J. D. Shaw opened the dual meet with Hollidaysburg with a clutch win and the his Tyrone teammates combined for seven pins to defeat the Golden Tigers 61-18 on the Hollidaysburg Junior High School mat on Thursday night. Tyrone improved their mark to 5-2.
Shaw fell behind 2-0 when Gary Dick notched a takedown for the first score of the match at 152, where the dual opened, then reversed Dick in the opening period and scored a takedown in the second period to take a 4-3 lead. In the final stanza, Shaw (8-11) added two insurance points via a reversal for a 6-3 win to get the Eagles rolling.
Hollidaysburg moved into a 12-3 lead in the next two weight classes with Eric Shaw pinning Tyrone junior Chris Tremmel (5-9) in 2:30 at 160 and Tyrone coach Blair Packer bumping 171-pounder Blake Cowfer up to 189 with the Tigers’ Brian Shaw getting a forfeit at 171. Shaw also pinned Tremmel at the Blair/Huntingdon County Tournament.
Cowfer (8-12) wasted no time in taking Chorney down and turning him to his back for five quick points. In the second period, Cowfer escaped and twice registered takedowns before notching the pin at the 3:03 mark. Packer also moved Justin Clark (5-13) up a weight to 215, and the Eagle junior grabbed a quick takedown and fall over Tyler Morris in 1:47 for his second straight win, to give Tyrone a 15-12 team lead they would just keep building on.
From the 215 class until the end of the dual, the Eagles would outscore Hollidaysburg 46-6.
Eastern States champion Terry Tate (22-3) made quick work of Josh Hileman taking him down and recording three nearfall points, then wrapping up Hileman and getting the fall in 0:42, the fastest of seven Tyrone pins on the evening.
At 103, Packer forfeited to Hollidaysburg’s Christian Harr, the Tigers only points in the final 10 matches, and moved regular 103-pounder Robert Waite up to 112. Again the strategy worked with Waite (11-11) taking Mike Lapenna down for a fast takedown and then worked for the fall in 1:41.
Dane McCloskey (17-7) used three takedowns, three nearfalls and final a third-period reversal to achieve a 16-1 technical fall over James Smith at 119. Thad Westley (24-5) scored a pair of early takedowns against Nathaniel Barroner at 125, then decked his opponent in 1:27, the fourth of five first-period falls for the Eagles.
At 130, Brett Harris (19-8) played take ‘em down and let ‘em up with an over-matched Travis Clapper counting up six in the first period for a 12-5 lead. Harris then gained a reversal and put Clapper on his back for the fall in 3:34. David Miller (21-7) began his match at 135, the same way notching three quick takedowns, then changed to a nearfall exhibit with three in the first stanza and a reversal and one more nearfall in the second period, before getting a 19-2 tech fall over Chris Barroner of Hollidaysburg.
At 140, Adam Swayne (11-11) received a forfeit.
Brice Mertiff closed the dual by challenging Tate for the quickest pin. Mertiff (15-8) missed the mark, but still got Jason Caputo at the 0:55 mark after registering the quick takedown and nearly as fast fall.
“We have so many good kids on this team,” explained coach Packer, “that are doing the job, you can’t just single one out. Justin Clark is starting to come along. He’s starting to win now, to do the things we need him to do. And I am proud of that. Young Robert Waite (freshman) is coming a long way. J. D. Shaw is starting to pick up some wins now. Some of these guys on the team are leaving a mark, some have already made a mark. People have heard of the Westleys and Harris’’ and Millers and McCloskeys. At this time to pinpoint just one would be pretty tough.”
The Golden Eagles have piled up lots of points this season in dual meets and tournaments alike. At this stage of the season, with five duals left, plus an almost certain shot at the Team Duals as well, Tyrone already has six wrestlers with 10 or more true falls. Terry Tate, Dane McCloskey and Brett Harris lead the team with 13 pins each, David Miller has 12 and Thad Westley and Brice Mertiff have 11 each. Robert Waite and Blake Cowfer aren’t far behind with seven pins and Adam Swayne has five. Only Harris is a senior among that group.
Tyrone improves to 5-2 and is now off for a week until traveling to Bald Eagle Area next Thursday, Jan. 30.
Tyrone 61 Hollidaysburg 18
152 – J. D. Shaw (T) dec. Gary Dick 6-3
160 – Eric Shaw (H) pinned Chris Tremmel 2:30
171 – Brian Shaw (H) won by forfeit
189 – Blake Cowfer (T) pinned Daniel Chorney 3:03
215 – Justin Clark (T) pinned Tyler Morris 1:47
275 – Terry Tate (T) pinned Josh Hileman 0:42
103 – Christian Harr (H) won by forfeit
112 – Robert Waite (T) pinned Mike Lapenna 1:41
119 – Dane McCloskey (T) won by tech fall James Smith 16-1, 4:14
125 – Thad Westley (T) pinned Nathaniel Barroner 1:27
130 – Brett Harris (T) pinned Travis Clapper 3:34
135 – David Miller (T) won by tech fall Chris Barroner 19-2, 2:32
140 – Adam Swayne (T) won by forfeit
145 – Brice Mertiff (T) pinned Jason Caputo 0:55
