Varsity Wrestling Team Finishes 12th at 31st Annual Fred Bell Memorial Wrestling Team (01/30/14) Sintobin, Struble, Troutman, and Huet are Place Winners

(By Kenn Staub)

The Clarion Varsity Wrestling Team spent the final weekend of January 24th and 25th, competing in the 31st Annual Fred Bell Memorial Wrestling Tournament at Grove City High School. Sophomore Zach Sintobin (195lbs.) finished 3rd, sophomore Alex Struble (106lbs.) and junior Jacob Troutman (152lbs.) both finished 5th, and sophomore Zach Huet (HWT) claimed 6th,  to set the Bobcats up for a12th place finish, in the 30 team field.  Though not placing in podium positions, seniors, Tristan Shaffer and Riley Gunter, junior Addison Hockins, and sophomores, Prince Brooks and Alexander Burkhart also had multi-win tournaments. The team title was claimed by Stroudsburg, with Redbank Valley in 2nd, and General McLane 3rd.

By going 4-2 on the weekend, Struble added a 5th place podium placement to the 4th he captured earlier in the season at the Redbank Valley Christmas Tournament. Struble began his campaign at 106lbs. with a first round bye and then pinned (3:07) the bracket’s fifth seed, Titusville Jr. Stephen Machen, during their second round matchup. The Bobcat wrestler stumbled in the next round, losing by pinfall to Cochranton freshman Devan Davis in the quarterfinals. Struble rebounded from this setback on the other side of the bracket, first scoring a 9-4 decision over freshman Derek Uber of Lakeview and then defeating Coudersport freshman Trevor Olney 7-3 in the consolation quarterfinals.  Hickory freshman Dominque Cadala pinned Struble in the consolation semifinals, after which the Clarion sophomore was again tasked with facing Cochranton’s Davis. Unlike in their earlier meeting, however, Struble would prevail, scoring a 3-0 decision to claim 5th place.

(Photos by Kenn Staub) Alex Struble (106lbs.) preventing his opponent from gaining an advantage

(Photos by Kenn Staub)
Alex Struble (106lbs.) preventing his opponent from gaining an advantage

Bobcat sophomore Caleb Bailey (113lbs.) received a first round bye and then had to face the bracket’s top seed and 2013 PIAA Qualifier senior Joe Wheeling of General McLane. Wheeling, the eventual tournament champion, pinned Bailey, relegating the Clarion wrestler to the consolation side of the bracket. In the consolations Bailey pinned Conneaut sophomore Ravin Magrino in the second period (2:11), before losing by technical fall to St. Marys freshman Cameron Resch, subsequently finishing his weekend 1-2.

After an opening round bye, Clarion sophomore Adrian Weber (120lbs.) found himself in the unenviable position of facing his bracket’s top seed and 2013 PIAA Medalist Willis Gruver of Redbank Valley. Bulldog senior Gruver, who would go on to win his second consecutive Fred Bell title, defeated Weber by pinfall. Weber was pinned by Stroudsburg freshman Mike Palmisano in a consolation round bout, ending the tournament with a 0-2 record.

Like Bailey and Weber, Clarion’s Shaffer (126lbs.) found himself up against some stiff competition in his tournament opening bout, having to face top seed and 2013 PIAA State Qualifier Hunter Hendricks of General McLane. The General McLane sophomore would pin Shaffer on his way to claiming 3rd place. Undaunted by his defeat, Shaffer stormed back through the consolation side of the bracket, reeling off three consecutive victories.  First up was sophomore Austin Howard of Northwestern, whom Shaffer shutout in the process of earning an 8-0 major decision. Shaffer then defeated sophomore Chris Micsky of Mercer 9-3, following this win with an 11-2 major decision over the tournament’s fourth seed, sophomore Nick Baughman of Keystone. Freshman John Mott of Commodore Perry ended Shaffer’s run with a pin in the consolation quarterfinals, leaving the senior at 3-2 for the tournament.

Clarion sophomore Leo Aiello (132lbs.) was matched, after an opening round bye, against the tournament’s 3rd seed, Grove City Jr. Luke Walter. Walter, who finished the tournament in 3rd place, pinned the Bobcat wrestler. Aiello would follow-up this defeat with a 6-2 victory over sophomore Ethan Mitchell of Northwestern in the consolations.  Franklin sophomore Zach Sharrer would end Aiello’s tournament with a pin in the next round, leaving him with a 1-2 record.

At 138lbs. the Bobcats’ Brooks was pinned by Grove City sophomore Dalton Meals in the opening round. Brooks shook off this set back and went on a tear, scoring consecutive decisions over freshman Hunter Sullivan of Conneaut, junior Brandon Dick of West Middlesex, and freshman Gage Arnold of Coudersport to secure in a spot in the consolation quarterfinals. Eventual 3rd place finisher, Titusville sophomore Dalton Burns, pinned Brooks to close out the Clarion wrestler’s tournament at 3-2.

