District IX

TEAM SCORES: 

1. Titusville 162.5;
2. Warren 156;
3. Commodore Perry 127;
4. Youngsville 126;
5. Eisenhower 113;
6. Sayre 105.5;
7. Cameron County &
  Oil City 99.5;
9. Coudersport 97;
10. Port Allegany 89;
11. Franklin &
   Seneca 76;
13. Bradford 64;
14. Meadville 49.

Championship Finals

103- Brock Frederick (Cd) maj. dec. Jacob Spuck (OC), 11-2.
112- Matt McClellan (OC) dec. Kyle Keane (Brad), 8-5.
119- Todd Mowrey (Ti) maj. dec. Dustin Bloss (Sa), 14-3.
125- Trevor Bennett (Sa) maj. dec. Aaron Kitchel (Wa), 15-2.
130- Don Barrett (Sayre) dec. Jason Carlin (Ti), 9-2.
135- Josh Johnson (Yo) tech. fall Doug Hebner (Yo), 20-5, 2:29.
140- Ian Tobin (Ti) injury default Kieth Shumac (Se), :01.
145- Kevin McCabe (Yo) dec. Jerimiah Frederick (Cd), 4-3.
152- Justin Snyder (Ti) dec. Buddy Steber (War), 3-2.
160- Derek Ruhlman (Wa) dec. Mark Collins (Eis), 8-4.
171- Doran Heist (Mead) dec. Adam Rohrer (PA), 3-2.
189- Gideon Hornung (CC) pinned Nate Baker (Md), 1:54.
Hwt- Casey Petteys (PA) pinned Brandon Hoover (CP), 3:40.

Consolation Finals

103- Dillon Tobin (Ti) pinned Clayton Beach (Yo) 1:47.
112- Tyler Harrison (Ti) dec Brian Payne (CP) 6-3.
119- Tyler Cathcart (E) pinned Desmond Drake (Se)3:34.
125- Cain Frey (CC) dec Josh Peters (Y) 2-0
130- Tyler Wagner (Co) dec Jeremy Williams (War) 6 - 0.
135- Josh Johnson (E) tech fall Doug Hebner (Y) 2:29 20-5
140- Jonah Davis (OC) defeated Jake Rulander (E) Fall 5:00.
145- Trevor Twigg (Sayre) dec T.J. Famageltto (Se) 7-2
152- Kiel Woodburn (E) dec Andy Chase (Yo) 9-3
160- Morgan Breese (CP) pinned David Hess (Co) 1:57
171- Kyle McClain (W) maj.dec Ryan Titus (F) 9-1
189- Jesse Baldensperger (W) pinned Jeff Rice(CP)0:37
Hwt- Gary Clark (CC) dec Matt Dempsey (OC) 5-0

WARREN - Mo Burns can look back through the brackets and find numerous instances where two points here, and two points there, played pivotal roles in Titusville winning its first team title since district and regional crowns in the early '90s.

But the Rockets' head wrestling coach really didn't have to look much farther than the medal rounds of the Warren Tournament on Saturday. Title-winning teams finish what they start, and Titusville certainly did that.

"Coming into the tournament, there were 12 kids that thought we could win," Burns said. "To be honest, I wasn't confident that we were going to win this thing. But they told me at the beginning that they were going to come in here and win, and they did it."

Here's how:
The Rockets, despite being a wrestler short in their lineup, had seven competing for either first or third place. The team only lost one of those bouts.

Continuing unbeaten streaks to start the season, seniors Todd Mowrey (119) and Justin Snyder (152) -who also claimed championships at the Williamsport Top Hat Tournament - both won titles, as did sophomore sensation Ian Tobin (140). Senior Jason Carlin (130) placed second. Setting the stage for that closing kick were juniors Dillon Tobin (103), Tyler Harrison (112) and Jason Johnson (135), who all won in the consolation finals.

Add to that the combined four and one-half bonus points that group combined for and it all added up to a dramatic 162.5-156 winning margin over host Warren. Commodore Perry, which led after day one, was a distant third at 127, followed by Youngsville at 126.

