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JOHNSTOWN -- Chesnut Ridge has dominated the team race in the District 5 boys wrestling tournament for over a decade, bringing a 12-year winning streak into Saturday's event at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Sports Center.
Northern Bedford enjoyed an exemplary day Saturday, however, and brought Ridge's long streak to an end.
With Wyatt Clouse and Eion Snider winning individual titles at 121 and 189 pounds, respectively, and Rece Dibert and Brock Beach taking respective second places at 215 and 285 pounds, the Black Panthers racked up 182 team points, nosing out second-place Chestnut Ridge to win the team championship.
Northern Bedford advanced six wrestlers who finished third or better in the district tournament to next Friday and Saturday's Southwest AA Regional Tournament at the Altoona Area High School Fieldhouse.
Also advancing for Northern Bedford were district third-place finishers Aiden Replogle at 107 pounds and Tyler Paris at 172.
Winning the team title was icing on the cake for the Black Panthers.
"It feels really good to break that (Ridge) streak, but honestly, I didn't have the team championship in my thoughts today,'' Northern Bedford coach Brian Dutchcot said. "This is a team sport, and it's a hard sport.
"All of the wrestlers on our team have worked so hard since November, and I'm proud of each and every one of them,'' Dutchcot added.
For the first time ever, a PIAA-sanctioned girls competition involving schools from Districts 5, 6 and 9 comprised a part of the district tournament format, and the Northern Bedford girls team enjoyed its share of success there as well.
Kaylee Ebersole and Raegan Snider captured respective individual titles at 106 and 155 pounds, and Emilee Dennis finished second at 130 pounds for Northern Bedford, as each advanced to next Saturday's Central Regional Tournament at Milton High School.
The top six girls finishers in each weight class advance to to regionals, and the field there will include three Bellwood-Antis wrestlers. Juliette Cuevas took third at 100 in the district tournament for Bellwood, while Elliana Patterson placed fourth at 112 and Hailey Loupe placed fifth at 106.
Clouse bounces back
Northern Bedford's Clouse, a junior, rebounded from a 5-0 second-period deficit and forced overtime in the 121-pound championship bout against Everett senior Elijah Mills before capturing a 7-5 victory with an overtime takedown.
Clouse, who has a 35-7 season record, entered as the top seed in his weight class, while Mills was seeded third. Clouse shot in for a low double-leg takedown from the neutral position to record the championship victory.
"I kept pushing the pace, and that was the key for me,'' said Clouse, who was a District 5 runner-up last year. "It's very rewarding to win this year, because I've been working hard for this for the last three months. I came up short last year, and that gave me motivation.''
Dutchcot credited Clouse's perseverance.
"He never gives up, he fought off his back tonight, and got the points that he needed,'' Dutchcot said.
Snider, who won a district title last year at 172 as a junior, breezed to an 8-0 major decision over Trace Hay of Berlin Brothersvalley in Saturday's 189-pound championship match.
Snider (36-6 this season) lived up to the top seed billing at his weight class by controlling the title bout with the second-seeded Hay. Snider scored takedowns in the first and third periods and a reversal in the second.
"I just tried to work hard and do my stuff out there,'' Snider said. "I made smart decisions.''
"Eion is a special kid,'' Dutchot said. "He's had four years in our program since his freshman year and it's great for him to go out as a champ.''
Dibert and Beach, both seniors, also reached the finals for Northern and will go to the regional tournament as district runner-ups.
Dibert, a second seed, was pinned in 3:18 by top-seeded Rowan Holmes of Somerset in the 215-pound championship match, and Beach, seeded third, lost a 3-0 championship decision at 285 to top-seeded Zane Hagans of Somerset, who broke a scoreless tie with an escape and takedown in the third period.
Replogle, a junior and third seed, bounced back from a semifinal loss to win his final two matches at 107, punching his regional ticket with an 11-7 win over Lukas Smith of Berlin Brothersvalley in the third-place match.
Fourth-seeded junior Paris also rebounded from a semifinal loss to win two straight matches, including a 17-8 major decision over Everett's Noah Shaffer in the third-place bout at 172.
NB girls shine
Northern Bedford's Ebersole, a sophomore and top seed at 106 in the girls tournament, was very impressive while posting two first-period pins en route to her championship. Ebersole captured the title by pinning State College's Anna Lackey in 51 seconds.
"I was nervous (in the championship match), but I got over those nerves,'' Ebersole said. "A pin is better than a decision.''
Northern Bedford junior Raegan Snider, the top-seeded wrestler in the girls' 155-pound weight class, logged two straight falls, including an 81-second fall over Bedford's Camryn Steinbuch in the title match.
"It's exciting that this is the first PIAA tournament for girls,'' said Raegan Snider, who is Eion Snider's cousin. "I can't wait to see girls wrestling grow more and more as a sport. I'm just grateful to be out here today.''
Northern Bedford girls wrestling coach Zach Clark had praise for all three of his wrestlers who reached the championship round.
"I'm extremely proud of each and every single one of them,'' Clark said of Ebersole, Snider, and the freshman Dennis. "They've proven themselves day in and day out, and I'm real excited to see how they do in the regional tournament. I think they have a real good shot of getting through to the state tournament.''
Bellwood girls coach Nick Torsell also praised his three sophomore wrestlers - Cuevas (100 pounds), Loupe (106), and Patterson (112) - after they each qualified for the regional tournament.
