbf #4 L Munsee (Cor) 1:43
F: Robison wbf #1 J Martinec (Coch) 5:56
Tourn
Record: 3-0 (PLACED 1ST)
|
113-Andrew
Brest #2
Pre: Bye
QF: Brest wbf R Reyda (Cor) 0:54
SF: Brest wbd #3 C. Pierce (HC) 5-2
F: Brest wbd #1 L. Jaquay (Eis) 11-5
Tourn
Record: 3-0 (PLACED 1ST)
|
|
120-Beau
Caro
Pre: Caro wbd J Lopez (NW) 8-3
QF: Caro wbmd #1 E Herman (Gir) 11-3
SF: #5 S Peterson (Coch) wbmd Caro 13-1
Cons SF: Caro wbd D kinney (Cor) 5-2
Cons F: #1 E Herman (Gir) wbmd Caro 16-8
Tourn
Record: 3-2 (PLACED
4TH)
|
126-Gabe
Bayle #5
Pre: D
Slomski (Gir)
wbf Bayle
5:16
Cons: Bayle wbf L. Heintzen (Sen) 2:53
Cons: R Slupski (Iroq) wbd Bayle 3-0
Tourn
Record: 1-2 (DNP)
|
|
132-Matt
Leehan #3
Pre: Bye
QF: Leehan wbf D Hall (Sen) 0:34
SF: #2 J Wheeler (NW) wbd Leehan 7-2
Cons SF: Leehan wbf B Ace (Coch) 4:36
Cons F: Leehan wbd D Bartholomew (Sae) 7-4
Tourn
Record: 3-1 (PLACED 3RD)
|
138-No
Entry
|
|
145-Jackson
Spires
Pre:
Spires wb inj def #5 C Smith (CS)
QF: Spires wbf #4 A. Jaquith (UC) 3:07
SF: Spires wbf #1 O Jefferson (Sen) 4:53
F: #2 C Mooney (NW) wbmd Spires 14-6
Tourn
Record: 3-1 (PLACED 2ND)
|
152-Landon
Beachly
Pre: Beachly wbd J McCall (FLB) 7-1
QF: #3 H Lewis (HC) wbtf Beachly 15-0
Cons: Beachly wbf D. Roesch (Gir) 4:59
Cons QF: E Mosconi (CS) wbd Beachly 6-1
7th/8th: S Boozer (Coch) wbf Beachly 1:15
Tourn
Record: 2-3 (PLACED
8TH)
|
|
160-Eli
Reed
Pre: J Carico (CS) wbd Reed 1-0
Cons: Bye
Cons: J. Reisinger (Sae) wbd Reed 11-6
Tourn Record: 0-2 (DNP)
|
170-James
Laird #4
Pre: Bye
QF: Laird wbtf #5 E Chambers (Eis) 15-0
SF: Laird wbd #1 M. Petrilla (Cor) 4-2
F: Laird wbf #2 M. Vantassel (UC) 3:37
Tourn
Record: 3-0 (PLACED 1ST)
|
|
182-Cody
Stempka #5
Pre: Bye
QF: Stempka wbf #4 A Kightlinger (Iro) 1:26
SF: #1 G Henry (UC) wbf Stempka 0:22
Cons SF: Stempka wbd D. Gourley (Cor) 6-1
Cons F: #3 M. McCurdy (Sen) wbd Stempka 7-2
Tourn
Record: 2-2 (PLACED 4TH)
|
195-Wyatt
Hall
Pre: Hall wbd H Watkins (Sen) 7-1
QF: #3 H. Linkerhof (Cor) wbf Hall 1:10
Cons: Bye
Cons QF: D Lee (NW) wbf Hall 1:44
7th/8th: Hall wbd S Hoover (Young) 2-1
Tourn
Record: 2-2 (PLACED 7TH)
|
|
220-Seth
Yarger #4
Pre: Bye
QF: #5 S Proctor (Cor) wb DQ Yarger
Cons: Bye
Cons QF: Yarger wbf Z. Barker (Iroq) 2:30
Cons SF: #3 D Boozer (Coch) wbf Yarger 2:19
5th/6th: Yarger wbd #5 S Proctor (Cor) 3-1
Tourn
Record: 2-2 (PLACED 5TH)
|
285-Hunter
Dickson
Pre: Bye
QF: Dickson wbd #5 J Gourley (Eis) 3-1 (OT)
SF: #1 M Long (UC) wbf Dickson 0:57
Cons SF: Dickson wbd X Reyda (Cor) 3-0
Cons F: J. DeSimone (Young) WBF Dickson 2:26
Tourn
Record: 2-2 (PLACED 4TH)
|
02/18/19
Lancers Eliminated
From D10 Duals In QF Round
After
winning seven straight dual meets the GM wrestling team
lost a heart breaker in the quarterfinal round of the District
10 AA Team Duals to Conneaut, 30-28. The loss eliminated
them from the tournament and ended their dual meet season.
Andrew
Brest lead off by pinning Conner Peterson at 113 lbs.
Brest got a quick takedown, threw in a bar arm/half combination
and turned Peterson for the fall in 1:07. Conneaut picked
up the first of their close wins at 120 lbs. Brady Gould
pulled out a 2-0 squeaker over Gabe Bayle. The Eagles
grabbed another win by the thinnest of margins at 126 when
Henry Piatt posted a 4-3 decision over Beau Caro.
That knotted the team score at 6.
