Photo for the Mirror by Chuck Meyers Emily Dennis (Northern Bedford) wrestles Angela Rougeaux (Clearfield) in the girls 130-pound final. Dennis won the match by fall.

As the Northern Bedford girls team was pushing Clearfield for the team championship of the District 5-6-9 Tournament, Emily Dennis was doing her part to pile up the team points.

Dennis bulldozed her way through the 130-pound field on Saturday at the Altoona Fieldhouse with three first-period falls in her first three bouts.

Clearfield’s Angela Rougeaux made it to the second period in the championship finals, but it was only 18 seconds into the period when Dennis pinned her to capture her second district title.

“I can’t describe the feeling both (titles),” Dennis said. “It’s unreal. It’s something I will never forget.”

Dennis was the only champion from the Mirror’s core coverage area. Teammate Rachel Clouse finished second at 106 pounds, as did Bellwood-Antis’ Juliette Cuevas at 100 pounds.

The Lady Black Panthers finished second to Clearfield in the team standings by 6.5 points, 129.5-123.

Six Northern Bedford wrestlers placed in the top five at their weights to qualify for Saturday’s Central Regional Tournament at Milton High School.

Myha Dixon (118) finished third, while Emilee Beach (235) placed fourth. Yasmin Miller (112) and Kyanna Hall (124) placed fifth.

Penn Cambria had two regional qualifiers in fourth-placer Bethany Watt (136) and fifth-placer Lara Farabaugh (130). Hollidaysburg’s Carina Parks (130) also qualified by placing fourth.

Tyrone’s Brooklyn Veloz (118) and Altoona’s Lindsey Boose (235) finished sixth, but didn’t qualify for the regional.

Dennis, who outscored her four opponents 26-4 before pinning them, built a 7-0 lead after one period against Rougeaux with a takedown and four-point nearfall before the buzzer. In the second period, she immediately Rougeaux on her back and pinned her for her 16th fall of the season.

“Honestly getting a pin and get off the mat is my main mindset,” Dennis said. “It’s just really worked into my head.”

Dennis raised her hands in celebration after getting to her feet.

“Last year I did the same thing,” Dennis said. “Honestly, I’m giving it all to God. I’m giving it all to my coaches and my teammates because they’re the ones that train me. I’m giving it to my family as well.”

“Emily had a really good tournament,” Northern Bedford coach Zach Clark said. “I know she’s really anxious to make the state tournament. She’s been so close the last couple years and she’s been working really hard.”

Cuevas reeled off two falls to get to the finals, but she dropped a 3-0 decision to Curwensville’s unbeaten freshman McKenzie Astorino.

“I think I wrestled her pretty well,” Cuevas said. “I think I definitely have some things to work on. My finals match was a fight. I was going up against a good girl. I’ve been waiting to wrestle her all year.

“I knew I would have some trouble scoring some points on her, but I can only take everything I’ve done in wrestling as a lesson — whether it’s a win or a loss. I wrestled like how I wanted to wrestle.”

Astorino took Cuevas down in the first period, but Cuevas rode her the entire second period. Cuevas is known for her high-risk moves and she tried a couple times from her feet to hit the big move.

The first time she almost got taken down before escaping danger. With the clock winding down in the final 10 seconds, she went for it again, but again Astorino defended and avoided danger.

“I was trying a headlock out of this one position,” Cuevas said. “It never works for me, but I try it every time. She was hard to wrestle. She felt like a 110-pound person on top of me. She didn’t feel like a 100-pounder.”

“She wrestled great,” Bellwood-Antis coach Josh Hewitt said. “She was one move away from being a district champion. We were getting late in the match and she had look for something. (Astorino) was being a very good defensive wrestler and tough to score on, and sometimes you’ve got to force things.

“I’ve got to give (Astorino) credit. She wrestled a good match. She had a good game plan and she executed it very well. She kept Juliette’s offense at bay and I think that was her plan.”

