On a snowy Saturday afternoon in Union City, the Youngsville junior high wrestling team looked to show their mettle in the second annual Ed Margie Memorial Tournament.

The Eagles battled hard throughout the day and finished with two place-winners.

At 101 pounds, Ayden Dean led the way for the Eagles with a third-place finish. Dean began his day by winning by major decision over Jackson Hammer of Harbor Creek 12-1. Dean then dropped a tough match to Abe Ly of Cochranton in the quarterfinals by a score of 4-1. Dean then won his final four matches, three by decision, to finish his day with the bronze medal.

Also at 101 pounds, Jacob Battko started his day with a bye before facing Mason Wieczorek of Harbor Creek in the quarterfinals. Battko was unable to overcome the power of Wieczorek and lost by 5-2 decision. In his first consolation bout, Battko topped Hammer by a score of 5-0. Battko then met Finley Fourspring of Corry in his next consolation bout. In a very closely contested bout, Fourspring was able to score a reversal with 17 seconds left to eliminate Battko from the tournament.

At 108 pounds for Youngsville was Brayden Patch. Patch drew returning area champion Owen Anderson of Corry in his first bout. Patch fought hard, but ultimately lost the match by 14-0 major decision. In his consolation bout, Patch lost a very close match 2-0 to Dakota Mangol of Cambridge Springs.

At 130 pounds was Tucker Sanford. Sanford began his day by wrestling Charlie Ackerman of Titusville. With a 5-0 lead headed into the third period, Ackerman scored a reversal and put Sanford to his back to score the pin in 3:41. In his first consolation bout, Sanford avenged a loss from earlier in the year by topping Gavin Reynolds of Maplewood 5-1. In his second consolation bout, Sanford faced Justin Krall of Warren. Krall scored an early 5 points on a headlock and was able to make the score hold up the rest of the match, scoring an additional takedown on a Hail Mary move by Sanford late in the bout.

At 138 pounds, Mason Fleming began his day with a bye and then faced Gabby Smith of Cochranton. Fleming scored a quick fall in 54 seconds thanks to a sublime double leg and a half-nelson. In the quarterfinals, Fleming had difficulty overcoming the length of David Mikotowicz of McDowell and lost by a score of 7-0. Fleming rebounded by pinning Luke Johnson of Eisenhower in 38 seconds in his first consolation bout. In his second consolation bout, Fleming squared off with Colton Porter of Corry. Porter made an escape he scored early in the third period hold up to edge Fleming 1-0 and eliminate him from the tournament.

Also at 138 pounds was Brenton Myers. Myers began his day with a bye and then faced Charlie Rae of Northwestern in the Round of 16. Myers got behind early and fought hard to stay in the match, but ultimately lost by fall in 3:38. In his consolation bout against Johnson from Eisenhower, Myers found himself down 2-1 at the start of the third period. Johnson worked in a half-nelson and secured the fall in 2:53.

At 145 pounds, Collin Havers started off his day with a tough draw in John McGuigan of North East, who had beaten Havers 6-3 in the Paul Clough Tournament. McGuigan scored the fall in 4:21 in this meeting, however. Havers marched back through the consolation bracket winning 4-1, then posting three straight falls with none going beyond the second period, and beat Dalton Knapp of Titusville 5-0 in the consolation finals to take third.

At 170 pounds, Ryker Chase started off his day by giving up nearly a foot in height to his opponent, Turner Hawk of Franklin. Hawk scored a quick ankle pick and the fall to move Chase to the consolation bracket. Chase turned Dehklund Conklin of Warren for the pin in 2:27 in his first consolation bout. Chase then bowed out of the tournament with a loss by fall to Michael Cochran of Franklin.

“We started slow out of the gate as a team before finding our footing and competing more to our capabilities” said Coach Tim Suydan. “I was apoplectic a couple of times during our early matches because we were making a lot of mental mistakes that are uncharacteristic for us. Fortunately, the boys seemed to wake up a bit. By the time their third matches rolled around, we were competing more like ourselves. I attribute that to them holding each other accountable and picking each other up.”

Next up for the Eagles is the Alumni Night dual meet against Eisenhower. The Little Eagles will lead the evening off with their match against the Little Knights. Junior high and varsity will follow. All former Youngsville wrestlers and coaches are welcomed and encouraged to attend.