Matt
Leehan doubled the Lancer point total with a pin at
132 lbs. Leehan took his opponent to the mat in 10 seconds
flat, then turned him twice to run up a 7-0 first period
lead. Matt had top position in the second stanza, immediately
locked up a cradle and got the fall at 2:24. Conneaut pulled
out another close decision at 138 lbs. John O'Neil and Michael
Abbate were tied, 3-3 at the end of regulation but O'Neil
got the winning takedown in overtime.
At
145, Jackson Spires made his first appearance since
early December and put on quite a show. In the first period
he countered a shot by state ranked (#14 AA), Wes Davenport
and got one of his own. Davenport escaped to make it 2-1.
Spires once again countered a Davenport takedown attempt
with a beautiful move that started as a lateral drop and
ended with Jackson tossing Davenport to his back. Unfortunately,
the officials penalized him for it, calling it an illegal
throw. With the score tied, 2-2 in the second period, Davenport
escaped. He shot in on Jackson's legs but Spires once again
countered, turned it into a takedown of his own and took
a 4-3 lead. In the third period, Spires scored a reversal
during a scramble and then rode out Davenport to secure
a 6-3 decision. That put the Lancers on top, 15-9.
Conneaut
got right back into it with another close win at 152. Brendan
Laird, ranked #6 in the region eked out a 6-5 decision over
Landon Beachly. Beachly gave up the first takedown
but reversed Laird to make the score 2-2 after one period.
He escaped with 10 seconds remaining in the second period
but gave up another takedown. After a Laird escape in the
third period, Landon was trailing by a score of 5-3. He
scored a quick takedown to tie the score, then cut his opponent
to go for the winning takedown. But Laird was able to hold
him off. At 160, Conneaut took the lead for the first time
when Dom Ellis decked Eli Reed in 3:13. That made
the score, 18-15, Eagles.
GM
forfeited at 170 lbs. Rather than put James Laird out
against the 5th ranked wrestler in the state, Peyton Hearn,
Coach Cook took a gamble and bumped Laird up to 182. Laird
did his job against Trevor Tursky at 182. He scored a takedown
on a high crotch shot and rode his opponent out for the
remainder of the first period. He scored 3 back points in
the second period when he locked up a cradle and nearly
pinned Tursky. James used a half nelson and a penatly point
in the final period to secure a 9-0 major decision, but
the Lancers still trailed, 24-19. The Lancers still had
a chance for a comeback, but Cody Stempka came out
on the short end of a hard fought, 6-3 decision at 195 lbs.
Seth Yarger made a second period escape and takedown
hold up for a 3-0 win over Evan Gerber at 220 lbs. Conneaut's
Austin Kelly bumped up to 285 and posted a 6-2 decision
over Hunter Dickson. That clinched it for the Eagles. Hunter
Robison anchored at 106 and made short work of Zach
Wheeler, posting a first period fall in 1:11. Final score:
Conneaut 30 GM 28.
Coach
Cook had this to say after the loss:
"We had a great dual meet season and showed constant
signs of improvement, which is exactly what you look for
as a coach when you have a team as young as we are. As a
team I never wanted to fall back on the "wait until
next year" mantra because, as we showed, we were ready
to win and challenge the state this season. We had tremendous
efforts up and down the lineup but in the end we fell just
short."
The
wrestlers will be back in post season action on February
15th and 16th for the Section 1-AA Tournament, which will
be held at Meadville High School.
--------------------
Notes
from the D10 Duals:
The
loss to Conneaut was hard to swallow because no less than
four bouts were decided by 2 points or less (one of those
was a loss in overtime). If GM had won just one of those
four, it would have changed the outcome of the match. The
Lancers most likely would have made their way into the finals
and moved on to the state tournament. The silver lining
is the fact that it was a close loss to a very good team.
Conneaut went on to beat Titusville handily and wrestled
Reynolds in the finals. The Lancers finished the dual meet
season as Region 4 Champs with a 7-0 region record and 11-3
overall. In my book that's a fantastic season for a team
with only one senior!
Jackson
Spires made his first appearance on the mat since he
was injured in early December and he looked great. He beat
Wes Davenport, who was ranked 1st in district, 1st in the
region and 14th in the state. The final score was 6-3, but
Spires was in control for the entire match.
Hunter
Robison racked up his 16th pin of the season. He needs
just one more to tie Hadley Harrison and Matt Leehan for
the freshman record.
----------------------
Conneaut
30 General McLane 28
113 Andrew Brest (GM) wbf Conner Peterson 1:07
120 Brady Gould (C) wbd Gabe Bayle 2-0
126 Henry Piatt (C) wbd Beau Caro 4-3
132 Matt Leehan (GM) wbf Kyle Loutzenhiser 2:24
138 John O'Neil (C) wbd Michael Abbate 5-3 OT
145 Jackson Spires (GM) wbd Wes Davenport 6-3
152 Brendan Laird (C) wbd Landon Beachly 6-5
160 Dominic Ellis (C) wbf Eli Reed 3:13
170 Peyton Hearn (C) wb ff
182 James Laird (GM) wbmd Trevor Tursky 9-0
195 Colton Coulter (C) wbd Cody Stempka 6-4
220 Seth Yarger (GM) wbd Evan Gerber 3-0
285 Austin Kelly (C) wbd Hunter Dickson 6-2
106 Hunter Robison (GM) wbf Zach Wheeler 1:11.
---------------------
02/03/19
