Junior high

wrestling

WATERFORD — Buoyed by four podium finishes, including one champion, Eisenhower’s junior high wrestling team finished ninth out of 17 teams at the Fort LeBoeuf Bison Brawl.

Leading the way for the Knights was Jonathan Sullivan, who posted three wins en route to claiming the top spot on the podium for the 210-pound bracket. None of his opponents made it out of the second period. Sullivan racked up back-to-back-to-back pins over Corry’s Rori Shaffer, Fort LeBoeuf’s Blake Weber and Grove City’s Mason DiGregori, respectively.

Following closely behind Sullivan were a pair of third place finishers, Owen Ash and Leeland Brown.

Ash, the third seed, started his day in a large 130-pound bracket by pinning Harbor Creek’s Eli McCalion and posting a 15-0 technical fall over North East’s Sabrina See to reach the semifinals. Ash fell to Harbor Creek’s Brayden Lemke in the semis, then bounced back against Sharon’s Taijh McCoy to earn a spot in the consolation finals. In the consolation finals, Ash overcame an early takedown by Corry’s Robbie Cummings to win 7-4 and take the bronze medal.

Leeland Brown, also a third seed, started his day in the 250-pound bracket with a hard-fought 6-3 win over Meadville’s Carter Bennett. Brown fell to eventual champion Lucas Perks of Sharon in the semis, but then picked up a quick pin over Meadville’s Emmett Dinsmore to advance to the consolation finals. Brown finished his day with a 51-second pin over Grove City’s Ronin Bowser to earn the bronze medal.

Finishing fourth in the 80-pound bracket was Ronnie Shellhouse. Shellhouse began his day with a bye followed by a loss to eventual champion Alex Hellyer of Corry. Shellhouse rebounded from the loss by winning 18-0 over Hickory’s Pyper Matchen and 7-4 over Mercer’s Lily Shealy to reach the consolation finals. Shellhouse and his opponent, Brycen Desanto of General McLane, put on a great show that couldn’t find its end in regulation as the two were tied 3-3. So, naturally, it needed overtime to decide a winner. In overtime, Desanto countered a Shellhouse shot to earn the winning takedown.

Also competing for the Knights were Logan Beedle, Gabe Walters, Brantley Coleson, Eric Woodin and Braydan Taylor.

Coleson posted two wins on the day, a pin and a technical fall. Walters, Woodin and Taylor each had a pin.

“Considering we had half of a lineup coming into the tournament, I’d say we represented ourselves pretty darn well,” said coach Tim Suydan “Our dual meets this week were a bit of a mixed bag; some good stuff, some stuff we’ve gotta do better. We challenged them to be accountable and take ownership of the things that they could be doing better. I’m glad to see that they seem to have taken it to heart and that they’re actively working to make adjustments to get better. Our performance today reflects it.”