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By Todd Irwin
sports@altoonamirror.com
HOUTZDALE -- The dual meet between rivals Moshannon Valley and Glendale was close going into the last five bouts -- with the Black Knights holding a seven-point lead.
But then the Mo Valley upperweights took over in the dual-meet opener for both teams.
The Black Knights swept the final five weights, posting four falls and a major decision, to beat the Vikings, 53-18, on Tuesday night under dimmed lights of a packed Moshannon Valley Elementary gymnasium.
"They're stacked," Glendale coach Brian Storm said of Mo Valley's wrestlers in the heavier weights. "They have really tough wrestlers in the middle. They have a really nice lineup."
It was the first time Mo Valley had beaten Glendale since a 42-31 win on Jan. 2, 2018.
"It feels good," Moshannon Valley coach Thad Walstrom said. "We told them in the locker room 'Hey guys, we haven't beaten this team in years. It's time for us to take back over this rivalry.' We did that tonight. I was happy with the way we wrestled."
Mo Valley was coming off a rough final round at the Inter-County Conference Tournament on Saturday at Claysburg-Kimmel. The Black Knights had four finalists, and they all had to settle for second.
"The guys were disappointed," Walstrom said. "We were right there in the team race, pretty much in second, and then we fell in the end. But they came in, worked hard last night, and I think it showed out here tonight."
The dual meet began at 285, where Dom Moore scored four takedowns to rack up a 14-2 major decision of Lawson Richards.
After Mo Valley's Cooper Keith and Aaron Cook won by forfeit at 107 and 114, respectively, Hayden Kohn got the Vikings on the scoreboard with a pin in 1:16 at 121.
Mo Valley's Jeremy Lamoreau won by forfeit at 127 before the most competitive bout of the night at 133 between Black Knight freshman Brady Mihalko and Viking sophomore Domanic Kaufman.
Mihalko notched a first period takedown, which is three points this season under the new scoring, and rode out the period. Kaufman rode Mihalko the entire second period.
Kaufman scored a reversal with 57 seconds remaining in the bout, but that was the last of the scoring. As the final seconds ticked off the clock, the Mo Valley fans roared their approval.
"With us double weighing in at 127, we told Brady 'Hey, the team needs you to move up to 133 and wrestle Kaufman,'" Walstrom said. "He said 'Ok, coach, I'm ready.'"
"I was actually looking forward to that match," Coach Storm said. "I knew Mihalko is really tough. I think Dom would like to have it back with a couple things."
After Glendale's Tanner Ammerman won by fall in 55 seconds at 139, teammate Ethan Gilbey followed with a pin in 3:15 to pull the Vikings to within seven points, 25-18.
"Tanner is awesome," Storm said. "He goes into practice and works hard, and he's kind of a leader. He just goes out there and scores points. I hope the other guys take after him."
Mo Valley's Nick Albright trailed Glendale's Drue Storm, 3-1, entering the second period. Albright chose top for the second period, which turned out to be a good move as he bar-armed Storm to his back and pinned him in 3:36.
"We were telling Nick to defer, and he said 'Nope, I want top right now,'" Walstrom said. "I said 'Nick, you better turn him then,' and he did. Nick is tough on top. He put his bar in, ran it and got the fall."
At 160, Mo Valley's Wyatt Lamison notched three takedowns en route to a 12-4 major decision over Daniel Seilhamer.
Second-period pins by Gavin Lovell at 172, Rocco Reifer at 189 and Tyler Lobb at 215 finished the dual meet.
"I liked the effort," Storm said. "We've just got to get better. There are a lot of things we've got to work on. Mo Valley really wrestled tough. Kudos to them."
285--Moore, MV, maj. dec. L. Richards, 14-2; 107--Keith, MV, won by forfeit; 114--Cook, MV, won by forfeit; 121--Kohn, G, pinned Campbell, 1:16; 127--Lamoreau, MV, won by forfeit; 133--Mihalko, MV, dec. Kaufman, 3-2; 139--Ammerman, G, pinned Orsborne, :55
145--Gilbey, G, pinned McCracken, 3:15; 152--Albright, MV, pinned Storm, 3:38; 160--Lamison, MV, maj. dec. Seilhamer, 12-4; 172--Lovell, MV, pinned Mas. Richards, 2:30; 189--Reifer, MV, pinned Brink, 3:44; 215--Lobb, MV, pinned Oshall, 3:56.
Records: Glendale (0-1), Moshannon Valley (1-0)
Exhibition winner: Anderson, MV
Referee: Jason Helsel