CU’s White Wins PSAC Wrestling Title at 125 Pounds; Basketball Teams Sweep Mansfield

KUTZTOWN, Pa. – Tyshawn White won the 125-pound championship and four other Golden Eagles posted top-five finishes, as Clarion competed and excelled at the PSAC Championships hosted by Kutztown on Saturday.

(Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)

The Golden Eagles return to dual match action on Friday, December 21 when they host Pittsburgh.

White won his second tournament title of the young season, adding a PSAC championship to his mantle after winning the 125-pound bracket at the Clarion Open earlier this year. After receiving a bye in the opening round, he bested Kutztown’s Matt Wilde by 5-0 decision in the quarterfinal round. After defeating former Golden Eagle Brendan Howard, now of Pitt-Johnstown, by a 10-3 decision, White finished up with a big win over Mercyhurst’s Eric Bartos. He defeated Bartos by major decision, posting a 16-5 score to win the title.

He wasn’t the only one to make his mark at the championships. Evan Delong, the 2016 tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler, reached the finals at 165 pounds for the second time in three years, falling in the championship bout but otherwise having a successful afternoon. He started the day with a 6-1 decision over Seton Hill’s Sean Hoover, and that gave way to a major decision over East Stroudsburg’s Richard Viruet in the semifinal round. Delong ultimately fell in the final to Millersville’s Shane Ruhnke.

Ty Bagoly stood out in the 184-pound bracket, falling in the semifinal round to Edinboro’s Zach Ancewicz before bouncing back for two wins in the consolation bracket that put him at third place. He started with a major decision over Lock Haven’s Breylon Douglas before dropping the match to Ancewicz, but he recovered with an 11-5 decision over Pitt-Johnstown’s Alexander Delp. Bagoly clinched third place with another win by decision, beating Mercyhurst’s Trever Begin 7-2.

Shae Bloom also reached the third place match of his bracket, bouncing back after a loss to Millersville’s Colton Dull in the semifinal round on the 197-pound field. He beat Bloomsburg’s Kyle Murphy in the consolation semi but dropped a tight 7-3 decision to Edinboro’s Dylan Reynolds. Taylor Cahill took fifth in the 174-pound bracket, beating Seton Hill’s Damon Greenwald in sudden victory with a 3-1 decision.

For the first time this year, no team champion was crowned at the tournament. Separate Division I and II champions will be named later this year based on dual match record between teams in respective divisions.

PSAC championships Results for Clarion

PSAC 125
Champ. Round 1 – Tyshawn White (Clarion) received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Tyshawn White (Clarion) won by decision over Matt Wilde (Kutztown) (Dec 5-0)
Semifinal – Tyshawn White (Clarion) won by decision over Brendan Howard (Pitt-Johnstown) (Dec 10-3)
1st Place Match – Tyshawn White (Clarion) won by major decision over Eric Bartos (Mercyhurst) (Maj 16-5)

PSAC 133
Champ. Round 1 – Seth Koleno (Clarion) received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Alexis Soriano (Mercyhurst) won by decision over Seth Koleno (Clarion) (Dec 12-5)
Cons. Round 2 – Seth Koleno (Clarion) won by major decision over Colby Ems (East Stroudsburg) (Maj 11-3)
Cons. Round 3 – Ryan McGuire (Millersville) won by medical forfeit over Seth Koleno (Clarion) (MFF)

PSAC 141
Champ. Round 1 – Aaron Coleman (Bloomsburg) won by decision over Andrew Gapas (Clarion) (Dec 14-9)
Cons. Round 1 – Andrew Gapas (Clarion) received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 – Aidan Burke (Mercyhurst) won by decision over Andrew Gapas (Clarion) (Dec 13-6)

PSAC 149
Champ. Round 1 – Mike Cusick (Kutztown) won by decision over Austin Jamison (Clarion) (Dec 8-4)
Cons. Round 1 – Austin Jamison (Clarion) received a bye () (Bye)
Cons. Round 2 – Austin Jamison (Clarion) won by forfeit over Logan McKoy (Seton Hill) (FF)
Cons. Round 3 – Justin Smith (Pitt-Johnstown) won by decision over Austin Jamison (Clarion) (Dec 6-2)

PSAC 165
Champ. Round 1 – Evan Delong (Clarion) received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Evan Delong (Clarion) won by decision over Sean Hoover (Seton Hill) (Dec 6-1)
Semifinal – Evan Delong (Clarion) won by major decision over Richard Viruet (East Stroudsburg) (Maj 11-3)
1st Place Match – Shane Ruhnke (Millersville) won by fall over Evan Delong (Clarion) (Fall 2:55)

PSAC 174
Champ. Round 1 – Taylor Cahill (Clarion) received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Taylor Cahill (Clarion) won in sudden victory – 1 over Damon Greenwald (Seton Hill) (SV-1 6-4)
Semifinal – Jacob Oliver (Edinboro) won by decision over Taylor Cahill (Clarion) (Dec 2-1)
Cons. Semi – Michael Raccioppi (East Stroudsburg) won by decision over Taylor Cahill (Clarion) (Dec 3-2)
5th Place Match – Taylor Cahill (Clarion) won in sudden victory – 1 over Damon Greenwald (Seton Hill) (SV-1 3-1)

