Mason Gourley Places Fifth At Northwest AA Regional Wrestling Tournament, Logan Powell Goes 2-2, As Both Conclude Stellar Sophomore Seasons*
Bobcat sophomores Mason Gourley and Logan Powell competed at the PIAA Northwest AA Regional Tournament on Friday and Saturday (March 3rd and 4th) at Sharon High School.
Mason went 3-2 to finish in Fifth Place at 152, while Logan went 2-2 at 114. Mason finished the season at 32-6 *(If any of the Top 4 cannot compete, Mason will fill that wrestler’s spot at PIAA AA Individual Championships, which will be held at the Giant Center in Hershey, this Friday and Saturday, March 10th and 11th). Logan concluded his season at 26-10.
Clarion Area Wrestling Head Coach Lee Weber shared some great remarks on Mason and Logan’s Regional meet and their season as a whole, and his expectations for them in the future. He also shares about how far the team has come the last several years and his hopes and expectations for the team going forward.
Mason went 3-2 for the weekend. In the quarterfinals, Mason faced Caullin Summers of Sharpsville, an opponent Mason beat in the finals of the Mercer tournament. This time Mason got caught for a 5 point move by cradle and lost 9-5. This loss dropped him down to the consolation quarters against Brody Beers of Fort LeBoeuf and he major decisioned him 10-1. In the consolation semi, he controlled Devyn Fleeger of Cranberry with a 6-2 win. For the match to go to the States, he needed to beat an old nemesis, Reece Bechakas of Kane. With the match 3-2 late in the 3rd, Mason needed a takedown to win. He made a good shot and knocked down his opponent and actually was driving him to his back, but Bechakas was able to power out and flipped over Mason for the takedown and stopped Mason’s quest to States.
In his 5th place match (just in case any of the other 4 get injured), he controlled Andrew Wolfanger of St. Marys, winning 5-1. It was heartbreaking for Mason, who went 32-6 as a sophomore, but he showed much improvement from last year.
Last year, he was controlled by these state quality wrestlers, but this year he lost to them in very close matches or has beaten them sometime during the season. Mason always put in extra time at Partner Trained Wrestling Club. Like Logan, he attends extra practices twice a week after our regular team practice. Mason is also strong on his feet and good on top and bottom. In the off-season, Mason will need to work on controlling the tie-up positions and a little stronger finish on some of his shots. Knowing how determined Mason is, he will be even better next year.
Logan went 2-2. He started out with a dominating match against Micah Rodriguez of Northwestern and pinned him at the 3:45 mark. In the quarterfinals, he faced D10 champ, Carter Beck of Saegertown and lost by fall in the first period. In the consolation quarterfinals, he made short work of Griffin Williams of Eisenhower by pinning him in the first period. In the consolation semis, he was down 6-2 in the 3rd to Waylon Waite of Reynolds and he tried a throw and got caught for a fall.
Logan finished 26-10 as a sophomore. Logan always put in the extra time with club wrestling and workouts. He is strong from the outside on his feet and solid on top. For next year, he needs to be more comfortable with ties and be able to escape at will. I believe with maturity, confidence and along with his work ethic, he will accomplish this!
We finished the regular season at 9-6. I got hired in Dec of 2020. We had 4 wrestlers sign up but eventually got 4 more to sign up. We went 1-7 for the season. Last year we had 11 wrestlers and finished 10-10 as a team. This year, we had 17 wrestlers and we filled every weight class for a 9-6 record. We lose only one senior so our program is heading in the right direction. I can say to everyone, our wrestlers that attended most of our practices, improved quite a bit! We are still young so we need to improve in all areas. Looking forward to seeing our team improve in the off-season.
(Fine Season, Mason and Logan!!!! Keep Up The Hard Work, Bobcats!!!! Thanks to Coach Weber for his remarks!!)