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Tri-Valley's Caleb Bordner (at left) and Line Mountain's Cameron Newman tangle in the 106-pound bout Jan. 24. Bordner went on to win by a technical fall. (Sentinel photo by Lon Zeiders.)

Tri-Valley 38, Line Mountain 36, Jan. 24. Even giving up three forfeits, Tri-Valley had a one-bout advantage over the Eagles, winning eight of the 14 contests on the evening. Sam Scheib (170) and Lyle Troutman (195) won by fall for the Bulldogs, pinning Jordan Specht and Rayce Boyer respectively.  Caleb Bordner, Tri-Valley’s talented 106-pound freshman, earned an impressive 18-3 second-period technical fall over Line Mountain’s Cameron Newman.  Blake Bowman (152) also won by technical fall, securing a 23-8 victory over Britton Heim in 5:56.

Hunter Harner, another talented Bulldog freshman, captured a 12-4 major decision victory over the Eagles’ Mark Harner in the 132-pound bout. Evan Heffron and Mason White also earned victories for the Dawgs.  Heffron beat Line Mountain’s Cody Rebuck 4-1 in the 182-pound bout, while White edged the Eagles’ Anthony Peipher 4-3 at 285 pounds.

Blake Carl (113), Adam Kritzer (145) and Kenny Rothermel (220) secured first-period fall for the Eagles. Carl pinned the Bulldogs’ Kyle Stephen, Kritzer pinned Anthony Snyder and Rothermel pinned Max Kroh.

Upper Dauphin Area 54, Schuylkill Haven 24, Jan. 24. UDA received seven forfeits, enough to guarantee no worse than a tie, against the Hurricanes. In addition to the free six-point victories, the Trojans won three of seven contested bouts to secure the victory.

Brock Snyder earned a first-period fall for UDA in the 195-pound bout. David Miller (145) and Devon Hoffman (120) both won close bouts. Miller edged Haven’s Denny Jolanski 4-3, while Hoffman shut out the Hurricanes’ Shay Mattern 4-0. The Trojans re-ceived forfeits at 106, 113, 126, 132, 138, 160 and 182.

Susquenita 42, Halifax 27, Jan. 25. Halifax received three forfeits, but was only able to capture nine more team points against the Blackhawks. Shane Liddick (138), Chad Meko (145) and Alan Kaufman (285) each won decisions for the Wildcats.  Liddick won 7-0 and Kaufman won 12-6.  Meko edged out a 7-6 decision.

Receiving forfeits for Halifax were Dakota Weldon (132), Robbie Moretz (160) and Emery Ramberger (220).

East Juniata 45, Halifax 35, Jan. 28. The Wildcats won half of the match’s 14 bouts, but the Tigers were able to muster up a few more bonus points en route to the win.

Eric McBurney (106), Lucas Goncalves (170) and Joey Kaufman (220) each pinned their Tiger counterpart. Halifax’s Robbie Moretz (152), ranked second in District 3-AA, won by technical fall, 18-2, in just 2:35. Halifax’s Hunter Enders (120) and Shane Liddick (126) won by 6-2 and 9-7 margins respectively. Lucas Burke (113) re-ceived a forfeit for the Wildcats.

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY LEAGUE TOURNAMENT

A winter storm delayed the second day of the annual Schuylkill League individual wrestling tournament two weekends ago.  When wrestling resumed Jan. 22, Tri-Valley stormed the gym at Blue Mountain High School in Schuylkill Haven, and when they were done, the Bulldogs accumulated 198 points – enough to claim the tournament’s team championship. 

Tri-Valley’s title – just eight points ahead of second-place finisher Blue Mountain – was fueled by five first-place, three second place and one sixth-place series of finishes.

The championship came just a few days after the Bulldogs were edged 39-34 by Blue Mountain in a Schuylkill County League Division 1 dual meet. 

‘‘It was very important to the boys to come back here tonight and give it all they had. They certainly did that,” Tri-Valley Head Coach Ty Rothermel said after the tournament.

Earning first-place for Tri-Valley were Blake Bowman (145), Ty Schoffstall (152), Sam Scheib (160) Evan Heffron (182) and Lyle Troutman (195). 

UDA’s Derek Garber (113) and former teammate, Halifax’s Joey Kaufman (220), were the only other area wrestlers to win first-place at the tournament.

Scheib posted the most impressive route to the championship, earning three falls, including one in the championship final over Tamaqua’s Brandon Silkowski. Scheib wrestled less than nine combined minutes in three bouts on his way to the championship.

Schoffstall, Troutman and Bowman were almost as impressive.  Schoffstall and Troutman pinned their first two opponents. In the finals, Schoffstall posted a workmanlike 23-10 major decision over Halifax’s Robbie Moretz, while Troutman got a 13-2 major decision over Williams Valley’s Jonathan Rummel.

Bowman pinned his first opponent and won by technical fall in his second to get to the finals where he notched a 12-5 decision over Pine Grove’s Eli Brill.

Heffron didn’t pin any of his opponents, so by default he worked the hardest among his Tri-Valley teammates to secure his first-place finish – though he only gave up one point throughout the entire tournament. The 182-pound Bulldog started the tournament with a 17-1 technical fall, followed up by an 8-0 major decision. In the finals, Heffron edged Blue Mountain’s talented Mitch Myers 2-0 to secure the win.

UDA’s Garber won the 113-pound bracket. His most difficult match came in the semifinals, where he edged Blue Mountain’s Bryant Penberth, the eventual third-place finisher.  In the finals, Garber cruised past Pine Grove’s Bailey Roos 11-4. Roos was a 2011 champion at 112 pounds.

Kaufman pinned Tri-Valley’s Mason White in the semifinals before securing a 10-4 victory over Mahanoy Area’s Gage Cara in the finals.  This is the second consecutive year that Kaufman has won a league championship.

Other local place winners were: 

• Tri-Valley’s Caleb Bordner, second at 106; Kyle Stephen, sixth at 113; Hunter Harner, second at 126 and Anthony Snyder, second a 138;

• UDA’s Devon Hoffman, fourth at 120; Ethan Stiles, second at 132; David Miller, fourth at 138; Trey Campbell, fourth at 182; Brock Snyder, fourth at 220; J.P. Leitzel, fifth at 160; and Joey Becker, sixth at 170;

• Halifax’s Moretz, second at 152;

• Williams Valley’s Tyler Deiter, sixth at 106; Matt Miller, fourth at 113; Coty Carr, sixth at 132; and J.R. Rummel, second at 195.

New Oxford Invitational, Jan. 27. Line Mountain earned 79 points on its way to a fifth-place finish. The Eagles finished 12 points behind fourth-place finisher Susquehanna Twp., and 45 points behind champion Norristown.

The Eagles were led by returning state qualifier Seth Lansberry’s first-place finish in the 132-pound bracket.  Lansberry collected four falls in his first four bouts, before winning two consecutive 1-0 decisions to earn the championship. 

The Eagle grappler’s semifinal victory over Blue Mountain’s Cody Kievman, formerly of Tri-Valley, was especially noteworthy, as Kievman is a highly ranked wrestler both nationally and statewide.

Lansberry’s 145-pound teammate and fellow state qualifier, Adam Kritzer, also reached the finals.  Kritzer pinned his first three opponents before earning a major decision and three regular decisions en route to the finals. 

Unfortunately, Kritzer would have to settle for second place, as he was bested by Philipsburg Osceola’s Logan Walstrom, who won 3-1.

Other placewinners include Mason Zimmerman, fourth at 126; Cody Rebuck, fifth at 160; Erik Smeltz, third at 182; and Kenny Rothermel, fourth at 220.