Tyrone hosted the Team Duals again in 2003 and this time the Golden Eagle wrestlers were involved.
Tyrone earned a spot against top seed Forest Hills in the Class AA finals Saturday evening with a 42-38 triumph over Mount Union in the semifinals, then found out first hand why the Forest Hills Rangers are ranked Number One in the state in AA with Forest Hills handing Tyrone a 52-20 beating.
The Eagle broke out on top quickly with 275-pounder Terry Tate (24-5) receiving a forfeit to begin the match which began at 7 p.m. The Team Duals were wrestled in the Tyrone Area High School gym on two mats. Double-A wrestled on one mat and Triple-A wrestled on the other.
Forest Hills came right back with three wins in a row however. Jared Baxter (21-6) jumped out to a 6-0 advantage over Eagle freshman Robert Waite at 103. Waite (13-13) registered a pair of third-period reversals to cut the lead, but Baxter triumphed 8-4. Shane Valko (27-2) picked up a forfeit at 112, to give Forest Hills a 9-6 lead and returning state champion Jake Strayer (28-0 this season, with 102 career wins already in only his junior season) pinned Dane McCloskey (19-9) in 3:03 at 119. Strayer led 4-1 at the time of the fall, on takedowns in each of the first two periods.
With Forest Hills up 15-6, Tyrone came back to take a 20-15 lead with three straight wins. Thad Westley (27-6) used seven takedowns, a nearfall, reversal and four penalty points to win by tech fall 23-7, over Casey Shaffer (6-7), at 125, in 5:29. At 130, Brett Harris (22-9) was leading Josh Weaver 5-0, following takedowns in the first and third periods and a second-period escape, when disaster nearly struck. Weaver (11-11) reversed the Tyrone senior to his back for three nearfall points to tie the match 5-5. Harris managed an escape with 25 seconds remaining and held on to squeak by Weaver 6-5. David Miller (24-8) then capped the Tyrone comeback with a pin over Reed Myers (6-11) at 135, in 3:27. Miller took a 5-2 lead at the end of one period on a takedown and back points, then added his second five-point move to begin the second period with a reversal and another nearfall. Westley, Harris and Miller were the only Eagles to win both matches on Saturday.
Forest Hills then showed their strength winning the final seven weight classes to win going away 52-20.
Ranger sophomore Art Moss (23-4) pinned Adam Swayne (11-13) in 1:30 at 140. James Moss (24-5) won by a 9-0 major decision over Tyrone soph Brice Mertiff (18-9) at 145. Cody Gallaher (28-3) pinned J. D. Shaw (8-15) in 4:48 at 152. Brandon Papcunik (11-12) used reversals and back points in both the second and third periods for a 9-5 decision over Chris Tremmel (6-12) at 160. Brian Agelotti (25-6), who wrestled and attended school at Penn Cambria last year, pinned Blake Cowfer (9-15) in 2:35, at 171. Sean Kisel (24-5) pinned Justin Clark (5-17) in 1:20, at 189. Newcomer Max Soellner (0-2) opened the scoring at 215, with a takedown, but Andrew Bourgoine (15-12) got a penalty point and turned a reversal into a dual-ending fall in 1:41.
Tyrone falls to 7-4 in dual meets, while Forest Hills extends their undefeated mark to 14-0.
“I feel privileged that we got a chance to wrestle them,” said Tyrone coach Blair Packer after the Forest Hills match. “They are not on our schedule and I was happy to get an opportunity to wrestle against the best. It gives you a measuring stick as to where you are. I think that that is what we are after tonight. I think there are just two other teams who scored more than 12 points against this Forest Hills team. I am very proud of the kids just to make it into the finals here. I just can’t say anything more about our kids, other than I am proud of them.”
In the semifinal, wrestled at 2:30 p.m., Tyrone turned the tables on Mount Union, who had edged by the Eagles 30-29 in early January.
The Eagles got five pins this time, including one by Chris Tremmel over John Starr, at 160, that wrapped up the win with three weights to wrestle. In the first dual, Tyrone had forfeited to Starr, giving Mount Union an easy six points. Tremmel opened the scoring with a takedown, although Starr countered with a reversal to knot the score at 2-2 after the first period. Tremmel started the second period on the bottom, reversed Starr and worked for the pin in 2:47 to guarantee the Eagles the win and a spot opposite Forest Hills in the championship finals.
As the Trojans did in the first match, coach Corey Wertz moved normal 215-pounder Josh Kirsch up to wrestle Tyrone sophomore Terry Tate. The first time around, Kirsch muscled Tate for a quick pin. This time, although the win went to Mount Union, Tate saved two team points falling by major decision 11-3.
The Eagles’ Robert Waite (103) and Trojans’ Steve Hanes (112) traded forfeits at the next two weights.
The middleweights, who have powered Tyrone all season lone came through again.
Trailing 10-6 in the team score, the Eagles got wins from Dane McCloskey (119), Thad Westley (125), Brett Harris (130), David Miller (135), Adam Swayne (140) and Brice Mertiff (145) to take a 36-10 lead.
McCloskey led 10-3 when he pinned Jason Grove with a fraction of a second left in the second period. Westley scored everything in doubles, notching a pair of takedowns in the opening period, two nearfalls in the middle stanza and two reversals in the final period, before decking Clyde Hendrickson at the 5:24 mark. Harris scorched Jon Clemens for four takedowns in a 10-4 win, after winning just 5-3 in the dual at Mount Union.
In the first match in early January, David Miller needed five points in the final period to hold off Shane Hower 7-5. In the Team Duals, trailed 4-2 after one period, but registered three back points in the middle period and a reversal to begin the third stanza before working for a fall in 5:47. Adam Swayne repeated a win over Brandon Matthews by nearly the same score. Swayne used a four points in the first period courtesy a takedown and two nearfall points, then wrestled even with Matthews over the final two periods for a 9-5 win. In the first dual. Swayne rode a five-point second period to a 9-4 triumph. Brice Mertiff concluded the Eagle blitz with a third-period fall over Greg Beeler. Beeler notched the first takedown, but Mertiff quickly reversed and pinned the Trojan junior in 0:54.
After Drew Aurand repeated a victory over J. D. Shaw, at 152, Tremmel put the match away with his pin.
Trey Rogers edged Blake Cowfer 5-4 at 171, Justin Clark was pinned in 0:38, by Jamie Nagel at 189, and Trojan senior Ralph Morgan showed Max Soellner the lights in 1:29 to finish the match.
“If you look at it, almost everything seemed to come down to an identical match,” said Packer, “except for a few changes and those we made mostly. We had our 160-pounder back where that was a 12-point swing in our favor. A number of our kids didn’t give up bonus points and our kids picked up some bonus points. That made all the difference in the world.”
In Class AAA, State College, ranked fifth in the state, upset top seed and fourth-ranked Bald Eagle Area easily 38-19 to win their fourth straight Team Duals.
In the consolation finals, Penns Valley defeated Mount Union 33-29 and Philipsburg-Osceola downed Indian Valley 40-27.
