Bearcats grapplers pin down ’Dores
Bentworth dug deep to secure a hard-fought 42-26 victory over Frazier Wednesday night, using timely wins, clutch performances and key forfeits to pull away late in a tense wrestling dual in Section 3-2A.
The night started in Bentworth’s favor when Brian Matthews picked up a forfeit at 114 pounds, giving the Bearcats an early 6-0 lead.
At 121, John Hancock put on a dominant performance against Ethen Dye, controlling the match and earning three points four separate times in the first two minutes. Though he couldn’t secure the pin, his major decision added four points to Bentworth’s total, pushing the lead to 10-0.
Frazier answered back at 127 pounds with a forfeit, cutting the score to 10-6. Tanner Hayes kept the Commodores rolling at 133, defeating Nick Krutules, 13-5, for a major decision to tie the score at 10-10.
Bentworth responded with a surge of their own.
At 139 pounds, Drake Mc-Clure wrestled with intensity and secured a technical fall over Emmett Erdely, putting the Bearcats back in front 15-10. Moments later, Bryce Crowson delivered a match-changing pin at 145 pounds, overpowering Chase Celaschi Frazier, however, was about to fight back once again, with Jonah Erdely earning a critical first-period pin at 152 pounds over Paxton Thomas, bringing the Commodores within five points at 21-16.
Then came the pivotal moment of the night. At 160 pounds, Owen Ivcic faced Frazier’s Ryan Celaschi in what turned out to be a gritty, hard-fought battle between two stellar athletes.
After a scoreless first period, Celaschi scored the first point with an escape in the second that gave him the slight advantage. But Ivcic turned the tide late, earning a point from an escape and executing a reversal that electrified the home crowd and gave himself three points on top, as he went on to win the match 4-1, adding three cru- cial points for Bentworth and pushing the lead to 24-16.
“We’re not surprised,” said Bentworth head coach Mike Shrader. “Owen works tirelessly on his craft, and he’s one of those kids that has a next level motor. He could’ve been down four or five points out there and he would’ve still been battling like it was 0-0. That was big for us.”
Frazier’s Andrew Bandish kept the Commodores in contention with a dominant 9-0 major decision over Racer Litster at 172, trimming Bentworth’s lead to 24-20. However, Frazier’s chances took a hit with two impending forfeits in the final weight classes, leaving little margin for error.
At 189, Jackson Angelo gave Frazier one last hope, pinning Abe House to vault the Commodores into a 26-24 lead. But Bentworth slammed the door shut at 215 pounds when Brayden Taggart pinned Tanner Haller, putting the Bearcats back in front 30-26.
Even with a pin by Haller, the score would’ve worked in Bentworth’s favor regardless as they were set to get 12 points from forfeits to end the night, coming at heavyweight and 107 pounds, to secure the dual win.
“We had a couple guys actually jump into the lineup late, and they held their own,” Shrader added. “Being able to make it the distance and even lose on a major instead of a pinfall can be huge, and had the match been closer, those would’ve been the deciding factors. It was a nice, gritty effort. We’re going to need to do that to find success in the long run.”
As Bentworth continues to improve, Shrader credited the team’s growth to the influence of his coaching staff and the wrestlers’ willingness to adapt and learn.
“We brought on two high-level coaches this season that are fresh out of college, so they’ve been helping the guys tremendously with preparation and things like that. They’ve been there so recently, and at a high level, and these kids are eager to learn from them. I always say if you’re not willing to evolve with the sport and get better, you’re falling behind.”