"This is the first year that we've had girls on the varsity team, and all three of them made it through the district tournament,'' Torsell said. "The girls are good athletes who have come a long way. They've all shown good things with glimpses of greatness throughout the year, and they all put it together today.''
Notable
Bishop McCort won the girls team title with 121 points, and junior Jordyn Fouse - who started her wrestling career at Northern Bedford but now competes for McCort - won the 136-pound title and the Outstanding Wrestler Award in the girls tournament.
Somerset's Colin Wood, the 139-pound boys tournament champion, was named the tournament's Outstanding Wrestler in the boys completion.
District 5 Hall of Famers inducted Saturday included former Everett coach Jim Droz and wrestler Wade Grimes, along with Dave Musselman, a former long-time PIAA official who was inducted posthumously. Musselman was a native of Claysburg.
District 5 2A BOYS tournament
Key, team scoring
1, NB--Northern Bedford, 182; 2, CR--Chestnut Ridge, 176; 3, E--Everett, 135; 4, SOM--Somerset, 119.5; 5, BB--Berlin Brothersvalley, 95; 6, MEY--Meyersdale, 91.5; 7, CT--Conemaugh Township, 72; 8, TM--Tussey Mountain, 62; 9, BED--Bedford, 39; 10, NS--North Star, 37.
THIRD-PLACE MATCHES
(Listing area and regional results. Winners advance to the Southwest AA Regional Tournament)
107--Replogle, NB, dec. Smith, BB, 11-7. 114--Diest, MEY, pinned Clapper, NB, 0:16. 121--Willey, CR, dec. Schardt, MEY, 3-2. 127--Geiger, MEY, pinned Ramper, TM, 4:50. 133--Jones, BB, pinned Dively, NB, 1:59. 139--Ickes, CR, pinned Amick, NB, 1:59. 145--Walylko, CT, dec. Logue, NB, 11-5.
152--Sipe, CR, pinned Galentine, NS, 3:56. 160--Porter, MEY, dec. Clark, EV 11-9. 172--Paris, NB, maj. dec. Shaffer, EV, 17-8. 189--Grove, EV, pinned Brode, TM, 2:42. 215--Claycomb, BED, pinned Kimmel, BB, 0:44. 285--Brambley, EV, dec. Hale, BED, 4-3 TB2.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
(Winners and losers advance to the regional tournament)
107--Deputy, CR, maj. dec. Santamaria, TM, 14-6. 114--Mull, CR, pinned Lucas, EV, 0:14. 121--Clouse, NB, dec. Mills, EV, 7-5 OT. 127--Weyant, CR, pinned Valentine, SOM, 3:13. 133--Wharton, CR, tech. fall Frazier, NS 18-0, 4:23. 139--Wood, SOM, dec. Hawkins, CT, 6-1. 145--Imler, CR, pinned Sherwood, EV, 1:44.
152--Snyder, MEY, dec. Hauze, EV, 10-4. 160--Baker, SOM, dec. Masood, TM, 8-3. 172--Huffman, CT, dec. Fisher, BB, 6-4 OT. 189--Snider, NB, maj. dec. Hay, BB, 8-0. 215--Holmes, SOM, pinned Dibert, NB, 3:18. 285--Hagans, SOM, dec. Beach, NB, 3-0.
District 5-6-9 girls tournament
Key, team scoring
1, BM--Bishop McCort, 121; 2, CUR--Curwensville, 97; 3, CM--Central Mountain, 93; 4, PO--Philipsburg-Osceola, 69; 5, CR--Chestnut Ridge, 68.
Others: BA--Bellwood-Antis; BEA--Bald Eagle Area; BED--Bedford; JUN--Juniata; MV--Moshannon Valley; NB--Northern Bedford; PUNX--Punxsutawney; RV--Redbank Valley; SC--State College; SH--Southern Huntingdon; U--United.
FIFTH-PLACE MATCHES
(Listing area and regional results. Winners and losers advance to the Central Regional)
106--Loupe, BA, dec. Peoples, CUR, 5-3. 142--Hoy, CM, won by default over Hunt, PO.
THIRD-PLACE MATCHES
(Listing area and regional results. Winners and losers advance to regional competition)
100--Cuevas, BA, pinned Oleska, U, :30. 112--Stiles, U, dec. Patterson, BA, 6-0. 130--Metzger, CM, pinned M. Duvall, PO, 1:30.
CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS
(Winners and losers advance to regional competition)
100--Shoff, MV, pinned Taladay, RV, 1:57. 106--Ebersole, NB, pinned Lackey, SC, 0:51. 112--Fordyce, BM, pinned Jenkins, SH, 0:18. 118-Forrest, BM, pinned Smith, JUN, 1:21. 124--Is. Duvall, PO, pinned Carfley, CUR, 3:29. 130--Plummer, CR, pinned Dennis, NB, 0:14. 136--Fouse, BM, pinned Dey, CR, 1:09. 142--Lasure, CR, pinned Harris-Haye, JTWN, 2:56.
148--Grieb, BEA, maj. dec. Bambarger, CUR, 19-6. 155--Snider, NB, pinned Steinbuch, BED, 1:21. 170--Miller, PUNX, won by forfeit over Wagner, CM. 190--Favara, BM, pinned Crestani, BEA, 0:41. 235--Steibuch, BED, pinned Miller, CM, 3:01.