Bison Wrestlers Turn the Tide

Jessica Shirey, Team Reporter
February 11, 2009

CLEARFIELD - After overcoming Curwensville's "lightweight fire power," the Bison wrestlers turned the Golden Tide for the 40-24 win in front of a packed house on senior night at Arthur J. Weiss Gymnasium on Tuesday.

"It's good to see the crowd here. It was something that we noticed right away. It was a good crowd and big for the kids on senior night with Clearfield and Curwensville. You know that people were excited for it," nine-year head coach Jeff Aveni said of the atmosphere surrounding the backyard rivalry.

Aveni said that he was familiar with the Curwensville lightweight wrestlers and confident that the tide would turn toward the Bison's favor in the latter dual meet action.

"I've watched those lightweights wrestle since they were little. I know how good they are. I knew it was going to be a bunch of toss-ups all the way up to about 145 pounds," he said.

"Then, we were favored in a couple. So, we did our job and won some of those toss-ups. You're going to have a momentum swing through the middle. Then, we should be in the driver's seat. We got it, and that's kind of what happened."

Aveni credited his team's schedule when asked about his wrestlers coming out on top in tight bouts.

"If you look at what we've been through in the last month, these kids are seasoned. They've been through a lot, know to stay in matches and take the opportunity when it comes. And, when it came, they seized it," he said.

"There was a lot of good wrestling, some high scoring and tight bouts. Then, someone goes to their back. You know, it was exciting and a fun match to watch."

The dual meet got under way old-fashioned style at 103 pounds. Bison Shane Peters took down Greg Koptchak, turning him for a three count at the first period buzzer.

Starting in the offensive position, Peters tilted the Tide sophomore for three before being reversed to his back. Koptchak used five back points to cut his deficit, 8-7.

Peters, however, was too much for Koptchak, as he took him to his back for the fall in the final stanza. The end came at the 4:50 mark.

"He made me nervous there. He sat up in the second period with this look on his face. I was like 'Shane, just wrestle the third period, and you'll be fine.' And, he makes it happen for himself and gets the kid on his back. He got a big fall there," Aveni said.

Clearfield's Kodie Lowder and Jake Keller didn't disappoint in a looked forward to match-up in the next bout.

Although he surrendered the initial takedown, Lowder picked up a reversal and two near fall. Keller escaped to make it 4-3 after one.

Keller added three more backs in the second before giving the Bison junior one after an illegal hold.

Keller would escape and follow with a takedown in the third. The two wrestlers swapped reversals to set the 11-7 final.

"It was a real good match-up. You know, I said to Kodie, 'you made a couple mistakes. (Without a couple mistakes,) that's a different match. Keller just wrestles real solid for a freshman. He's been good for years," Aveni said.

"We know that he's tough. We're going to give him our best effort, and I thought we did that. I just thought that we made a couple mistakes that we couldn't fix."

After giving up a fall at 119 pounds, Bison Andrew Spicer found himself in a hard-fought match with Tyler Peters in the next bout.

Spicer scored a takedown in a scramble, tilting him for two. Peters reversed the Clearfield senior to cut his favor in half.

In the defensive position, Spicer would escape, but Peters notched a takedown to pull within one.

Peters would pick up a reversal, before Spicer evened the bout at six with an escape.

Unfortunately, the 20-plus win Curwensville senior took the Bison to his back for a two-count. Spicer posted a reversal; however, Peters escaped for another takedown.

Spicer escaped again to set the 13-9 final.

With his team down 12-6, Bison senior Holden Lowe took the mat against ex-teammate Jeff Smallwood in the 130-pound bout.

The two went scoreless in the first. Lowe, however, got on the board in the second with an escape. He took Smallwood to the mat but was penalized one for a slam. He would, then, fight off a Tide takedown for one of his own and a 3-1 favor.

Going neutral in the third, Lowe put on a takedown clinic, as he used three and a Smallwood stall point for a 10-4 lead. He would cut Smallwood loose before taking him to his back for three and the 15-4 major decision.

"Holden was fired up for senior night. We knew a little bit about Jeff Smallwood," Aveni said with a smile. "We knew that we had to keep the pace up. We had to set a real good pace and make him keep up with us."

Curwensville's Brett Sutika put his team out in front 18-10 with a fall at 135 pounds. But the Bison would get two of their own at 140 and 145 pounds, respectively.

Sophomore Shane Harper was knotted at two, when he hit a third period headlock for the fall in 4:22 over Wes McGarry.

Teammate Derek Danver, on the other hand, notched a takedown and a three count before pinning Jeremy Bloom at the 1:46 mark.

Giving up a 10-4 decision at 152 pounds, Clearfield got back on track with wins in four of the five remaining bouts.

Following a scoreless first, Bison Logan Shadeck escaped in the second, before Justin Smith scored one his own. Shadeck, however, took Smith down for a 3-2 win.

Clearfield senior Shawn Hall didn't waste any time, taking Matt Schultz to his back first with a cement mixer. Up 4-0, Hall turned him for the pin in 1:18.

Up 2-1 at 189 pounds, Bison Cliff Hill escaped to increase his advantage. But Curwensville's Jonathan Michaels would post a takedown and three backs. Hill escaped to pull within two after the second.

Working on offense in the final period, Hill locked up a cradle for three near fall and the 7-6 decision win. His win sealed the deal for his team with the scoreboard reading 34-21.

"It was a real good win for him. The only thing I said to Cliffy was, 'the match isn't close if you don't put yourself on your back in the second period.' Every match, I'm like 'Cliffy, nothing that puts you on your back.' He's still a 10th grader. He's young and learning, but he's getting better," Aveni said.

"Every match, he gets a little bit better, tougher and makes a few less mistakes. We just need to get those five-point mistakes cut back to two-point mistake. It used to be 'I get pinned mistakes.' Now, they're five-point mistakes, so we're improving."

Curwensville got on the board one last time at 215 pounds. Tide senior Nathan Russell used a takedown and escape for the 3-2 win over Andre Buck.

With Tide fans filtering from the stands, Bison Sean Owen converted on a cement mixer, decking Walter Koontz in just nine seconds. His fall time matched his previous quickest mark.

Owen is currently 33-0 on the season, pinning 28 of his opponents. With the win, he tied former Bison Brad Pataky's career mark with 125 wins.

Clearfield (17-2) returns to dual meet action at Ridgway on Thursday night.

"The kids are excited for it. I'm excited about it. I think that it's going to be a big deal up there. We'll go up and see what happens," Aveni said.

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