"This is a real positive for these guys," Burns said. "I'm really happy for them because for the last three, four years they've been battling hard on losing teams. The way we've started this season is a nice reward for how hard these guys have worked."

And the man of the hour, again, was Snyder.

In a key matchup with Warren's talented Buddy Steber, Snyder (11-0) exploded for three points in the third period, winning 3-2 on a shrug takedown with 1:12 left in regulation. Already having won the McDowell dual with a fall, the victory was, in effect, an eight-point swing that locked the Dragons out of the title chase.

"The key match, the way it turned out, was Justin," Burns said. "That was tight. He knew the pressure was on him a little bit, but he's on a roll and he did what he had to do.

"He's building confidence every week. He's wrestling like this in the practice room and he just takes it to the mat with him. That's what good wrestlers do."

Earlier in the finals, Mowrey (10-0) dominated Dustin Bloss of Sayre, 14-3, piling up five takedowns and three near-fall points, while Tobin (9-2) won by forfeit over Seneca's Kieth Shumac, who was sidelined with an ankle injury.

The only loss was suffered by Carlin (7-3), who dropped a 9-2 decision to Sayre powerhouse Don Barrett.

All together, though, the four finalists were fantastic in the tournament, combining for four falls and three major decisions. Throw in Tobin's injury default and that added up to 11 and one-half bonus points.

For third place, Dillon Tobin (9-3) pinned Youngsville's Clayton Beach in 1:47; Harrison (8-3) used a reversal with 1:07 left and a sticky ride on top to outlast talented Commodore Perry freshman Brian Payne, 4-3; while Johnson (11-3) broke open a tie bout with an escape and takedown in the third period to down CP's Jeff Ramer, 7-4. Earlier in the tournament, Ramer dropped Johnson into the wrestlebacks with a 5-2 decision.

"The important part for us winning this team tournament were those three guys taking third place," said Burns. "But, really, you can go the whole way back through this tournament. It was such a tight team battle that whoever won a match was important. All those little points added up, that's for sure.

"But, like I said, the guys wrestled well. That's how you win something like this. And that's what's important - as a team, we're going in the right direction. This was just another positive step."

Titusville finished with 1621/2 points. Runner-up and host Warren was second with 156. Oil City tied for seventh with 991/2 points while Franklin tied for 11th in the 14-team event with 76.

Joining the trio of Rockets by claiming the 112-pound title was Oil City's Matt McClellan, who remained unbeaten with an 8-5 win over Kyle Keane of Bradford in the finals.

Mowrey and Snyder also remained undefeated.

Mowrey won the 119-pound crown with a 14-3 major decision over Dustin Bloss of Sayre while Snyder picked up the 152-pound title with a 3-2 win over Bud Steber of Warren.

Tobin earned his championship when Seneca's Kieth Shumac defaulted in the finals.

Picking up valuable points for coach Mo Burns' Rockets were Jason Carlin with a runner-up finish at 130 and third-place finishers Dillon Tobin (103), Tyler Harrison (112) and Jason Johnson (135).

Jacob Spuck reached the finals for Oil City before dropping an 11-2 major decision to Brock Frederick of Coudersport. Jonah Davis finished third for Oil City at 140.

Rounding out the Oiler placewinners with sixth-place finishes were Max Koszalka (135), Curt Bish (145) and Mike Reed (171).

Franklin managed five placewinners with Ryan Titus (171) and Jeremy Hoover (275) earning fourths. Placing fifth for the Knights were Luke Miller (119), Chris Crawford (145) and Matt Jackson (152).

"I was pleased with our effort," Franklin coach Scott Ziegler said. "We showed a lot of improvement from our last match to this tournament.

"Titus and Hoover had nice tournaments with fourths, especially Hoover, who moved up to heavyweight."

Ziegler was also pleased with the fifth-place finishers.

"A lot of people fold up after losing two matches," Ziegler said. "It takes a lot to stick it out for a fifth.

Titusville will return to action Friday when it hosts Maplewood. Oil City will be back in action Tuesday when it hosts Mercer and Franklin will be back on the mat Jan. 3 at Rocky Grove.