Feb. 24, 2007

Kim Frey/ Clarion


The Bagubas traveled to Clarion to compete in the two-day District 9 qualifying tournament this weekend. Heavyweight Chad Schatz was the sole top-three finisher, for the Bagubas, and earned the privilege of moving on to the Regional qualifier in Sharon.
160# Mike Baker took 4th at the tournament.
Coach Baker had mixed feelings about the team results, saying “This was a bittersweet experience for us. We had some wrestlers that performed extremely well, but didn’t end up placing where we had hoped they would. From a team perspective, we didn’t place as high as we expected, and as we have done in the past. But, we have to look at this as a definitive rebuilding year for Cameron County. We started the season with one lone senior, who certainly performed well at Districts, taking second only to a four time District champ.”
“Other than Chad,” continued Baker “we had a total of three juniors, two of which had no varsity experience. The rest were sophomores and freshmen. We have a solid foundation on which to build for next season.”
Senior 285# Chad Schatz pounded his way into the finals by pinning three opponents in a row. He began the day with an incredible 6 second fall over Ethan Hannold (Key) in the opening bout, once again breaking the Cameron County fasted pin time. Schatz had already broken the record with a :07 pin earlier in the season. Schatz then moved on to pin Steve Mix (K) at :35. Schatz then pinned number three seed Ben Thompson (Rid), at 2:09, in the semi finals. Schatz’ season pin record now stands at 29.
One of the most anticipated matches of the night was the heavyweight final between Schatz and three time District 9 champ Eli Morres of Brookville. Morres entered the match with a 38-0 record. After a scoreless first period, Morres took control in the second and third periods, defeating Schatz 7-0. Schatz suffered a shoulder injury during the bout, and was forced to play it safe through the match. We hope he has a full recovery, and the best of luck representing the Bagubas at Sharon next week.
“Eli is probably the dominant heavyweight in the state.” commented Coach Baker. “He is enormous, but wrestles like a lightweight. I think Chad did extremely well against him. He did as well as I hoped he could and I think he met the expectations of everyone that predicted this would be a great match.”
160# Mike Baker had a full plate to deal with, wrestling five bouts in a very loaded weight bracket. Baker opened with a 7-6 decision over Noah Johnson (BKV), and a 13-3 major decision over Hubber Kyle Nobles. Baker then faced number one seed Zeke Drake, the accomplished and savvy star from Oswayo Valley. Baker wrestled tough, but couldn’t counter Drakes offense in a 12-1 defeat.
Baker battled back, in the wrestle-backs, with a 2-0 OT win over Kyle Jones (KEY) that earned him a chance in the consi-finals. Baker faced off with number two seed Dylan Nelson (JBG). Baker wrestled extremely well in a hard match, but one slip allowed Nelson to gain the takedown and a 3-0 win over Baker.
“Mike was in one of the most competitive brackets” said Baker. “None of the top eight kids in the bracket had less than 20 wins. He wrestled well against state place winner Zeke Drake, and lost a very close one to Nelson. He missed a trip to Regionals by three points, but showed that he will be a force to reckon with next year.”
152# Taylor Songer found himself in perhaps the toughest weight brackets of this year’s tournament. After a first round bye, Songer opened his day with a rematch with his arch nemesis Brandon Slater (OV). Songer lost the very close 6-4 decision and had to come back through the pigtail brackets.
Songer bounced back with a dominating 15-2 major decision win over Matt Sicher (K), and moved on to a 9-1 win over Ricky Fry (PA). Songer then found himself against number two seed Ben Hahn (SMP). Hahn controlled the match and defeated Songer 10-0.
“Taylor wrestled very well, but the chips didn’t fall his way today. I feel bad for Taylor; he has put an enormous amount of effort in this year. He is the epitome of what any coach would want from a wrestler. But as any wrestling fan knows, sometimes things go your way, sometimes they don’t.” said Coach Baker.
Sophomore 145# Randy Schatz also wrestled in a very loaded bracket. Schatz began the day with a 3:53 pin over Tyler Geer (K), but then lost a very close 3-1 decision against Mike Switzer (KEY).
Schatz battled back with a 1:35 pin on Joel Matticks (CLA), and a dramatic 11-6 overtime win over Oswayo Valley’s Bryce Norton. Schatz then lost by a narrow 4-2 margin to Shane Ross (BKV).
“Randy has been plagued by injuries all year. He lost some very close matches today, knocking him out of the top. Very unfortunate near misses” commented Baker.
Junior Matt Burke had a rough Districts debut. Burke lost an 8-3 decision to number one seed Markus McHenry (KEY), and by a 5-2 decision to Tony Bundy (OV).
Junior Darrick Mason, at 171#, also had it tough in his first District appearance. Mason had to face number one seed Brad Rapp (CLA) in the opening round, and was pinned at 1:08. Mason then lost a 3-1 decision to Brett Perry (SHF).
The competing freshmen, for the Bagubas, had the double misfortune of inexperience and unfavorable bracket seeding. Bryce Frey, at 130#, opened against number one seed senior Brock Leitzel, or Ridgway. Frey was pinned at 1:13. Frey later lost by a 15-0 tech fall to Gary Leschner (PA).
125# Brock Belkowski had similar fortune in the tournament; facing number two seed senior Chase Gardner (JBG) in his first bout. Gardner pinned Belkowski at 1:22. Belkowski then lost a 14-0 major decision to Sam Skraba (RID).
119# Tyler Bidwell lost his opening bout to Shane Martin (PA), in a 15-2 major decision, but fought back to get his first Districts win by defeating Brett Sutika (CUR) 5-2. Bidwell then wrestled through a very exciting match with senior Ed Buhler (RID). Bidwell lost the match 17-8, but scrapped hard with the experienced senior.
112# Dominick Manginell was seeded fourth, and opened his day with a 2:49 pin over Dane Neely (CRB). Manginell then lost an 11-2 decision to Zach Baughman (KEY). Manginell then lost to Tyler Peters (CUR) by a 7-5 margin.
“All of our freshmen wrestled well,” said Baker. “Districts can be an intimidating event, and I can honestly say that none of them showed any signs of being intimidated. They all wrestled extremely hard, aggressive from the start, and most ended up with poor seeding to begin with. They really showed some growth as wrestlers this year.”
Complete District tournament results can be seen at http://groups.msn.com/BagubaWrestling.