P-O girls wrestling claims win in historic dual against Bald Eagle Area, Eagles’ boys finish night on top
Thursday night was a historic night for Centre County wrestling as the first girls dual took place at Bald Eagle Area High School.
The Lady Eagles hosted Philipsburg-Osceola in the match that the Lady Mounties won, 24-18.
But this match was more than just about winning and losing.
“It means a lot because for years I was just wrestling guys. I never really thought we were going to get the chance to do this,” Lady Mounties’ Isabella Duvall said. “The fact that it’s happening and it’s growing, we’re going to have to have districts as well, shows that the growing interest in girls wrestling is unbelievably big. I’m so excited to see what happens.”
Added BEA’s Angelina Grieb: “We’ve really come a long way. I remember there was one girl maybe in a couple of schools that wrestled. I feel really proud to be a part of it.”
Grieb was one of only a couple of girls that were able to hit the mat as neither team has a full lineup yet.
P-O, which is 5-2 on the year, has seven girls competing, enough to fill half a lineup. The Lady Eagles have just three wrestlers, which is why they haven’t been able to win a dual yet. However, all 10 of these girls are just laying the groundwork for something bigger.
“I think it’s going to grow. I look for us maybe to get a couple more (girls) next year,” BEA coach Eddie Hockenberry said. “We have a couple of junior high girls this year. I’m trying to get a couple of more ninth graders and a 10th grader that’s interested and reached out to me, so that’s pretty exciting. I like wrestling as a whole, whether that’s guys or girls, just to see the sport grow. I think it’s going to grow considerably.”
Lady Mounties coach Matt Bush added: “I feel like it’s good. Once we get some home meets, I think that maybe some of their friends will come and see that it’s not so bad. (Hopefully), they’ll come and do it next year. I’m really looking forward to the girls program. Everything that it is for the boys, it’s the same for the girls, the intensity and competitiveness. Having a girls program is really good for the sport.”
Like Bush mentioned, the girls got to experience what the guys have. They got to wrestle under the spotlight inside BEA’s gym. They felt the passion from the fan bases that packed the gym for both schools.
There were only three contested bouts with all of them in favor of the Lady Eagles. However, with the amount of girls on P-O’s team, the four forfeits it received was just enough for the win.
Veda Kephart (118 pounds), Duvall (124), Marleana Duvall (130) and Annabelle Hunt (136) were those winners for the Lady Mounties.
“I think it’s going to keep growing. It’s something that’s gaining a lot of popularity. It’s a good thing,” Isabella Duvall said. “Wrestling is a tough sport. If you want to throw yourself head first into it and try to be good at it, kudos to you because it’s not easy.”
Grieb (148), Eden Eveleth (112) and Grace Crestani (170) were the winners for BEA. All three wrestlers secured pins in their wins.
Eveleth’s was the fastest as she stuck Halee Grubb in 32 seconds to open the dual. Grieb followed the forfeits for P-O by flattening Charli Hunt in 3:09.
Crestani picked up a pin of Daisy Glessner in 3:48.
“This was my first home dual ever. I was very happy about it. All the nerves built up,” said Grieb, who will continue her love for the sport at Penn State Altoona, which is just starting men’s and women’s programs next year. “I was really nervous getting back from a recent injury again. It was scary, but feeling the support of my family and friends, and the Bald Eagle supporters, it felt amazing.”
BEA boys hung on for win over P-O
Eagles coach Ron Guenot wasn’t very happy in his team’s 37-28 win over the Mounties.
Yes, BEA is undefeated on the season at 7-0, but Guenot knows if his team wants to win a district dual title, they have to wrestle better.
“Not taking anything away from P-O, they wrestled really well tonight, but that’s not our best performance. We need to be better than that, and we weren’t,” he explained. “Maybe it’s a wake-up call, we’ll see come Saturday morning when we have practice how the kids respond. It’s a win, but I think we could have look better in some places. Again, not taking anything away from Phillipsburg, they wrestled really well and were ready to wrestle tonight.”
The emotions from Mounties coach Justin Fye were on the total opposite end of the spectrum even in the loss. He agreed with Guenot in that his team was ready to wrestle because he said “this is the best we’ve wrestled as a team.”
He went on to say that yes they have wins, but Thursday’s performance again was the best as a team they competed.
“It was a good match. There was a couple of guys that I think could wrestle a little bit better, and we could make it a little bit closer. Bald Eagle is a really good team. Our guys came out and were wrestling tough the whole time. We’ve really been preaching in the room about staying in better positions, because we had been getting pinned a lot. Tonight, it showed, the guys were putting themselves in better positions, and we were capitalizing.”
The dual began in the Eagles’ favor as they had a forfeit to Dawson Lomison at 133 pounds. Then, Conner Maney pinned Mason Packer in 41 seconds to give BEA a quick 12-0 lead.
Marcus Gable temporarily stopped the bleeding for the Mounties as he used a takedown in each period and nearfall points in the second period to rack up a 10-0 major decision on Mason Reese at 145 pounds.
