You need only to look at the reactions of players and coaches after the Eisenhower vs. Warren match to tell it was a big match.
After starting off slowly, losing dual meets to Titusville and Falconer, Eisenhower bounced back to .500 with a win over county-rival Warren, 36-29, at Friday's annual Warren Wrestling Duals.
"We're going to enjoy this one for a while," said Eisenhower first-year head coach Kiel Woodburn. "It's a special one.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Mitchell Wilston
Seizing the moment
First-year head coach Kyle Woodburn and assistant coach Joe McGraw congratulate Jake Johnson after his 7-2 win over Chris McNeal to seal Eisenhower’s win over Warren, 36-29, on Friday at Warren Area High School.
"Everything went our way and every guy wrestled their butt off," he said of the day's final match of 20 matches at Warren Area High School.
Warren drew first blood in the match when Alex Streich earned a decision, 4-2, over Hunter Keppel. Eisenhower's Dylan Raines was quick to respond with a 50-second pin at heavyweight, followed by a Warren pin at 106. After Eisenhower received a forfeit at 113, the lead was theirs for the rest of the match.
Cade Hefferman won a key match at 170. In the next match, Warren's Dan Henry took a forfeit, bumping Chris McNeal up to wrestle Eisenhower's Jake Johnson.
In a match up of undefeated wrestlers, Johnson scored first, hitting a lat-drop on the edge of the mat and keeping his toes inbounds. Johnson would ride the momentum to win, 7-2.
"He's a gamer. That lat-drop was sick. He's climbing a mountain and he's doing it the right way. It's exciting to see," said Woodburn.
After the match, Johnson commented on the move as a momentum swing, "That set the tone. It's been my move since seventh grade. But, credit where credit is due, it's got to be tough for him to give up that weight."
It was clear the Dragons wanted to win this one, too, with the physical nature.
"They had the team-point taken away, and a couple match points, but that's Warren-Eisenhower," said Woodburn. "Guys are going hard, this is the match you circle on the calendar and you want to win. It's nice to be able to call ourselves the best team in the county."
Eisenhower had a tough schedule in the duals, falling to Titusville and Falconer, but beating Bradford and Warren.
Second-year wrestler Richard Knisley went undefeated, as did Jeb Fedorchuk, and Jake Johnson. But it was the team performance that Woodburn was proud of.
"At the beginning of the year we were a pin or get pinned team. Now we are getting better and finding ways to not get pinned. They are wrestling with heart," said Woodburn.
Warren's ended 4-1 on the day, beating Youngsville, Bradford, Harbor Creek, and Seneca.
Regarding the Eisenhower match, coach Gwen Baldensberger said, "We should have done things a little differently around 132, but we need to wrestle better."
Despite the tough loss at the end, several Warren wrestlers came out of the tournament undefeated, including the 220-pounder Alex Streich, and sophomore phenom D.J. Fehlman.
"Glyn Mahood (at 106) also had a couple nice wins," said Baldensberger.
Warren has time to make the needed adjustments before their next match against Oil City on Thursday as they try to get their ideal lineup.
"We still have some guys moving around," said Baldensperger. "But the bottom line is, we need improvement. We came out sloppy and it showed. We were lucky to start out 4-0."
Plagued by a lineup filled with gaps, Youngsville faced a tough day, team-wise, but fielded several strong individual performances.
"We wrestled some tough teams today," said Youngsville coach Scott Ishman.
"It's hard to wrestle full lineups when you don't have a full lineup yourself," he said. "It was nice to wrestle Bradford who didn't. I think that was the first team we wrestled that had less guys than us."
Jaykup Durlin led the Eagles on the mat, going 5-0.
"Good for him. He wrestled well, of course," said Ishman.
Despite a lack of success as a team, their are plenty of positives to take from the tournament.
"We got a lot of experience today and that's what we want. All in all, we are still young. We have no seniors," said Ishman.
Come Friday night at Youngsville, the Eagles will hit the mat again against Union City.
"All I want is performance and improvement. That's all I'm looking for," said Ishman.
Eisenhower 15, Falconer 54
138: Richard Knisley (E) md. Ross (F), 15-2
145: Youngherd (F) d. Louie Head (E), 11-7
152: Teboe (F) d. Robbie Wilston (E), 8-3
160: Mike Alexander (F) wbf.
170: Schwab (F) wbf.
182: Williamson (F) wbf.
195: Jake Johnson (E) wbf.
