Wrestling

Clarion, Lock Haven Extend WInning Streaks on Thursday Night

Thursday Wrestling results
Lock Haven 19, Bucknell 15
Clarion 29, Bloomsburg 11
 
Recaps courtesy of Athletic Communications Departments

Clarion Wins Fourth Straight, Downs Bloomsburg 
CLARION, Pa. -- The Golden Eagles wrestling team hosted Bloomsburg for their second home dual meet of the year. The Golden Eagles decimated the Huskies by a score of 29-11.

The highlight of the match was again the last match of the night with John Meyers coming out for the Golden Eagles at 285 pounds. He got to his offense quickly with a takedown within the first 15 seconds via a double leg takedown. Meyers then proceeded to get another two takedowns on Bloomsburg's Mason Rebuck to take a 9-3 lead heading into the second period. Rebuck chose the down position to start the 2nd period and earned an escape, cutting Meyers's lead to 9-4. Midway through the period, Meyers took Rebuck to his back and pinned him for the victory to cap off Clarion's win over Bloomsburg 29-11.

Travis Clawson started the match for the Golden Eagles at 125 pounds. Clawson fell behind early 7-0 after a takedown and four near-fall points by Bloomsburg's Jace Schafer. In the last 15 seconds of the period, Clawson gained the reversal on Jace Schafer to make it a 7-2 match heading into the 2nd period. He then deferred his choice to the 3rd period, and Schafer chose the down position to start the 2nd period. Schafer was unable to escape during the 2nd period and got called for stalling twice, earning Clawson another point making it a 7-3 match heading into the final period. Clawson chose the down position to start the final period and earned a quick escape to make it a one takedown match. Midway through the final period Clawson earned a takedown in a scramble situation to tie the match up at 7 and then also earned 3 near-fall points to take a 10-7 lead. Clawson rode Schafer out the rest of the period earning a riding time point to take home an 11-7 decision victory, giving Clarion the early 3-0 lead.

Joey Fischer was next up for the Golden Eagles at 133 pounds. Fischer started the scoring with a duck under to a single leg midway through the first period to take a 3-0 lead. Later in the period Fischer added 4 more points via near-fall in a tilt to take a 7-0 lead at the end of the 1st period. Bloomsburg's Gavin Mundy deferred his choice to the 3rd period and Fischer chose the bottom position to start the 2nd period. Fischer earned a quick reversal with a headlock and added 4 near-fall points to make it a 13-0 match. Mundy escaped midway through the 2nd period before Fischer took him down with an ankle pick to a double leg finish to secure the tech-fall victory 16-1 (4:49). Clarion's lead increased to 8-0.

Taking the mat next for the Golden Eagles at 141 pounds was Scott Johnson. Johnson got to work on his offense with two first period takedowns, via double leg. Johnson took a 6-2 lead entering the 2nd period over Bloomsburg's Richie Woods and chose the down position to start the period. He earned a quick escape to increase his lead and then in the closing seconds of the period. He secured a takedown to take a 10-2 lead entering the final period. Woods chose the down position to start the final period and didn't earn an escape until the 20 second mark and then Johnson took him down in the final 10 seconds of the period to secure the bonus point victory. Johnson won by major decision for 12-3 victory and increased Clarion's lead to 12-0. 

At 149 pounds, Oliver Fairchild took the mat for the Golden Eagles against Bloomsburg's Cael Raines. Midway through the 1st period Oliver Fairchild channeled his inner Jordan Burroughs and shot a blast double for the takedown to take a 3-0 lead. Fairchild rode Raines for the rest of the period and chose the down position to start the 2nd period after Raines deferred his choice. Fairchild earned a quick escape and then again hit a blast double takedown in the middle of the period to take a 7-0 lead. Raines was able to get a reversal at the end of the period to make it a 7-2 match at the end of the 2nd period. Raines took neutral for the final period and for a third time Fairchild hit a double leg takedown on Raines. He then let him up to try and score more points but was unable to score again. Fairchild secured another bonus point victory for the Golden Eagles earning the 11-3 major decision after adding the riding time point and increasing Clarion's lead to 16-0.

Wesley Barnes kept the win streak going for the Golden Eagles at 157 pounds. After a scoreless first period and trading escapes to start the 2nd and 3rd periods, the match was tied 1-1 15 seconds into the final period. With 45 seconds left in the final period, Barnes got in on a single leg shot and switched to a double for the finish, earning the takedown and the 4-1 lead. Bloomsburg's William Morrow escaped quickly after but was unable to score before the end of the match. Barnes earned the 4-2 decision victory, further increasing Clarion's lead to 19-0.

Adrian Gacek took the mat for the Golden Eagles at 184 pounds. Gacek started off hot earning a quick double leg takedown to open the match and added two more takedowns before the end of the first period. Entering the 2nd period down 9-2, Bloomsburg's Gavin Hannah chose the bottom position to start the period. Hannah was unable to escape during the 2nd period. Gacek chose neutral to start the final period and earned two more takedowns during the period to secure the bonus point victory for the Golden Eagles. Gacek's 16-4 major decision victory increased Clarion's lead to 23-8.

At 165 pounds Sawyer Ayotte dropped his match via fall (6:46) to Bloomsburg's Braidon Woodward. Woodward was docked a team point for unsportsmanlike conduct putting Bloomsburg on the board down 19-5. At 174 pounds Gabe Lilly dropped a hard fought 4-0 decision against Eric Alderfer, adding to Bloomsburg's total making it a 19-8 match. Ethan Wiant dropped another tough match for the Golden Eagles at 197 pounds, losing 3-2 against Wyatt Bush, making the score of the match 23-11.
 
Lock Haven Wins Thriller at Bucknell
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Kade Sottolano earned an upset victory at heavyweight to lift the Lock Haven men's wrestling team to a 19-15 victory over Bucknell on the road in a non-conference match on Thursday night.  
 
The Bald Eagles have now won six matches in a row to improve to 8-3 on the season. The win streak dates back to Jan. 4 and has all come on the road. The Bison fell to 5-9 on the season.
 
Lock Haven won six of 10 bouts, highlighted by bonus-point efforts from Curtis Nelson and a dramatic overtime win by heavyweight Sottolano.
 
Nelson opened the dual in dominant fashion at 125 pounds, rolling to a 19-7 major decision over Kade Davidheiser to give the Bald Eagles an early 4-0 lead. No. 31 Gable Strickland added to the momentum with a 7-2 decision at 133, before No. 18 Wyatt Henson dropped a tight 10-7 bout to Bucknell's No. 30 Dylan Chappell at 141.
 
No. 22 Lucas Kapusta and Nick Stampoulos extended Lock Haven's advantage with back-to-back decisions at 149 and 157, helping the Bald Eagles build a 13-3 cushion midway through the dual.
 
Bucknell's No. 21 Noah Mulvaney stopped the run with a 15-0 technical fall at 165, but No. 32 Avery Bassett responded in style. Bassett outlasted No. 18 Myles Takats in a 14-9 thriller at 174 to earn a ranked win and restore a comfortable Lock Haven lead, 16–8.
 
The Bison battled back with wins at 184 and 197 to close the gap to 16-15 heading into the heavyweight finale. In the closing bout, Sottolano delivered when it mattered most, securing a 4-1 sudden-victory decision over No. 29 Lucas Lawler to clinch the team victory for the Bald Eagles.

The Bald Eagles return home to host Northern Illinois in Mid-American Conference (MAC) action tomorrow (Jan. 30) at 2 p.m. in Thomas Fieldhouse. Friday's match is dedicated to Student Appreciation.