BEDFORD - Chestnut Ridge freshman Trent Crouse is developing a reputation for being a big-match wrestler.
Last week at the Richland Duals, Crouse's pin clinched the Lions' win over Somerset in the finals. On Saturday, in the rugged 25-team Thomas Subaru Tournament, he got an even bigger win.
Crouse took Bedford's Ryan Easter into overtime of the 113-pound finals, and he notched a gym-rattling takedown with 8.4 seconds left in the OT to win, 6-4, for his second straight win over a returning state placewinner. The win sent the Ridge fans into a frenzy and the rest of the packed gym buzzing for quite some time.
Article Photos
Photo for the Mirror by Tami Ogline Knopsnyder
Chestnut Ridge’s Trent Crouse wins the 113-pound title.
"It feels awesome," Crouse said. "After I beat [Beth-Center's Zach] Swarrow [a returning state seventh-placer], I was like 'Oh boy, here comes Easter.' I knew he was really good. The coaches said Swarrow beat him last year, and that gave me a little confidence booster and helped me win the match."
"Unbelievable tournament," Ridge coach Greg Lazor said. "I don't know if they have an OW [they don't], but he beat two guys who placed at states to win it. That's just crazy good for him."
Ridge had to wait a little while, but second-seeded 195-pounder Dan Albright beat Cambria Heights' top-seeded Jake Beach, 7-1, in the finals.
The Lions finished second to Tri-Valley by nine points, 185-176, in the team standings. Tri-Valley had three champions.
"We wrestled well," Lazor said. "You always have a couple here and there you wish you could have gotten, but we stayed aggressive with everything and I was very proud of them."
Bedford, which led Ridge by a half point and Tri-Valley by 1.5 points going into the championship finals, went 1-for-4 in the finals, with only Michael Brett (182) winning a title. In addition to Easter, Garrett Thomas (120) and Toby Brett (126) also lost in the finals.
"There would be a lot of teams that would trade places with us," Bedford coach Brian Creps said. "We looked a little tired. We've been wrestling a lot of matches here lately. We need to freshen up a little bit, and I think we'll be ready to go."
There were seven area wrestlers who claimed titles, including Claysburg-Kimmel's James Dodson (132) and Ty Dively (138), Cambria Heights' Joe Davis (126) and Northern Bedford's Quinton Hixson (285).
C-K's Josh Brown (106), Penn Cambria's Nick Szala (138) and Heights' Ross Inzana (170) also settled for second place.
After a scoreless first period, Easter, who placed fifth at 103 in Hershey, reversed, but Crouse scored a reversal to tie the score. After Crouse escaped in the third, Easter took him down with a barrel roll to take a 4-3 lead. Crouse escaped with 12 seconds left to tie the score. Then Crouse got the takedown in OT.
"I just wanted to go after him," Crouse said. "Coach conditions us really well. He just pushes us and tells us it's going to pay off in the end, and it did."
"He doesn't back down for anything," Lazor said. "He's going to go out and scrap, and he loves to battle. He's real fun to watch and coach."
"The Crouse boy is a good kid," Creps said, "and we knew that coming in. He wrestled a good match tonight."
The second-seeded Albright reached the finals with a pin of Somerset's Jon Baer in the semifinals. Albright took the top-seeded Beach down three times, and as time expired pointed to the Ridge section and hugged his coaches.
"Great kid, working his tail off, improving so much," Lazor said of Albright. "This year, he's really turning it on, wrestling hard. I couldn't be prouder of him."
Davis, the No. 1 seed, pinned Berlin Brothersvalley's E.J. Custer in the semis before eking out a 1-0 win over Toby Brett, who knocked Tri-Valley's No. 2 seed Hunter Harner, 11-4, in the semis.
The top-seeded Dodson, who got by Ridge's Shane Pfaunmiller, 2-0, in the semis, gave up the initial takedown to Richland's second-seeded Nick Naglic, but Dodson led, 3-2, in the second period when he hooked up a cradle and pinned Naglic in 3:00.
"That felt good," Dodson said. "That was a tough kid. I just had to bring my A game. It's a great win."
Dively's second-period escape and third-period riding were the difference in a 1-0 win over Szala in a battle of old foes and the two top seeds. Dively also shut out Northern Bedford's Drew Gartland, 4-0, in the semis.
"It's so tough for those two to wrestle," C-K coach Dave Marko said. "They've wrestled each other 10,000 times. In the next several weeks, it's going to be a matter of who can improve. We'll try to go about our business as best we can."