220: Ponhollow (F) p. Hunter Keppel (E), 4:32
285: Newman (F) p. Dylan Raines (E), 4:32
106: Blake (F) p. Julian Caldwell (E), 2:40
113: Wellington (F) p. Alex Wolcott (E), 1:36
120: Jeb Fedorchuck (E) d. Franzen (F), 6-1
126: Muntz (F) p. Graham Johnson (E), 2:36
132: Tyler Gourley (E) d. Mato (F), 5-4
Eisenhower 58, Bradford 19
170: Mooran (B) wbf.
182: Sirline (B) wbf.
195: Jake Johnson (E) wbf.
220: Hunter Keppel (E) d. Zawasfski (B), 7-3
285: Sera (B) d. Dylan Raines (E), 7-3
106: Julian Caldwell (E) wbf.
113: Alex Wolcott (E) wbf.
120: Steven Haner (E) wbf.
126: Jeb Fedorchuck (E) wbf.
132: Graham Johnson (E) wbf.
138: Tyler Gourley (E) wbf.
145: Richard Knisley (E) p. Bunyan (B), :45
152: Louie Head (E) d. Cortigoni (B), 3-2
160: Coles (B) md. Robbie Wilston (E), 13-4
Eisenhower 36, Warren 29
220: Alex Streich (W) d. Hunter Kepple (E), 4-2
HW: Dylan Raines (E) p. Mac Himes (W), :50
106: Glyn Mahood (W) p. Julian Caldwell (E), 2:38
113: Alex Wilcott (E) wbf.
120: Steve Haner (E) d. Nate Park (W), 4-3
126: Jeb Fedorchuck (E) tech. Seth Johnson (W), 20-4
132: DJ Fehlman (W) p. Graham Johnson (E), :52
138: Richard Knisley (E) d. Jonah Hordusky (W), 7-2
145: Louie Head (E) tech. p. Mike Card (W), 5:32
152: Garrett Smead (W) wbf.
160: Cody Gunn (W) d. Robbie Wilston (E), 2-0
170: Cade Hefferman (E) md. Derek Reagle (W), 13-5
182: Dan Henry (W) wbf.
195: Jake Johnson (E) d. Chris McNeal (W), 7-2
Eisenhower 28, Titusville 49
160: Leo (T) wbf.
170: Stearns (T) wbf.
182: DeRose (T) wbf.
195: Jake Johnson (E) p. Nicol (T)
220: Hunter Keppel (E) p. Lohr
285: Oates (T) p. Dylan Raines (E)
106: Dannovan (T) md. Julian Caldwell (E), 12-4
113: Chase (T) p. Alex Wolcott (E)
120: Jeb Fedorchuck (E), md. Ackerman (T), 16-5
126: Bish (T) p. Graham Johnson (E)
132: Burns (T) ng. def. Tyler Gourley (E)
138: Richard Knisley (E) d. Hogue (T), 8-5
145: Louie Head (E) p. Daugherty (T)
152: Beduchat (T) d. Robbie Wilston (E), 5-2
Warren 60, Bradford 18
106: Glyn Mahood (W) wbf.
113: double forfeit
120: Seth Johnson (W) wbf.
126: Jason Peterson (W) wbf.
132: DJ Fehlman (W) wbf.
138: Jonah Hordusky (W) wbf.
145: Mike Card (W) p. Bunyan (B), 2:25
152: Corignani (B) p. Garrett Snead (W), 5:05
160: Cody Gunn (W) p. Coles (B), 2:44
170: Moonan (B) p. Derek Reagle (W), 1:22
182: Chris McNeal (W) p. Sirline (W), 1:48
195: Stephen Crone (W) wbf.
220: Alex Streich (W) p. Zawatski (B), 1:09
HW: Dakota Sera (B) p. Mac Himes (W), 2:20
Warren 40, Seneca 30
106: Glyn Mahood (W) p. Zadinski (S), :47
113: Nadolgny (S) wbf.
120: Yaple (S) p. Seth Johnson (W), 1:17
126: Jason Peterson (W) d. Stroup (S), 6-1
132: DJ Fehlman (W) d. Hibbler (S), 13-2
138: Fish (S) d. Jonah Horndusky (W), 3-0
145: Pier (S) d. Mike Card (W), 5-4
152: Garrett Smead (W) wbf.
160: Cody Gunn (W) wbf.
170: Derek Reagle (W) wbf.
182: Chris McNeal (W) wbf.
