HS Boys’ Wrestling: Tri-Valley edges Pine Grove to capture Division II championship
Tri-Valley gathers for a photo with the Schuylkill League Division II trophy after defeating Pine Grove on Wednesday night. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
HEGINS — Tri-Valley’s seniors wanted their title back.
Owen Wolfgang (107), Jaxson Bruso (133) and Max Masser (189) earned bonus-point victories to lift the Bulldogs to a 33-30 victory over Pine Grove in a Schuylkill League Division II boys’ wrestling showdown Wednesday night in Tri-Valley’s home gym. Wolfgang scored a pin; Masser notched a technical fall; and Bruso posted a major decision as those three seniors produced 15 of the team’s 33 points.
Pine Grove (12-5, 2-1 D-II) dethroned the Bulldogs last season, but Tri-Valley (13-3, 4-0) took seven bouts to stand atop the division for the fifth time in the last six seasons.
“We pulled out some wins in those flip matches, matches we weren’t sure of,” Tri-Valley coach Dave Boltz said. “Our guys came through. … They work hard and they’re a very close-knit group. They push each other, and they were cheering for each other all night. They stick together. We’ve won some big dual meets this year.”
Tri-Valley has defeated all of its nearby rivals — Blue Mountain, North Schuylkill, Pine Grove, Williams Valley and Line Mountain, among others — this season.
Wolfgang set the tone by pinning Joshua Witherow in 24 seconds of the opening bout. Tri-Valley freshman Easton Moore (114) followed with a 9-3 decision over Liam Levan for a quick 9-0 lead. A three-point near fall in the second period gave Moore control of the match.
Pine Grove’s Chase Nagle (121) got the Cardinals on the board with a 16-1 technical fall in 4:22 over Garett Leitzel.
The Dawgs wrestled back the momentum by taking the next two matches for a 19-5 lead after five bouts.
Brock Bossler (127) cradled Taylor Enge at the edge of the mat for a pin in 3:32. Then, in a rematch of a Schuylkill League Tournament final, Bruso downed Drew Hikes for the second time in five days. Bruso pinned Hikes at leagues; this time, Bruso scored three takedowns in a 9-1 major decision.
Pine Grove then cut the deficit to 19-15 with a two-bout run of its own. James Hoy (139) scored two takedowns, a reversal and two back points to major Landon Horoschak 10-2. Aaron Osatchuck (145) followed by pinning Brayden Kimmel in 4:48.
Every time the Cardinals seemed to be getting back in the dual, though, Tri-Valley delivered to extend the lead.
That’s just what the Dawgs did, especially at 152, where Liam Yourey rallied for what turned out to be a huge decision in the grand scheme of things. Yourey scored a takedown for a 3-0 lead after the first period. Pine Grove’s Kendrick Wolfgram chose bottom in the second period and notched a reversal and a five-point near fall (four count plus injury time) to lead 7-3 heading to the third period. Yourey picked neutral and converted a takedown and added four back points for a 10-7 decision.
At 160, Tri-Valley’s Parker Hatter racked up five takedowns before pinning Austin Frantz in 3:46.
Isaiah Miller kept Pine Grove’s hopes alive by knocking off Hunter Updegrave 8-5 at 172.
Masser, the third of the senior leaders, then went about clinching the victory at 189. Masser steadily built his lead through the first two periods. He really turned it on in the final two minutes, taking Logan Troup down and letting him up until Masser earned a 20-4 technical fall in 5:51. That win put Tri-Valley up 33-18 with two matches left.
Zach Kurtz (215) and Scout Frantz (285) gained first-period falls for Pine Grove in the final two matches, but it wasn’t enough.
