Tyrone Wrestlers Open Season with Close Loss to Bellefonte

Despite the loss the Golden Eagles had several outstanding individual performances

 

The 2018-2019 wrestling season opened Tuesday night at home against Bellefonte. Tyrone wrestled well but could not overcome forfeits at four weight classes, which put the team at an automatic 30 point deficit. The match ended in a 46-31 loss, but that it did not stop the Golden Eagles from wrestling hard and putting some hard-earned points on the board.

“We have a bigger team than past years, so we as a team can show off all the work we put in,” said freshman Ashton Sipes.

One of the most outstanding performances of the night was Tyrone junior Mason Walls at 120 against Bellefonte sophomore Lane Aikey.  Walls won 8-7 by major decision. Walls was down by one and got the two extra points the last 36 seconds to close off the match.

Wall’s opponent is a returning USMC Cadet Greco-Roman All American, which means he placed in the top eight at the national tournament last season.

“This was a huge win for Mason and could be a big first step in showing him just how good he has the potential to be,” said Tyrone Head Coach Terry Tate.

Another outstanding match of the night came from freshman Ashton Sipes, who won 11-3 by major decision over Bellefonte freshman Aidan O’Shea.

And probably the most hyped match of the evening was senior Braeden Nevling-Ray, who pinned his opponent, Max Barrier, in the third period with 1:30 left in the match.

But as those big matches shaped the mood, the team also had a fair share of losses, winning only 6 of 14 matches.

Of course, not having wrestlers at 285, 126, 132 and 138 weight classes makes winning dual matches difficult.  

However, the team hopes to close some of those holes soon after Christmas if Parker Allen and Noah Sprankle can return to action later in the season.

The team is in action today and Saturday at the Panther Holiday Classic Tournament in Cresson.