Ridge proves why it’s top three in state
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By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
CRESSON -- Penn Cambria had won five of its first six dual meets this season, but the Panthers went up against of the top dog in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference in Chestnut Ridge.
The Lions showed why they're ranked third in the state by PA Power Wrestling on Thursday before a large crowd at the Penn Cambria gymnasium.
The now 7-0 Lions recorded nine pins, held an 18-3 edge in takedowns, yielded only eight bout points, stuck the landing doing their unique prematch standing somersaults and roared to a 65-6 win over the Panthers.
"We've got a lot of work to do," Penn Cambria coach Todd Niebauer said. "Chestnut Ridge is at another level. They're ranked high in the state for a reason. They took it to us. We left them control the match from the get-go. I can't imagine (Ridge) not being in the top four in the state at the end of the year."
"We're wrestling really well right now," Ridge coach Josh Deputy said. "It's been a fun year. The kids are excited. They know State Duals and the dual meet postseason is coming up. They feed off of these duals."
Ridge ran off four straight pins to begin the dual meet. After Jack Moyer's fall in 3:14 to begin, Luke Moore followed with a pin in 3:19.
Penn Cambria's Austin Wagner is one of the best 189-pounders in District 6, but Daniel Moore had an 8-2 lead before cradling Wagner for the fall in 3:23.
At 215, Ridge's Nick Presnell was leading 5-3 when PC's Mason Raymond attempted a desperation throw. Presnell, though, caught him on his back and got the pin with 8 seconds remaining.
Penn Cambria sophomore Nick Summerville picked up his team's only bout win at 285. He jumped out to a 5-0 lead on Matthew Davis with two takedowns before putting Davis on his back and pinning him in 3:50.
"Nick is a very strong sophomore," Niebauer said. "You saw him lift that 250-pound guy, and he did the other night against Forest Hills. He's a super athletic kid as a sophomore. I think he's going to be a bright spot for us moving forward."
But Ridge ran off three more pins by Easton Mull in 23 seconds at 106, Brock Holderbaum in 54 seconds at 113 and Ross Dull in 1:02 at 120.
"We preach bonus points," Deputy said. "We do a lot of transition drilling to get to those bonus points. They saw opportunities tonight, jumped on them and got the bonus points."
After Kobe Burkett earned a 15-0 technical fall in 4:00 at 126, Penn Cambria star Trent Hoover moved up to 132 to face Calan Bollman, who was a state runner-up two years ago as a freshman.
Bollman got the initial takedown and rode out the first period. He added an escape in the second for a 3-0 lead. Hoover missed some shots in the third against Bollman's strong defense. Bollman earned a 3-0 win.
"He wanted to move up and wrestle Bollman," Niebauer said. "He weighed in at 126, but that was his choice to move up. To be honest, it was almost the exact match as last year when we wrestled at regionals. Bollman is hard to score on."
"Trent is a great wrestler," Deputy said. "I've known Trent since he was young. Kudos to him wanting to wrestle Calan. It was a tight match."
At 138, Ridge's Samuel Albright picked up a 7-0 win over Trey Talko. Albright scored five points in the second on a reversal and three nearfall points. Talko was aggressive in the third to no avail.
In the final two bouts of the night, Colton Bollman turned a 6-3 bout with Drew Mardula into a pin in 2:48 at 145. Ridge's 152-pounder Trevor Weyandt closed the meet with a pin in 55 seconds.
"You want to say you learn from every loss," Niebauer said. "I have no problem with losses if you learn from them. I have no problem with losses if you represent battle and compete. Did we battle and compete? In some weight classes we did."
160--Moyer, CR, pinned Little, 3:14; 172--L. Moore, CR, pinned Wolford, 3:19; 189--D. Moore, CR, pinned Wagner, 3:23; 215--Presnell, CR, pinned Raymond, 5:52; 285--Summerville, PC, pinned Davis, 3:50; 106--Mull, CR, pinned Chyr, :23; 113--Holderbaum, CR, pinned Simmons, :54
120--Dull, CR, pinned Mallory, 1:02; 126--Burkett, CR, tech. fall Coukart, 15-0, 4:00; 132--Ca. Bollman, CR, dec. Hoover, 3-0; 138--Albright, CR, dec. Talko, 7-0; 145--Co. Bollman, CR, pinned Mardula, 2:48; 152--Weyandt, CR, pinned McCloskey, :55.
Records: Chestnut Ridge (7-0); Penn Cambria (5-2)
Referee: Jack Pencil