Bellefonte Avoids Big Matchups in 51-23 Win

Jessica Shirey, Team Reporter
January 10, 2012

BELLEFONTE – The Clearfield wrestling faithful showed great displeasure with Bellefonte head coach Mike Maney after he avoided high caliber matchups against two Bison standouts en route his team’s 51-23 victory Tuesday night.

Bellefonte claimed eight of the 12 contested bouts, including seven falls. Bison Christian Stone won by pin at 126 pounds, while Dylan Graham scored a technical fall at 132 pounds. Teammates Kody Mayhew and Kody Hepfer tacked on decisions at 145 and 170 pounds, respectively.

The dual meet got under way at 152 pounds, where Clearfield head coach Jeff Aveni immediately bumped up Nolan Barger. The Bison junior entered the dual meet 12-1 after winning Meadville’s Tool City Tournament this past weekend.

Barger expected to square off against Bellefonte’s Leo Wortman, a senior with an 11-3 season record. Instead, Maney chose not to send anyone out, and Barger won by forfeit. Wortman is currently ranked 14th in the PA Power Rankings at 152 pounds. Barger, however, holds the 10th spot at 145 pounds.

Last season, Barger defeated Wortman by a 6-2 decision in dual meet action. He beat the Red Raider again, 5-4, in his first bout at the Northwest Regional Tournament in Altoona.

Maney then wrestled Wortman at 160 pounds, where he pinned Mike Beck in 1:41, before Clearfield’s Kody Hepfer earned a 10-6 decision over Austin Phillips in the next bout.

Up 2-1 in the middle stanza, Hepfer gave up a takedown before quickly reversing Phillips for two near fall. Phillips would come off his back for a reversal, ending the scoring flurry, 6-5.

Hepfer escaped and fended off a Phillips takedown attempt at the second-period buzzer. In the third, Hepfer turned the Red Raider for three near fall (10-5). Phillips would set the final with an escape.

Bellefonte’s Nick Shawley (1:47); Cody McClure (0:51); Toby Cain (2:44); and Garrett Poorman (0:56) scored four straight pins from 182 pounds through heavyweight, pushing the team scoreboard to 30-9.

At 106, Red Raider Nate Rosenberger used a third-period escape near the edge of the mat to upend Noah Cline in a 1-0 decision. Teammate Luke Leathers earned a forfeit at 113 pounds.

Maney then sent out three-time state placewinner Tom Traxler to wrestle Bison Frankie Aveni rather than Stone, a returning state qualifier, at 126 pounds. Traxler, who is ranked 10th in the state, pinned Aveni in 58 seconds to improve his record to 12-5 overall.

Stone engineered a 7-0 advantage over Zach Musser before pinning him in 2:19 at 126 pounds. At 132, Graham picked up two first-period takedowns and three backs for a 7-1 lead over Noah Perryman.

Graham started in the defensive position in the second, reversing Perryman and turning him for three more near fall (12-1). Graham went with the optional start in the third, taking Perryman down for three backs and the 17-2 technical fall in 4:40.

Bellefonte’s Cody Fisher earned a pin at the second-period buzzer at 138 pounds, and Bison Kody Mayhew used two reversals, a takedown and three near fall for a 10-5 decision over Tanner Fetterolf in the final bout of the night.


A Look Back

Clearfield wrestled Bellefonte for the first time in Penn State’s Rec Hall on Feb. 26, 1949. With a 5,500 seating capacity, the arena was “maxed out” and “standing room only” for a dual meet that saw the Bison edge Bellefonte, 21-20.

Clearfield’s starting line-up featured four unbeaten wrestlers, including Glenn Flegal (112), Jerry Maurey (127), Fred Fehl (145) and Dick Landy (154), as well as once-beaten Sam Marano (96), Phil Casamento (133) and Tom Halford (120). Bellefonte had six wrestlers with spotless records.

Further, Clearfield entered the showdown with 37 consecutive dual meet wins. Bellefonte’s win streak stood at 21 straight dual meets. In the end, the Bison claimed five of 11 bouts before the then largest crowd to ever witness a scholastic wrestling event in central Pennsylvania.

The Art Weiss-coached team scored three falls and two decisions to counter the Red Raiders’ single fall, five-decision performance. During the heavyweight bout, fans stood for a dual meet that wasn’t decided until the final buzzer.

Only six of the 10 undefeated wrestlers remained perfect after the dual meet. Marano won by fall and put the Bison in front, a lead that was never lost. Flegal went up, 9-3 before pinning undefeated Joe Masullo, who went on to win the state tournament that year.

In a highly anticipated bout, Maurey recorded six, third-period points in an 8-4 rally over Red Raider Tom Musser. Clearfield’s Bill Beck knew he couldn’t give up a fall when wrestling the final bout of the night. He only surrendered a 9-3 decision for his team to come out victorious.

Clearfield and Bellefonte have wrestled 61 total dual meets. The Bison lead the series with 47 wins to 13 losses and one tie.



Match Results

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