In the next bout, P-O’s Nate Fleck took on Gavin Bennett. It was a bout that Fleck was favored on paper, but that’s why they wrestle the matches.
Bennett had a late takedown in the first period and added an escape in the second to hold a 3-0 lead heading to the third period. He rode Fleck out for the entire period for a 3-0 win, which pushed the Eagles’ lead to 15-4.
“That was the shinning moment of the night for us. Fleck is a good kid and real tough kid. Gavin works hard, and that’s what this sport is all about,” Guenot said. “You get out of it what you put in. It showed tonight with his win.”
The Mounties put together back-to-back falls to take their first lead of the bout at 16-15.
Colton Chapman and Cameron Dubbs battled for upper body positioning. Chapman came out on top when he hit a nasty headlock and sticking Dubbs with three seconds left in the first period.
Matthew Rowles trailed Shawn Knepp, 6-1, after one period of wrestling. In the second period, Rowles found himself collecting a takedown of Knepp, and pinning him in 2:54.
“Colton Chapman getting a big fall for us. They (Chapman and Dubbs) wrestled at Laurel Highlands, and we won in sudden victory. Colton continues to improve. He’s having more and more confidence in himself,” Fye said. “Matt Rowles is one of our leaders as he works hard every day. Him and Colton work hard in the room every day. They work to try to improve what their wrestling is, and it’s paying off out on the mat.”
Caleb Close got things back on track for the Eagles at 189 pounds by pinning Ean Williams in 40 seconds.
BEA picked up wins from Gage Gardner and Eric Clark after Close got his fall. Gardner secured a 4-1 win over Connor Eichenlaub. Clark used a second period takedown to shut out Evan Eichenlaub, 2-0, to give the Eagles a 27-16 lead with four bouts left.
After P-O’s Caleb Hummel got a forfeit at 107 pounds, BEA’s Caden Judice racked up a 9-1 major decision on Averi Gable at 114 pounds.
The Eagles lead was 31-22 with two bouts left.
The Mounties’ Ace Foster gave his team a shot of winning the dual by pinning Gavin Guenot in 3:38 to make it 31-28.
However, for a second straight week, BEA had Lucas Fye left to go for them. Fye did what he did last week against Penns Valley and that was win with bonus points.
The senior, who is committed to Lock Haven, tallied four takedowns of Connor Guenot, before earning a fall in 1:24.
“I wish we could end all our matches with Lucas,” Guenot said with a laugh. “Going in, if you’re up and Lucas takes the mat, chances are you’re going to come out on top. Lucas just stays steady. He’s another incredibly hard worker in a room, every minute, every second of practice when we’re going. He’s full throttle.”
BOYS
Bald Eagle Area 37, Philipsburg-Osceola 28
Thursday at Wingate
133: Dawson Lomison, BEA, won by forfeit
139: Connor Maney, BEA, pinned Mason Packer, :41
145: Marcus Gable, P-O, major dec. Mason Reese, 10-0
152: Gavin Bennett, BEA, dec. Nate Fleck, 3-0
160: Colton Chapman, P-O, pinned Cameron Dubbs, 1:57
172: Matthew Rowles, P-O, pinned Shawn Knepp, 2:54
189: Caleb Close, BEA, pinned Ean Williams, :40
215: Gage Gardner, BEA, dec. Connor Eichenlaub, 4-1
285: Eric Clark, BEA, dec. Evan Eichenlaub, 2-0
107: Caleb Hummel, P-O, won by forfeit
114: Caden Judice, BEA, major dec. Averi Gable, 9-1
121: Ace Foster, P-O, pinned Gavin Guenot, 3:38
127: Lucas Fye, BEA, pinned Connor Guenot, 1:24
Takedowns: P-O 6, BEA 15
JH: Philipsburg-Osceola 56-18
Records: Bald Eagle Area (7-0), Philipsburg-Osceola (4-6)
Next match: Philipsburg-Osceola at Juniata Duals, Juniata HS, Saturday, 9 a.m.; Bald Eagle Area at Bellefonte, Tuesday, 7 p.m.
GIRLS
Philipsburg-Osceola 24, Bald Eagle Area 18
100: No match
106: No match
112: Eden Eveleth, BEA, pinned Halee Grubb, :32
118: Veda Kephart, P-O, won by forfeit
124: Isabella Duvall, P-O, won by forfeit
130: Marleana Duvall, P-O, won by forfeit
136: Annabella Hunt, P-O, won by forfeit
142: No match
148: Angelina Grieb, BEA, pinned Charli Hunt, 3:09
155: No match
170: Grace Crestani, BEA, pinned Daisy Glessner, 3:48
190: No match
235: No match
Takedowns: P-O 1, BEA 3
Records: Philipsburg-Osceola (5-2); Bald Eagle Area (0-8)
Next match: Philipsburg-Osceola at Bald Eagle Area Tournament, Jan. 27, 9 a.m.; Bald Eagle Area vs. Central Mountain at Lock Haven University, Thursday, 4:30 p.m.