After receiving a first round bye, Clarion’s Gunter (145lbs.) lost a 7-4 decision to his weight class’s 2nd seed, sophomore Chris Enos of Sharpsville. Gunter responded to his defeat with a technical fall over Southside junior Aaron Tripp in a consolation bout, following this with a 4-1 decision over sophomore Chad Rogers of Keystone. The Clarion wrestler next faced the tournament’s 4th seed, St. Mary’s senior Tyler Yetzer, losing a very closely contested bout and ending the weekend with a 2-2 record.

Troutman had an interesting trip on his way to a 4-2 record and capturing 5th place at 152lbs., finding himself at various times matched against the tournament’s top three seeds, two of whom would also earn podium spots. The weekend began easy enough for the Bobcat grappler, as he drew a first round bye and than pinned junior Derek Steele of Franklin within the first thirty seconds of their bout (0:21). Troutman next met Penns Valley senior Seth Decker, losing by pinfall to the tournament’s 3rd seeded wrestler and eventual 2nd place finisher. On the other side of the bracket Troutman decisioned junior Dan Wiesen of South Side 7-2 and then defeated Mercer senior Eli Rutter 9-8 in the consolation quarterfinal. The consolation semifinal would provide a stern test for Troutman, serving up the tournament’s top seed and 2013 State Qualifier senior Robert Boozer of Cochranton. Boozer would pin Troutman and eventually finish the tournament in 3rd place. Troutman’s next opponent was the event’s 2nd seed, Eisenhower junior Louie Head, who he would pin in the second period (1:53) to secure 5th place, a position the Clarion wrestler also claimed at the season opening Redbank Valley Christmas Tournament.

Clarion’s Hockins (160lbs.) was the only Bobcat who found himself in the position of having to wrestle three bouts on the tournament’s truncated first day. Hockins opened the event with a 4-1 decision over senior Logan Jacobs of Cochranton. He would next lose a major decision to Redbank Valley junior Keshon Truit and then face sophomore Tyler Carey of Franklin. The bout against Carey would be a grueling cap to an active day, as Hockins claimed victory only after riding his opponent out in the fourth period of overtime. Hockins would wrestle one bout on Saturday, losing by pinfall to senior Keith Howie of Stroudsburg, evening his record for the tournament at 2-2.

Sophomore Austin Holz (0-2) represented Clarion at 170lbs. He would lose by fall to Warren sophomoer Derek Reagle and Redbank Valley junior Nate Miller. Clarion’s 185 pounder, sophomore Will Staub (0-2), would also have a rough tournament, losing by pinfall to juniors Eric Lucich of West Middlesex and Nate Miller of Franklin.

The Bobcats’ Burkhart (195lbs.) began his tournament with an opening round bye, followed by a second round loss via pinfall to senior William Shappee of Jamestown. Once on the consolation side of the bracket, Burkhart would catch fire, pinning junior Tim Gill of North Catholic (1:33), sticking freshman Wes Gerber of Conneaut (1:42), and earning a 10-8 decision over Redbank Valley sophomore Brylee Shumaker. Burkhart would be pinned by Mercer senior Jon Hennegan in the consolation quarterfinals, ending the tournament with a 3-2 record.

Sintobin would capture third place for the Bobcats with a 5-1 run through the 220lb. bracket, suffering his only hiccup of the tournament when he lost his first bout by decision to junior Andrew Clayton of Lakeview. Following this Sintobin could do nothing but win, opening the consolations with a 7-2 victory over Penns Valley junior Tyler Bertin and 4-1 decision against senior Lane Hall of Cochranton. In the consolation quarterfinals Sintobin pinned General McClane junior Ian Mallory (2:20) and won his consolation semifinal with an 11-3 major decision against junior Jacob Llewellyn of Sharpsville. Sintobin found himself facing the tournament’s 3rd seed in the consolation finals, pinning Cambridge Springs senior Ryan East (2:44) to secure his podium spot. This was Sintobin’s second 3rd place tournament finish of the season, earning the same placement at Redbank Valley’s Christmas event.

Huet replicated his 6th in the heavyweight division at the Redbank Valley Christmas Tournament with an identical placing at this event. The Bobcat wrestler opened the weekend with three wins, pinning freshman Conner Bettua of Hickory in the third period, sticking Seneca Valley junior Brady Moore in the first (1:31), and then receiving a forfeit in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Huet found himself across the mat from the tournament’s top seed and 2013 PIAA State Champion, Sam Breese. The Lakeview senior would pin Huet enroute to his second consecutive Fred Bell championship. Huet would lose to Mercer senior Brian Phillips in the consolation semifinals and then have to settle for 6th place following a close 1-0 loss to Cochranton junior Evan Miller. He finished the tournament with a 3-3 record.

Bobcat Head Coach Rob Sintobin indicated that the coaching staff was “very pleased” with the weekend’s results. He noted that “the boys are improving in leaps and bounds. Several of the wrestlers were on the cusp of placing and had close matches that could have put them in the medal round. This was a very tough 30 team tournament and we’ve shown that we’re on the upswing” [the team finished 20th at last year’s tournament].  Coach Sintobin singled out place winning wrestlers Huet, Sintobin, Struble, and Troutman for special congratulations.

(Thanks to Kenn Staub for this article and photos and congratulations to the Bobcats on a fine tournament!!!!)