Two years ago, Cuevas finished third in the first district tournament, but she followed up with a regional title and placed seventh at the PIAA Championships.

Last season, though, she missed the entire season as she traveled with a wrestling club to other states to wrestle.

“I wish I would have wrestled last year,” Cuevas said. “I was wrestling for a club and doing other stuff. I decided I was going to come back for my senior year and get some more medals for Bellwood. I’m having so much fun. This is just the first day of postseason, but I’m excited for regionals. 100 is stacked this year.”

Clouse, the top seed at 105, reeled off three falls to get to the finals, but Bedford’s third-seeded Aliza Brambley beat her, 9-4, for the title. Brambley pulled away in the second period with a reversal and four-point nearfall.

Lasure earns OW

Chestnut Ridge sisters Violette Lasure and Juliet Alt wrestled all season at 148 and 155, respectively. When it came to the postseason, though, Lasure moved up to 155 and Alt dropped to 148.

The result in the tournament was pretty much the same as the regular season. They were both dominating.

Two-time state champ Lasure won her third district title, recording three first-period falls at 155, including a pin of Clearfield’s Makayla Taylor in 1:30 in the finals, and was voted the Outstanding Wrestler.

Returning state champ Alt won the 148-pound title with a technical fall and two falls, including a pin of Philipsburg-Osceola’s Kendyl Meersand in 3:10 in the finals. It was her first district title after finishing losing, 3-2, in the ultimate tiebreaker to Northern Bedford’s Raegan Snider.

“We’ve kind of been thinking about it all year,” Alt said. “We’re both high-level athletes. It’s pretty cool to win multiple weight classes at states. I won at 155 last year, so I’ll try 148 this year. Maybe a new weight class next year. You never know.”

Bedford’s Mylah Steinbuch won her third title with a pin of P-O’s Daisy Glessner in 4:23 in the 235-pound final.

KEY, TEAM STANDINGS

1. CL–Clearfield 129.5; 2. NB–Northern Bedford 123; 3. CM–Central Mountain 121; 4. RV–Redank Valley 119.5; 5. CUR–Curwensville 92.5; 6. J–Juniata 83.5; 7. B–Bedford 81; 8. H–Huntingdon 63; 9. P–Punxsutawney 58; 10. CR–Chestnut Ridge 53.5; 11. PO–Philipsburg-Osceola 52; 12. D–DuBois 48; 13. SH–Southern Huntingdon 47; 14. BR–Brockway 43; 15. BELL–Bellefonte and U–United 42; 17. PC–Penn Cambria 37; 18. NS–North Star 34; 19. BA–Bellwood-Antis and GJ–Greater Johnstown 31.5; 21. BEA–Bald Eagle Area 28; 22. JO–Johnsonburg 26.5; 23. M–Meyersdale and S–Somerset 26; 25. SC–State College 22; 26. CC–Central Cambria 18.5; 27. HOLL–Hollidaysburg 17; 28. RIV–River Valley 15; 29. T–Tyrone 14; 30. A–Altoona 10; 31. BR–Bradford 9; 32. E–Everett 3; 33. MV–Moshannon Valley 2; 34. R–Richland 0.

SEMIFINALS

100–Astorino, CUR, tech fall Spicer, BEA, 15-0, 3:09; Cuevas, BA, pinned Hershberger, B, 2:24; 106–Clouse, NB, pinned Scarborough-Perez, CM, 2:28; Brambley, B, maj. dec. Crawford, RV, 12-1; 112–Reitz, RV, maj. dec. Tice, BEA, 13-0; As. Rougeaux, CL, pinned Miller, NB, 3:12; 118–Gilbert, CL, pinned Veloz, T, :54; Bryner, J, tech fall Watt, RV, 18-3, 3:43; 124–Stiles, U, pinned Hall, NB, 4:25; Boburchock, S, pinned Wilmoth, D, 1:23; 130–Dennis, NB, pinned Magness, RV, 1:45; An. Rougeaux, CL, pinned Bash, D, 5:36; 136–Harris-Haye, GJ, tech fall Steffen, J, 18-2, 4:13; Rasmovicz, H, pinned Watt, PC, 5:10