195: Beiter (S) p. Stephen Crone (W)
220: Alex Streich (W) d. Ringers (S), 8-2
HW: Brace (S) p. Mac Himes (W), 1:52
Warren 60, Harborcreek 16
106: Kita (H) p. Glyn Mahood (W), 1:12
113: double forfeit
120: Seth Johnson (W) wbf.
126: Jason Peterson (W) wbf.
132: Fehlman (W) p. Locco-Nielson (H), 1:54
138: Jonah Hordusky (W) p. Heitzenater (H), 2:59
145: Mike Card (W) p. Adams (H), 3:04
152: Garrett Smead (W) wbf.
160: Matt Newara (H) p. Cody Gunn (W), 3:42
170: Derek Reagle (W) wbf.
182: Chris McNeal (W) wbf.
195: Kuhn (H) md. Stephen Crane (W), 10-2
220: Alex Streich (W) wbf.
HW: Mac Himes (W) wbf.
Warren 62, Youngsville 9
106: 106: Glyn Mahood (W) p. (Y) , 1:40
113: double forfeit
120: Seth Johnson (W) p. Chandler Flin (Y), 3:05
126: Nate Park (W) md. Chester Ciukaj (Y), 12-5
132: Jason P (W) wbf.
138: DJ Fehlman (W) p. Aaron Hoover (Y), 1:45
145: Jonah Hordusky (W) p. Tristen Gibson (Y), 2:17
152: Micheal Card (W) p. Kris Wilcox (Y), 1:10
160: Garrett Smead (W) md. Zach Ishman (Y), 12-0
170: Jeremy Lyon (Y) d. Cody Gunn (W), 7-0
182: Chris McNeal (W) p. Stone Sivak (Y), 1:25
195: Stephen Crone (W) wbf.
220: Jaykup Durlin (Y) p. (W) , :48
HW: Alex Streich (W) p. Austin Slocum (Y), 5:49
Youngsville 16, Falconer 60
126: Muntz (F) p. Chandler Flin (Y), 1:43
132: Mata (F) wbf.
138: Ross (F) p. Aaron Hoover (Y), 1:04
145: Youngberg (F) p. Tristan Gibson (Y), 1:30
152: Dustin (F) p. Kris Wilcox (Y), 3:16
160: Teboe (F) p. Zack Ishman (Y), 1:39
170: Jeremy Lyon (Y) d. Schwab (F), 2-1
182: Stone Sivak (Y) d. Williamson (F), 9-4
195: Penboly (F) wbf.
220: Jaykup Durlin (Y) wbf.
HW: Newman (F) p. Austin Slocum (Y), 1:25
106: Blake (F) p. Hayden Victor (Y), 1:54
120: Chester Ciukaj (Y) md. Franzier (F), 8-0
Youngsville 18, Titusville 63
132: Bush (T) wbf.
138: Burns (T) p. Aaron Hoover (Y), 3:56
145: Hogue (T) p. Wovatt (Y), 2:48
152: Beriuchat (T) p. Kris Wilcox (Y), 1:20
160: Lee (T) p. Nathan Bickford (Y), 1:42
170: Stearn (T) p. Zach Ishman (Y), 5:06
182: DeRoss (T) inj. def. Jeremy Lyon
195: Stone Sivak (Y) p. Hanna (T), 2:47
220: Jaykup Durlin (Y) p. Kohr (T), :47
HW: Crane (T) p. Austin Slocum (Y), 3:45
106: Hayden Victor (Y) p. Machen (T), 4:58
113: Isaac (T) wbf.
120: Chase (T) p. Chandler Flin (Y), 1:34
126: Ackerman (T) d. Chester Ciukaj, 2-1
Youngsville 48, Bradford 24
152:Corignani (B) p. Kris Wilcox, 1:15
160: Coles (B) p. Zach Ishman (Y), 1:17
170: Nathan Bickford (T) wbDQ. Mannon (B)
182: Jeremy Lyon (Y) p. Sirline (B), :57
195: Stone Sivak (Y) wbf.
220: Jaykup Durlin (Y) p. Zowataski (B), :30
HW: Sera (B) p. Austin Slocum (Y), 2:54
106: Hayden Victor (Y) wbf.
113: double forfeit
120: Chester Ciukaj (Y) wbf.
126: Chandler Flin (Y) wbf.
132: double forfeit
138: Aaron Hoover (Y) wbf.
145: Baunce (B) p. Tristen Gibson (Y), 1:00