Bedford needed something good to happen, and Michael Brett provided that with a 9-7 win over Jefferson-Morgan's Joe Phillips in another 1-2 seed battle. Phillips led, 4-2, after the first, and it was tied, 6-6, after two, but Brett cradled him for three points in the third to win, 9-7.
"It feels amazing. It's the first championship I've had this year," Brett said. "It's just a cherry on top that it's in my own gym."
"Michael wrestled a pretty strong match," Creps said.
The top-seeded Hixson and Somerset's second-seeded Jake Hayman went to the ultimate tiebreaker tied, 2-2, but Hixson notched a reversal to win, 4-2.
Notes: Tyrone's Dylan Weston earned his 100th career win on Saturday in a 13-2 win over Berlin's Bryce Fochtman in the 145-pound consolation semifinals. Weston finished third, beating Everett's Chris Eichelberger, 11-3, for third place. ... A team point was deducted from Bedford following the 126-pound bout. ... There were five pins in the finals.
KEY, TEAM STANDINGS
1. TV-Tri-Valley 185; 2. CR-Chestnut Ridge 176; 3. B-Bedford 171.5; 4. JM-Jefferson-Mogan 158; 5. S-Somerset 145.5; 6. C-K-Claysburg-Kimmel 127; 7. CT-Conemaugh Township 123.5; 8. BB-Berlin Brothersvalley 108; 9. NS-North Star 102; 10. CH-Cambria Heights 100.5; 11. NB-Northern Bedford 99; 12. BL-Blairsville 97; 13. WB-West Branch 89; 14. R-Richland 83; 15. H-Huntingdon 77; 16. T-Tyrone 76.5; 17. N-Newport 74; 18. PC-Penn Cambria 60.5; 19. BC-Beth-Center 58; 20. C-Central 57.5; 21. E-Everett and MP-Mount Pleasant 55.5; 23. SH-Shade 43; 24. NG-Northern Garrett 39.5; 25. TM-Tussey Mountain 26.5
SEMIFINALS
106-Bordner, TV, dec. Demaske, JM, 5-4; Brown, CK, pinned Claar, CR, :20. 113-R. Easter, B, maj. dec. Wilson, H, 16-6; Crouse, CR, pinned Swarrow, BC, 5:21. 120-Roberts, NS, maj. dec. Miller, JM, 13-1; Thomas, B, dec. Miller, BB, 1-0. 126-Davis, CH, pinned Custer, BB, 3:20; T. Brett, B, dec. Harner, TV, 11-4. 132-Dodson, CK, dec. Pfaunmiller, CR, 2-0; Naglic, R, pinned Mostoller, NS, 3:32. 138-Dively, CK, dec. Gartland, NB, 4-0; Szala, PC, dec. Tarr, BL, 6-5. 145-Bowman, TV, dec. Eichelberger, E, 3-1; Tan. Cahill, CT, dec. Weston, T, 3-2.
152-Schoffstall, TV, maj. dec. Darr, S, 15-7; Berchick, CT, dec. Williams, B, 6-1. 160-Scheib, TV, pinned Murtha, MP, 1:45; Sutton, S, dec. Clay, N, 3-1. 170-Conti, JM, dec. Yingling, B, 3-2; Inzana, CH, dec. Dibert, CR, 4-2. 182-M. Brett, B, maj. dec. Heffron, TV, 14-4; Phillips, JM, pinned Beckwith, T, 4:21. 195-Beach, CH, maj. dec. Troutman, TV, 10-2; Albright, CR, pinned Baer, S, 2:54. 220-J. Rizzo, R, pinned Maines, :47; Craig, BB, de. Krupa, B, 3-0. 285-Hixson, NB, maj. dec. Buttry, CR, 9-1; Hayman, S, dec. Feathers, CK, 1-0.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS
106-Claar, CR, maj. dec. Guyer, NB, 8-0; Demaske, JM, dec. Burket, C, 6-0. 113-Swarrow, BC, dec. Sell, CK, 8-2; Albright, WB, dec. Wilson, H, 6-0. 120-Replogle, NB, dec. Miller, BB, 4-3; Miller, JM, dec. Schopp, T, 12-7. 126-Harner, TV, pinned Huss, N, 1:43; Bumbarger, WB, pinned Custer, BB, 1:23. 132-Zalar, JM, pinned Mostoller, NS, 2:56; Pfaunmiller, CR, dec. Stay, BC, 7-2. 138-Tarr, BL, maj. dec. Laue, S, 10-0; Gartland, NB, pinned Tay. Cahill, CT, 4:29. 145-Weston, T, maj. dec. Fochtman, BB, 13-2; Eichelberger, E, pinned Riggle, BC, 3:58.
