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CRESSON -- Penn Cambria and Somerset entered their dual meet at the Penn Cambria gymnasium with matching 9-3 records.
So, it figured to be a close match. It turned out to be the closest wrestling teams can get.
The Panthers got a pin from Austin McCloskey in the final bout at 172 pounds, which knotted the score at 36-36. That sent the outcome to dual meet tiebreaker.
After referee Ed Bishop conferred with the rule book and the scorebook, Somerset won the dual meet on tiebreaker criteria D -- most individual matches won by one team. The Eagles had the 7-6 edge in individual matches won, officially giving them a 37-36 win.
"When it comes to criteria, I knew we had the most falls and the most decisions," Somerset coach Nate Phillips said. "You couldn't ask for a better group of young men."
"We had a couple matches that we should have had," Penn Cambria coach Todd Niebauer said. "We had two kids (Isaac Filak and Bane Mallory) out tonight, but there are no excuses. We should have won. Some kids wrestled well and some did not. It's frustrating when you're that close.
"Somerset's got a nice team. I don't want to take anything away from Coach Phillips. He's a great guy, does a great job. Hopefully a couple guys can learn from it. You can't get a date with a girl unless you ask her out. That's what I always tell them. You've got to take a shot."
Somerset's win can be traced back to Zane Hagans' 1-0 win over Nick Summerville at 285 and Ali Akanaan's come-from-behind 6-4 overtime victory over Isaiah Chyr at 114. All of the other bouts were decided by pins and forfeits.
After Somerset returning state qualifier Rowan Holmes (17-1) opened the dual meet with a fall in 4:52 at 189, Penn Cambria's Mason Raymond decked Wes Shaulis in 1:36 at 215.
"Mason's got nine losses, but he has some good losses," Niebauer said. "He's lost to some good kids outside of the area in the Panther Classic and the Mid-Winter Mayhem. He could make some noise. He's working with coach A.J. Brooks, and we're getting him to be more offensive."
Hagans rode Summerville the entire second period before escaping in the third period. The heavyweights spent the rest of the period on their feet, leaving Hagans with the win.
After Penn Cambria's Keaton Brooks won by forfeit at 107, teammate Chyr scored a first-period takedown on Akanaan. The Panther added another takedown in the second, gave up an escape and took a 4-1 lead into the third period.
Akanaan escaped 35 seconds into the period and took Chyr down with 47 seconds remaining to tie the score. The bout went into overtime, where Akanaan got the takedown with 17 seconds left to win.
"Ali fought back at the end," Phillips said. "I was counting on that. He got a little sloppy in the beginning."
Penn Cambria freshman Layton Munyon, wrestling for Filak, did some rallying of his own at 121. Michael Bridge held a 5-0 lead when Munyon reversed him to his back and got the fall in 1:44.
"He's a dangerous kid. He's got a jiu-jitsu background," Niebauer said.
Pins by Deshonn Valentine at 127, Austin Dewitt at 133 and Toby Walker at 139 gave the Eagles a 30-18 lead.
Penn Cambria returning state qualifier Trent Hoover (23-2) stopped the Somerset run with a pin of Brady Brewer in 26 seconds at 145.
But Logan Baker's pin in 43 seconds gave the Eagles the 36-24 lead. Phillips wasn't comfortable though.
"I think me moving around in the chair like I did shows how nervous I do get," Phillips joked.
Niebauer had Darius Rodgers pick up the forfeit win at 160 and moved McCloskey up to 172.
McCloskey (18-5) built a 6-0 lead on Garrett Marsh before putting him on his back for the second time. When Bishop slapped the mat, the focus turned to page 41 of the rulebook. Niebauer, who has been Penn Cambria's head coach for 21 years, knew that the tiebreaker wasn't going his way.
"I expected that we had 12 points in our pocket coming into the last two matches," Niebauer said. "I knew the criteria. I knew those two close losses would come back to haunt us."
189--Holmes, S, pinned Oravecz, 4:52; 215--Raymond, PC, pinned Shaulis, 1:36; 285--Hagans, S, dec. Summerville, 1-0; 107--Brooks, PC, won by forfeit; 114--Akanaan, S, dec. Chyr, 6-4 OT; 121--Munyon, PC, pinned Bridge, 1:44; 127--Valentine, S, pinned Barnish, :59
133--Dewitt, S, pinned Szpala, 1:04; 139--Walker, SS, pinned Gill, :36; 145--Hoover, PC, pinned Brewer, :26; 152--Baker, S, pinned Goshey, :43; 160--Rodgers, PC, won by forfeit; 172--McCloskey, PC, pinned Marsh, 3:50.
Somerset wins on Criteria D (most matches won)
Records: Somerset (10-3), Penn Cambria (9-4)
Referee: Ed Bishop