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Mounties take down Bearcats

PHILIPSBURG — Philipsburg-Osceola was forfeiting two weights, and Huntingdon had a history of beating P-O in recent years on its side going into the dual meet against the Mounties.

The Bearcats figured to be the favorite.

Instead, the Mounties roared to an early lead, thanks to a meet-opening pin by sophomore Dom Shaw. They got two more pins from Nick Coudriet and Gabe Dunkelberger and captured a 37-33 victory when returning state qualifier Chase Chapman won by technical fall in the final bout on Thursday night at the P-O gymnasium.

“We all wrestled good, and all the young kids stepped up,” Chapman said. “They filled the spots that we needed to. Without a full lineup, we had to bump kids around. I think forfeiting two weights gives us more confidence because that tells us we can beat anyone, even if we’re giving up those weights.”

“There’s no question about it, they outwrestled us,” Huntingdon coach Jon Mykut said. “They went after bonus points more aggressively than we did and were able to come up with them. The bottom line was that was the difference in the match.”

Shaw took a 3-0 lead over Adrian Lender into the third period, where the Mountie scored two nearfall points, put Lender on his back again and got the fall in 4:56.

“Dom is a fighter,” P-O coach Brad Pataky said. “He’s a diamond in the rough. If he continues to work hard, Dom’s going to be a good wrestler.”

P-O returning state qualifier Hunter Weitoish moved up to 170 and earned an 11-5 decision over Briar Deline.

Weitoish was winning, 5-0, in the second period when Deline put him on his back with a bar-arm for three nearfall points. Weitoish took a 7-5 lead into the third, where he reversed and scored two nearfall points.

Weitoish was one of four wrestlers for 2-0 Mounties who bumped up a weight to wrestle.

Huntingdon state qualifier Myles Baney and Cody Beauseigneur were scoreless in the second at 182 when Baney got the fall in 2:36.

At 195, P-O’s Parker Moore rang up four takedowns en route to an 11-2 major decision over Zach Peck.

“We had that as a tossup,” Mykut said. “We started out well, and then we got out of position a couple times, and they were able to capitalize on that. To me, that was probably the critical match of the night.”

After Huntingdon’s Izzy Reed won by forfeit at 220, P-O sophomore Chase Klinger earned a 4-0 win over Gunner Singleton at 285.

Landon Dunsmore picked up the second forfeit win at 106 to give his team the lead, 18-16, but Coudriet cradled Devin Grubb for the fall in 1:21 at 113.

Huntingdon’s Eden Wagner was losing, 5-3, to Scotty Frantz entering the second at 120, but it was all Wagner from there, racking up a 16-8 major decision.

Huntingdon star Roland Mills rolled to a 16-0 technical fall over Nick Bryan in 6:00 at 126 to give the Bearcats (1-1) the lead, 27-22. But Dunkelberger fired back by turning a slight 4-2 lead over Caden Reamer into a pin in 3:24 at 132.

Austin Foster extended P-O’s lead to five, 32-27, by moving up to 138 and earning a 14-3 major decision over Morgan McDivitt.

“For him to move up a weight class and give up some weight is a testament to his spirit,” Pataky said. “He knew he was giving up weight, but he didn’t care.”

The Bearcats regained the lead, 33-32, when Chandler Lauer pinned Luke Hughes in 4:58 at 145.

Chapman, who weighed in at 145, said he wasn’t nervous before his bout with Seth Emel at 152.

“I’d rather the match be in my hands,” Chapman said. “I was just looking for a decision to win it.”

Chapman calmly built a 10-1 lead in the first period, added four more nearfall points and got the technical fall in 3:37.

“When you have a kid like Chase, you know he’s going to bring the fire and effort into every match,” Pataky said. “He’s a kid that likes to score points. It’s something we’re trying to mimic as a team. We’re really focused on scoring points.

“This is the first time we’ve beaten Huntingdon in the last four years, so it’s definitely a confidence booster. But it’s a confidence booster with humility. You’ve got to be excited for a win like this, but understand that preparation for the next match starts now.”

160–Shaw, PO, pinned Lender, 4:56; 170–Weitoish, PO, dec. Deline, 9-5; 182–Baney, H, pinned Beauseigneur, 2:36; 195–Moore, PO, maj. dec. Peck, 11-2; 220–Reed, H, won by forfeit; 285–Klinger, PO, dec. Singleton, 4-0; 106–Dunsmore, H, won by forfeit.

113–Coudriet, PO, pinned Grubb, 1:21; 120–Wagner, H, maj. dec. Frantz, 16-8; 126–Mills, H, tech. fall Bryan, 16-0, 6:00; 132–G. Dunkelberger, PO, pinned Reamer, 3:24; 138–Foster, PO, maj. dec. McDivitt, 14-3; 145–Lauer, H, pinned Hughes, 4:58; 152–Chapman, PO, tech. fall Emel, 18-2, 3:37.

Records: Huntingdon (1-1), Philipsburg-Osceola (2-0)

Referee: Gary Barger

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