152-Doak, BL, maj. dec. Williams, B, 12-2; Otten, SH, dec. Darr, S, 10-5. 160-Lesko, JM, dec. Clay, N, 9-3; Knisely, C, dec. Murtha, MP, 3-2. 170-Dibert, CR, pinned Holt, MP, 2:09; Yingling, B, dec. Yoder, NS, 9-7. 182-Thompson, BL, dec. Beckwith, T, 6-3; Heffron, TV, maj. dec. AIkey, SH, 8-0. 195-Baer, S, dec. Drenner, CT, 6-3; Troutman, TV, pinned Tripodis, BL, 1:48. 220-Krupa, B, pinned Blough, S, 1:49; Long, MP, dec. Maines, WB, 6-2. 285-Feathers, CK, dec. McLendon, PC, 3-1; Buttry, CR, pinned Hall, TM, 3:14.
seventh-Place Finals
106-George, R, dec. Warren, B, 3-2. 113-Jano, S, dec. Pecze, BL, 5-3. 120-Green, H, dec. Altemus, N, 9-7. 126-Russell, H, dec. Black, JM, 2-1. 132-Osselburn, NG, pinned Fabian, S, 2:06. 138-Miller, BB, won by forfeit over Niebauer, CH. 145--L. Slippey, WB, dec. Lohr, S, 3-2.
152-Bollman, CR, dec. Revak, NS, 8-1. 160-Wunder, T, pinned Thompson, BL, 4:38. 170-Gibbons, E, pinned Waltman, N, :56. 182-Shope, H, won by forfeit over Crawford, CH. 195-Mayfield, JM, pinned Trulick, BB, 1:13. 220-Gindlesperger, CT, pinned Myers, NG, 3:33. 285-Reader, T, pinned Supanick, NS, :55.
fifth-Place Finals
106-Guyer, NB, dec. K. Burket, C, 3-0. 113-Wilson, H, dec. Sell, CK, 7-0. 120-Miller, BB, dec. Schopp, T, 3-2. 126-Custer, BB, pinned Huss, 1:54. 132-Mostoller, NS, dec. Stay, 7-3. 138-Tay. Cahill, CT, won by forfeit over Laue, S. 145-Fochtman, BB, pinned Riggle, BC, 4:48.
152-Darr, S, dec. Williams, B, 3-2 OT TB3. 160-Clay, N, pinned Murtha, MP, 2:12. 170-Holt, MP, dec. Yoder, NS, 5-0. 182-Beckwith, T, pinned Aikey, SH, 2:12. 195-Drenner, CT, dec. Tripodis, BL, 3-1. 220-Blough, S, dec. Maines, WB, 7-1. 285-McLendon, PC, dec. Hall, TM, 3-2.
third-Place Finals
106-Demaske, JM, maj. dec. Claar, CR, 9-1. 113-Swarrow, BC, dec. Albright, WB, 6-0. 120-Replogle, NB, dec. Miller, JM, 2-1. 126-Harner, TV, dec. Bumbarger, WB, 4-2. 132-Zalar, JM, dec. Pfaunmiller, CR, 7-1. 138-Tarr, BL, dec. Gartland, NB, 2-1. 145-Weston, T, maj. dec. Eichelberger, E, 11-3.
152-Doak, BL, dec. Otten, SH, 5-1. 160-Lesko, JM, dec. Knisely, C, 5-4. 170-Dibert, CR, maj. dec. Yingling, B, 14-4. 182-Thompson, BL, maj. dec. Heffron, TV, 8-0. 195-Baer, S, pinned Troutman, TV, 3:01. 220-Krupa, B, dec. Long, MP, 11-7. 285-Buttry, CR, pinned Feathers, CK, 4:14.
Championship Finals
106-Bordner, TV, pinned Brown, CK, 2:35. 113-Crouse, CR, dec. R. Easter, B, 6-4 OT. 120-Roberts, NS, maj. dec. Thomas, 10-1. 126-Davis, CH, dec. T. Brett, 1-0. 132-Dodson, CK, pinned Naglic, R, 3:00. 138-Dively, CK, dec. Szala, PC, 1-0. 145-Tan. Cahill, CT, dec. Bowman, TV, 11-7.
152-Scheib, TV, pinned Sutton, S, 2:56. 160-Schoffstall, TV, pinned Berchick, CT, 1:03. 170-Conti, JM, dec. Inzana, CH, 9-3. 182-M. Brett, B, dec. Phillips, JM, 9-7. 195-Albright, CR, dec. Beach, CH, 7-1. 220-J. Rizzo, R, pinned Craig, BB, 1:40. 285-Hixson, NB, dec. Hayman, S, 4-2 OT TB3.