PSAC 184
Champ. Round 1 – Tyler Bagoly (Clarion) received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Tyler Bagoly (Clarion) won by major decision over Breylon Douglas (Lock Haven) (Maj 13-1)
Semifinal – Zach Ancewicz (Edinboro) won by decision over Tyler Bagoly (Clarion) (Dec 7-4)
Cons. Semi – Tyler Bagoly (Clarion) won by decision over Alexander Delp (Pitt-Johnstown) (Dec 11-5)
3rd Place Match – Tyler Bagoly (Clarion) won by decision over Trever Begin (Mercyhurst) (Dec 7-2)

PSAC 197
Champ. Round 1 – Shae Bloom (Clarion) received a bye () (Bye)
Quarterfinal – Shae Bloom (Clarion) won by major decision over Mike Geyer (Pitt-Johnstown) (Maj 10-1)
Semifinal – Colton Dull (Millersville) won by decision over Shae Bloom (Clarion) (Dec 5-1)
Cons. Semi – Shae Bloom (Clarion) won by decision over Kyle Murphy (Bloomsburg) (Dec 6-4)
3rd Place Match – Dylan Reynolds (Edinboro) won by decision over Shae Bloom (Clarion) (Dec 7-3)

PSAC 285
Champ. Round 1 – Toby Cahill (Clarion) won by tech fall over Cameron Kates (East Stroudsburg) (TF 20-2)
Quarterfinal – Thomas Haines (Lock Haven) won by major decision over Toby Cahill (Clarion) (Maj 10-0)
Cons. Round 2 – Tyler Oliver (Pitt-Johnstown) won by decision over Toby Cahill (Clarion) (Dec 5-3)

MEN’S HOOPS GETS MUCH-NEEDED WIN

CLARION, Pa – Playing on their home court for the first time in two weeks, the Clarion men’s basketball team delivered a 71-65 victory over visiting Mansfield University, Saturday night.

The Mounties jumped out to an early four-point lead to start the game but the Golden Eagles used an 11-0 run to take the lead at 36-15. Big man Jonathan Williams paced the Clarion offense in the first half, scoring 16 of his team-high 27 points to stake the Golden Eagles to a 40-26 halftime lead.

Sophomore guard Khari Williams found himself with a hot hand early scoring 10 of his 15 points in the first half. The Golden Eagles shot 48.8% from the floor in the first half, getting up and down the floor with urgency, helping them withstand the defensive pressure of the Mounties.

More lights-out shooting to start the second half helped Clarion maintain their extensive lead, but the Mounties slowly started to shoot their way back into the game.

Mansfield would cut the lead to four points at 69-65 with only three seconds left in the game, but that would be as close as they would get in the contest.

For the game, Clarion shot an outstanding 50.9% from the floor, converting 27 of 53 attempts, including 13 of 19 from the free throw line.

J. Williams nearly missed a double-double leading the Golden Eagles with 27 points, while grabbing nine boards and adding two blocks. K. Williams finished the night with 15 points to go along with eight rebounds and two assists.

Clarion really spread the scoring around, as Junior Stevan Rodriguez added 12 points and five rebounds, while Javontay Pipkin chipped in six points while recording a team-high six assists. Elijah Cottrill and Lawrence Lemon rounded out an impressive list of scoring, as they both added four points on the night.

Clarion will get ready for a double-header weekend at home, as they host Millersville on Tuesday (Dec. 18th) and Shippensburg on Wednesday (Dec. 19th). Both games are set for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL KNOCKS OFF MANSFIELD

CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women’s basketball team lit it up from the field in general and from three-point range in particular, defeating Mansfield 80-58 to claim their first conference win of the season. The Golden Eagles (6-3, 1-2 PSAC West) next play a week from today when they go on the road to face Felician.

Clarion’s offense found its groove early and held onto it throughout the contest, shooting 29-of-58 (.500) from the field and 8-of-15 (.533) from beyond the three-point arc to put the Mounties away. The Golden Eagles outscored Mansfield in each of the first three quarters to build a 22-point advantage heading into the fourth, never allowing the outcome to be in question.

Jordan Bekelja scored a game-high 21 points as she continued her push towards 1,000 career points. She now has 932 career points and has scored double-digit point totals in each of the last six games. Taylor Moltz was feeling it from beyond the arc, scoring 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting and 5-of-7 from three-point range. Kadijah Dickson recorded her third double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Yasmin Lewis chipped in 13 points and nine boards and Yndiah Bobo recorded five points and seven assists.

Moltz broke a scoreless tie in the first quarter with the opening bucket, but eventually the Mounties built their only lead of the afternoon. Mansfield took a 12-8 lead with 3:40 remaining in the first quarter but the Golden Eagles were off to the races from there, starting with a steal and transition bucket from Bobo to cut it to two points. Lewis tied the score at 2:48 and Moltz put Clarion up 15-12 on the next trip down the floor, and the Golden Eagles never relinquished the lead from there. Moltz added a trey with 11 seconds remaining in the quarter as Clarion closed the period on a 14-2 run.

Ellie Thompson pulled Mansfield to within four points early in the second quarter, but Bekelja made it a three-possession game with a three from the corner that made it 27-19. Moltz added a three-pointer to push the lead to 30-19, Dickson put Clarion ahead 45-30 at the halftime break with a free throw.

Things started to get out of hand in the third quarter as the deficit ballooned to more than 20 points. Lewis scored an old-fashioned three-point play at the 2:09 mark to give the Golden Eagles a 22-point edge, making it 62-40, and Haille Hart kept the deficit there with a make in the final seconds of the third. Bekelja gave Clarion their largest lead of the night with a layup at the 5:48 mark of the fourth that made it 73-50, and the Golden Eagles cruised to the final score.

A-C Valley grad Ellie Thompson had a team-best 19 points for Mansfield.