Tyrone continued their trip down Murderer’s Row during the early portion of their wrestling season. A trip to Double-A Mount Union led to a 47-17 win for the Mount Union Trojans, who improved their record to 7-0. That followed duals against Indian Valley and Lewistown, a pair of Triple-A powers for the Golden Eagles, whose only win was Wednesday night’s 38-29 win over Philipsburg-Osceola.
With the match beginning at 140, Mount Union rolled to a quick 12-0 lead with two pins and never looked back.
A technical fall at 152, by Jake Smerekar, a decision in overtime by Donnie Conrad at 189, a pin by super freshman A. J. Schopp at 103, and a 5-0 shutout by T. J. Albright at 125, were all the points the Tyrone grapplers would be able to muster.
Keith Ryan (15-2) began the barrage for Mount Union at 140, building up a 12-1 advantage over Josh Miller (4-7) before repeating the fall in 4:40 to begin the dual. Ryan had a takedown and three-point nearfall in each of the first two periods, then added another takedown and the fall in the third period. Ryan had pinned Miller at the Zeigler Blair/Huntingdon Tournament on Saturday.
Phil Watson (9-5) scored two takedowns in the opening period to lead Jeremy Barlett (2-9) 4-1 after one period, then took just eight seconds in the second stanza to put the Tyrone sophomore on his back for the pin and a 12-0 Trojan lead. Watson had defeated Barlett 13-6 at the Zeigler Tournament.
Smerekar (9-3) put the Eagles on the scoreboard with a masterful 16-1 demolition of Eric Starr (8-7) at 152 to cut into the Mount Union lead. Leading just 2-1 after one period, Smerekar sliced the team lead to 12-5 with a reversal and two sets of back points in the middle period, and added a takedown, penalty point and finally at the end of the match another three nearfall points for the tech fall.
Dustin Drake (16-2) and Eric Hoffmaster (11-5) won the next two weight classes for Mount Union. Drake jumped up 7-1 advantage over Shayne Tate (8-6) at 160, on a takedown and two back points in the first period and an escape and takedown in the second, In the third period, Drake traded a takedown for two Tate escapes. At 171, Justin Schopp (9-5) used a takedown and escape for a 3-1 lead after two periods, but Hoffmaster started down to begin the third period, recording a reversal and then a takedown to pull out a 5-4 win. Hoffmaster beat Tate 7-3 on Saturday.
At 189, Eagle senior Donnie Conrad stopped the Trojan momentum temporarily, but it took an overtime period to accomplish it. Conrad and Zach Hicks exchanged escapes in the second and third periods, before Conrad (7-5) scored a takedown in the sudden death, one minute overtime period for the triumph.
Jamel Fortson (10-4) majored Brady Williams (3-5) 11-2 at 215, and Willie Grove (8-6) pinned Dusting Weaver, in a battle of sophomore 285-pounders in 2:48. Fortson used two sets of nearfalls worth a total of five points in the second period to swing the major decision into control over Williams. Weaver and Grove danced around for a scoreless opening period at heavyweight before Grove (8-6) chose the top position and turned Weaver (1-6) for the pin to begin the second stanza. Fortson downed Williams 14-7 at the Zeigler, while Grove pinned Weaver in the first period.
Turning the lineup back to the light weights, brought Schopp and Michael Younce (10-7) on display. A. J. opened with a takedown and back points in the first period, then added a reversal and three more nearfall points for a 10-0 advantage before getting the fall in 3:25 to improve his record to 14-1. In the Zeigler Tournament last Saturday at the Altoona Fieldhouse, Schopp won a 15-0 technical fall over Younce.
At 112, Dalton Smith (11-6) pinned Donnie Hunter for the second time in a week after decking the Tyrone junior (1-7) at the Zeigler Tournament on Saturday as well. Donnie Rosensteel (8-8) was all over Tyler Poorman (3-7) for a 13-2 win for the Mount Union freshman.
Albright (9-5) picked up the final Tyrone victory with a takedown in the first period and three-point nearfall in the second to down Devon Smith (10-6). T. J. also shut out Smith 11-0 in the Zeigler Tournament
Mount Union closed out the dual with a 6-4 win by Dave Grove (16-2) over Anthony Romano at 130, and a Kevin Ryan fall at 135, over Cody Weaver.
Romano (2-5) scored the first points on a takedown, but Grove countered with a reversal. In the second period, Grove put Romano on his back for two nearfall points, before Romano reversed the Trojan senior. Grove score the decisive reversal in the third period for the win. Kevin Ryan (14-3), a twin brother of Keith Ryan, scored on a takedown and back points in the early going, then pinned Weaver (3-5) in 1:23 to end the match. In the Zeigler on Saturday, Grove pinned Weaver in 0;24.
Tyrone (1-3) will wrestle Bellwood-Antis, who have never won against the Golden Eagles in 28 tries beginning in 1979, on Tuesday
Mount Union 48 Tyrone 17
140 – Keith Ryan (MU) pinned Josh Miller 4:40
145 – Phil Watson (MU) pinned Jeremy Barlett 2:08
152 – Jacob Smerekar (T) tech fall Eric Starr 16-1, 6:00
160 – Dustin Drake (MU) dec. Shayne Tate 9-3
171 – Eric Hoffmaster (MU) dec. Justin Schopp 5-4
189 – Donnie Conrad (T) dec. Zach Hicks 3-1, OT
215 – Jamel Fortson (MU) maj. dec. Brady Williams 11-2
285 – Willie Grove (MU) pinned Dustin Weaver 2:48
103 – A. J. Schopp (T) pinned Michael Younce 3:25
112 – Dalton Smith (MU) pinned Donnie Hunter 1:51
119 – Donnie Rosensteel (MU) maj. dec. Tyler Poorman 13-2
125 – T. J. Albright (T) dec. Devon Smith 5-0
130 – Dave Grove (MU) dec. Anthony Romano 6-4
135 – Kevin Ryan (MU) pinned Cody Weaver 1:23.
