Upsets mark first day of Class AA wrestling
Christian Clutter of McGuffey is about to turn Derek Brown of Penn Cambria in the 160-pound first round of the PIAA Class AA Southwest Region Tournament Friday at Indiana University.
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter Jimmy Gwyer of Beth-Center gets a lift from Trent Bechtold of Burrell during the 113-pound quarterfinals of the PIAA Class AA Southwest Region Tournament Friday at Indiana University. Bechtold won a 6-2 decision.
Joe Tuscano/Observer-Reporter Gavin Teasdale of Jefferson-Morgan ties up Clayton Royer of Penns Valley in the 126-pound first round of the PIAA Class AA Southwest Region Tournament Friday at Indiana University.. Teasdale got his first of two pins in 1:50.
INDIANA – Jett Pattison and Christian Clutter probably spent a mostly sleepless Friday night, tossing and turning, and thinking about what could have been.
The two McGuffey wrestlers suffered surprising losses in the quarterfinals of the PIAA Class AA Southwest Region Tournament at Indiana University. And they will need a strong effort today in order to be one of the top six wrestlers in each weight class to earn a spot in the PIAA Championships, March 9-11 at the Giant Center in Hershey.
Semifinals are at noon and the consolation finals and finals begin at 5:30 p.m.
Five local wrestlers – Manny Dovshek (113) of Bentworth, Gavin Teasdale (126) of Jefferson-Morgan, Josh Kuslock (138) and R.J. Hall of Chartiers-Houston, and Dom Fundy of Beth-Center – won two bouts to advance to the semifinals.
Clutter and Pattison came into this tournament as WPIAL champions at 160 and 120 pounds, respectively. Now they each need two wins in the consolation rounds that begin at 10 a.m. to qualify for the state tournament.
“It’s not the end of the game,” said McGuffey head coach Mark Caffrey. “If they rally back, win two more times, they go.”
Clutter, a sophomore, opened the tournament with a 13-4 major decision over Derek Brown of Penn Cambria. But Hunter Jones, a senior from Greensburg Central Catholic and fifth-place finisher in District 7, caught Clutter in a cradle for an early lead. Clutter couldn’t recover.
“(Jones) beat him earlier in the season at the West Mifflin Tournament,” Caffrey said. “Christian beat him 1-0 in semifinals at sections so we knew it would be a tough match.”
Pattison, a sophomore, opened with a 9-0 decision over Logan Shaffer of Portage. But Pattison got off to a sluggish start in the quarterfinals and dropped a 4-2 decision to Brian Dawson of Hope for Hyndman.
“I think (Clutter and Pattison) will come back angry,” Caffrey said. “They’ll come back.”
Dovshek only needed 1:59 of mat time to punch his ticket to Hershey. The junior, who won a WPIAL title last week at Canon-McMillan High School, pinned Tyler Denochick of West Branch in 1:04, then stuck Byron Daubert of Forest Hills in 55 seconds to earn a semifinal berth. Daubert had been ranked No. 1 in his district.
“He was tough,” Dovshek said. “I knew he was going to be tough. I caught him in a cement mixer and I was surprised I hit it. He had two losses and both were from pins.”
Kuslock pinned Evan Courts of Saint Joseph’s in 1:23, then stuck Trey Weinell of Derry in 1:42. Kuslock gets Max Murin, a three-time regional champion from Central Cambria, in the semis.
“I didn’t look at anyone (in the bracket). I just came and wrestled,” said Kuslock. “I just wanted to wrestle my match and get the win. I was nervous in my first match because this was my last time (as a senior).”
Hall had little trouble advancing, taking a 4-0 decision from Tanner Krouse of Meyersdale in the first round, then pinning Carmen Gett of Marion Center in 5:00.
“It’s a nice feeling (getting to states),” Hall said. “I’ve never been in this atmosphere. It’s something I worked real hard for and I thought I deserved it.”
Fundy had an even easier time than Hall, pinning Tucker Helfrick of Mount Union in 31 seconds and winning by 15-0 technical fall over Garrett Gabel of Juniata in the quarterfinals.
Teasdale, the two-time undefeated state champion from Jefferson-Morgan, had no problems on the first day, chalking up two victories at 126 and running his season record to 34-0. Teasdale opened the tournament by pinning Clayton Royer of Penns Valley in 1:50. He followed that up with pin in 1:23 of Austin Mihalchik of Mt. Pleasant in the quarterfinals.
Teasdale, now 116-0 in his career, gets Shawn Broadway of Derry in the semifinals.