Laurel Highlands decisions Uniontown
This was another one of those meetings where the final score can be deceiving. On the surface, it looks like Laurel Highlands pummeled Uniontown, but on the other hand there were some good individual bouts by wrestlers on both sides with the host Mustangs eventually winning, 47-22, in Section 2-AAA wrestling action Wednesday night.
The Mustangs (4-2, 3-1) used six pins and one technical fall to wrap up the overall decision, starting off with a decision and two falls and going from there.
Laurel Highlands coach Chris Pegg called the card “exciting to watch. Both sides have some hard workers and they made it interesting overall. There were some good individual matches and I commend both sides for their efforts. I can see a lot of improvement in our team since the season started.
“Another factor adding to the interest is that most of the wrestlers on both sides are friends. They see each other at the malls and on the street, and they look forward to this match every year.”
Raider coach Jerry Simon said, “There were some good individual bouts, but there were also a couple where I felt we didn’t wrestle to our full potential. There was a lot of point swapping along the way.
“We matched up well to start, and in the final analysis I think the 145, 215 and 275 bouts could have gone either way. You switch the points from those three bouts (12) over to us and you really have a close match going. I think our young wrestlers are making progress now. We wrestled in a Maryland tournament last weekend, and they picked up a first, two seconds and one third.”
The pre-match draw had action starting at 145, and LH took the lead for good as Buster Langeri outlasted Jonathon Van Bremen, 16-10, in a real Pier Sixer. Van Bremen escaped in the second to trail 9-6, but with 10-seconds left in the period, Langeri put him down and got back points to lead 13-8 into the third. Van Bremen took him down from a neutral start, Langeri escaped and took him down, and Van Bremen reversed at :07 to set the final edge.
Del Simpson (152) followed with the second-fastest win of the night, taking Scott Bell down and into a pretzel in :36, and then Levi Harris made the lead 15-0 with the fastest win overall, stacking Eddie Olesh in :19, giving the ‘Stangs a 15-0 lead.
Jeremiah Ditmore (171) led all the way to put Uniontown on the board, with a 4:21 technical fall over Mike Kopacko, Three takedowns in the first, plus a reversal to start the second, back points and two takedowns, around two escapes, put Ditmore up 15-4 into the third. Kopacko escaped to start the finale, and then Ditmore put him down and got back points to complete the 20-5 TF.
Danny Newlon (189) got the second Raider win, 11-7, over Mike Capan, wrapping it up with an escape and a takedown in the third.
Blake Faust (215) gave the Mustangs a 21-8 lead with a 5:48 planking of Brandon Darnell. Faust led 7-2 into the third, where he was down to start. Darnell got back points, then Faust reversed, with Darnell fighting off being on his back until :12 remained in the bout, and Faust finally pressed him down.
Laurel Highlands’ heavyweight Bob Urban broke a 1-1 tie with a takedown in the third to nip Bryan Bianchini 3-2, and give LH a 24-8 lead at the halfway point.
Bianchini still had one chance to either win or tie and force overtime. With 16 seconds left, Urban was penalized one point for having his hands illegally locked, and the match continued. But under wrestling rules, when the point was assessed, the action should have stopped, and the two wrestlers sent to center mat with Urban up. The 16 seconds were put back on the clock, and Urban maintained control the rest of the way as Bianchini tried to break the grip for the tying escape point.
Jeremy Rice (103) was a major decision UHS winner over Chris Belch, 18-8, starting with two takedowns and back points in the first, and wrapping up with a reversal, back points, and a takedown around an escape in the third.
Greg Hogan (112) was the third-fastest Mustang pinner, stacking Seth Merschat in 43 seconds. Jonathon Guth (119) added another UHS major, 16-8 over Kevin Morris. He led 10-7 into the third, then escaped from down, and put Morris down and on his back to clinch.
George Belch (125) followed with the clinching win of the night for LH, pinning Tom Furbee in 2:56. Belch led 8-3 into the second, where he was down. He escaped, then put Furbee down and flipped him over for the bar. That gave LH a 36-16 lead with three bouts to go, and no way thee Mustangs could be caught.
Earl Moore (130) got the sixth LH fall, rolling Doug Rush over and chesting him down :39 into the second, and Nick Sible followed with the last home win, a 5:23 technical fall over Matt Donesec. Sible took him down from a neutral start to open the second, and on his back, for the wrap-up points.
Nathan Klingensmith (140) scored the only Uniontown fall to close the card, chesting Shawn Connelly to the mat in 1:26.