142–Falls, CM, pinned Cravner, RV, :50; London, CUR, pinned Johnsonbaugh, BELL, 1:41; 148–Alt, CR, pinned Rhodes, CM, 1:07; Meersand, PO, dec. Greenawalt, P, 6-1; 155–Lasure, CR, pinned Holloway, SH, 1:00; Taylor, CL, pinned Scott, BELL, 3:24; 170–Wagner, CM, pinned Ryan, SH, 2:11; Myer, BR, pinned Paxton, NS, 3:49; 190–Miller, CM, pinned Emel-Rash, SC, 1:23; Nixon, CL, pinned Inzana, BR, 1:43; Steinbuch, B, pinned Boose, A, :24; Glessnerr, PO, pinned Neeper, CUR, 5:13.

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS

100–Atorino, CUR, dec. Cuevas, BA, 3-0; 106–Brambley, B, dec. Clouse, NB, 9-4; 112–Reitz, RV, pinned As. Rougeaux, CL, 2:34; 118–Bryner, J, pinned Gilbert, CL, 3:31; 124–Stiles, U, maj. dec. Boburchock, S, 9-0; 130–Dennis, NB, pinned An. Rougeaux, CL, 2:18; 136–Harris-Haye, GJ, pinned Rasmovicz, H, 1:11

142–London, CUR, maj. dec. Falls, CM, 17-3; 148–Alt, CR, pinned Meersand, PO, 3:10; 155–Lasure, CR, pinned Taylor, CL, 1:30; 170–Myer, BR, dec. Wagner, CM, 7-5; 190–Miller, CM, pinned Nixon, CL, 1:36; 235–Steinbuch, B, pinned Glessner, PO, 4:23.

Outstanding Wrestler: Violette Lasure, Chestnut Ridge

THIRD PLACE

100–Hershberger, B, pinned Spicer, BEA, 1:27; 106–Crawford, RV, dec. Scarborough-Perez, CM, 13-8; 112–Neale, P, pinned Brant, H, :45; 118–Dixon, NB, dec. Rapp, RV, 2-0; 124–Wilmoth, D, pinned Delancey, J, :56; 130–Bash, D, pinned C. Parks, HOLL, 2:58; 136–Steffen, J, pinned Watt, PC, 2:20

142–Cravner, RV, pinned Ickes, M, 4:43; 148–Rhodes, CM, pinned Quickel, CL, 2:50; 155–Scott, BELL, pinned Holloway, SH, 3:37; 170–Paxton, NS, pinned Buzard, RV, :56; 190–Inzana, BR, pinned Emel-Rash, SC, 2:20; 235–Neeper, CUR, pinned Beach, NB, 3:56.

FIFTH PLACE

100–Bouquin, BR, maj. dec. Fleming, SH, 14-2; 106–Bodenhorn, P, pinned Bowser, JO, 2:20; 112–Miller, NB, dec. Tice, BEA, 5-3; 118–Watt, RIV, pinned Veloz, T, 1:50; 124–Hall, NB, pinned Bair, BELL, 1:57; 130–Farabaugh, PC, maj. dec. Magness, RV, 14-0;

142–Johnsonbaugh, BELL, pinned Kostyk, NSS, :51; 148–Greenawalt, P, pinned McCall, H, 1:40; 155–Neeper, CUR, pinned Mally, SC, 1:36; 170–Ryan, SH, pinned Bohn, B, 1:52; 235–Barron, SH, pinned Boose, A, 4:45.

Fifth place 136: United’s Addison Hill vs. Johnsonburg’s Brooke Santoro has been rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at Philipsburg-Osceola. Santoro had already wrestled six bouts, which is the limit for one day under PIAA rules.