Jan 18, 2017 3 min read

CLAYSVILLE – It was baked for Senior Night recognition but it also involved the wrestling team at McGuffey.

The celebratory cake that was distributed following the wrestling match between McGuffey and Beth-Center tasted just that much sweeter.

What made it so was a strong effort in a 45-28 victory over Beth-Center Wednesday that accomplished a few things:

• It left the Highlanders undefeated in all five bouts and champions in Subsection 2-A.

• That accomplishment earned McGuffey the hosting rights to the Section 2 Tournament, which gets underway Wednesday.

• It also means that a 46-mile trip over the river and through the woods would not have to be made to Beth-Center.

The two bouts that secured the victory for McGuffey came at heavyweight, where Ed Shingle gutted out a three-overtime match to come away with a 3-2 decision over David Headlee to stop a three-bout winning streak for B-C; and 120, where Jake Garrety upended Jim Gwyer by the same 3-2 score in regulation. Flipping those results would have given the Bulldogs a chance to win the match in the final bout.

“We were in a little bit of trouble and we said as coaches that we needed to win at heavyweight to get back into this match,” said McGuffey head coach Mark Caffrey. “That was a big plus. Our 106-pounder and 113-pounder coming back with falls, that was the changing point of the match.”

Headlee was coming off a five-bout winning streak and Shingle said it just came down to who could “tough it out.”

Pins by Jacob Baker (182), Dom Fundy (195) and Garrett Dillon (220) gave Beth-Center a 24-15 lead heading into the heavyweight bout.

“It was definitely a big win,” said Shingle. “He has certainly gotten a lot better since last year. I pinned him twice last year. It definitely changed the way the match was going.”

Pins by Seth Burgdolt and Collin Bell on the turn made it 30-24. Garrety’s decision pushed the lead to nine.

“I wrestled him last year and beat. “This one was a lot tougher,” said Garrety. “Once I scored, I thought I could win it. It means a lot to host the section tournament and have the home-field advantage.”

Jett Pattison put the match away with a pin at 126.

“We knew that every tossup match had to go our way to win,” said B-C head coach Gary Welsh. “But this was a step in the right direction for us. This is my third year as coach and we’ve made the team tournament each year. We have to keep our heads up. I know it hurts now, but I’m proud of these guys.”

Maverick Sullenberger (152) tied the match 6-6 with his pin.

Teague Nicolella (132) and Jeff McConn (145) also had pins for McGuffey.