CUP Roundup: Zacherl Strong at Wolfpack Open; Hoops Teams Both Lose


RALEIGH, N.C. – Brock Zacherl, Evan DeLong and Dustin Conti won their respective weight classes and four other Golden Eagle wrestlers placed in theirs as Clarion enjoyed a productive day at the Wolfpack Open hosted by North Carolina State.

(Photo Brock Zacherl. Photo courtesy of Clarion University Athletics)

Zacherl won his second tournament of the season at 141 pounds, cruising through the championship bracket to take home the title at Carmichael Gym. Not only did Zacherl win all of this matches with bonus points, it wouldn’t be until the championship match that he won by a margin of fewer than 15 points. He started with an opening-round bye and then took a 16-1 technical fall over Maryland’s Hunter Baxter, following that with a 15-0 tech fall over Campbell’s Hunter Reed. Zacherl won his semifinal match over Newberry’s Tyler Wicken with a pinfall 1:17 into the third period, and wrapped up his day with a 16-4 major decision over North Carolina’s Jaime Hernandez.

Conti’s day also included an individual championship – his at 197 pounds – as well as a measure of revenge. He defeated Newberry’s Jordan Lacelle by technical fall, 16-1, in the quarterfinal match, and then held off Campbell’s Christopher Kober for a 2-1 decision in the semifinal. That put him in the finals against Utah Valley’s Tanner Orndorff, who earlier this year defeated Conti by fall in a dual match in Clarion. This time Conti held on for the win, scoring a 3-1 decision over Orndorff.

Wrestling unattached, DeLong won the title at 174 pounds, the first tournament title for the senior at that weight. He started with a 13-7 decision over Campbell’s Charlie Andrews and then moved on to a major decision over UNC’s Hunter Queen, winning by a 14-5 score. After a 3-1 decision over Gardner-Webb’s Christian Maronio and a 6-5 win over North Carolina’s Adis Radoncic, DeLong beat Virginia Tech’s Cody Hughes by a 7-3 score for the title.

Zacherl and Conti were not the only two Golden Eagles to reach a championship match on Sunday. Greg Bulsakreached the finals of the 184-pound bracket thanks to three straight wins, eventually falling to North Carolina State’s Nick Reenan. Two of Bulsak’s three victories came by fall, including a third-period pin over Old Dominion’s George Walton and a first-period fall over Campbell’s Ryan Deloach in the semifinal match. Sandwiched in between was an 8-3 decision over Utah Valley’s Gary Jantzer, the second time this year Bulsak has defeated Jantzer.

At 157 pounds, Mac Tanner rebounded from a loss in the semifinal match to take third place in his bracket. He started his day by pinning St. Andrew’s Nick Pruitte, and eventually claimed a 13-5 major decision over UNC Pembroke’s Tyler Makosy in the quarterfinal. After falling 5-4 to Virginia’s Cameron Coy in the semifinal, Tanner pinned Virginia Tech’s Rhonny Ghaida at the end of the second period to take third place.

Freshman Max Wohlabaugh had the next-highest finish, taking fourth place at 165 pounds. He claimed an 8-6 decision over Rodney Shepard in his opening match before a 15-0 technical call over Campbell’s Nicholas White. He earned a 9-3 decision over Maryland’s Philip Spadafora in the quarterfinal before dropping decisions to Utah Valley’s Demetrius Romero and Blue Blood Wrestling Club’s Zachary Finesilver in his last two matches.

Rounding out the placers for Clarion on Sunday was Taylor Cahill, who was on pace for a high finish before running out of available matches due to NCAA regulations. He started with a win by fall over Gardner-Webb’s Jacob Reames but fell to Queens’ Noah Curreri in the second round. He came back with a pin of Queens’ Anthony Toineeta and an 8-3 decision over Campbell’s Charlie Andrews. He pinned Davidson’s Noah Satterfield with just 1:01 remaining in the third period and won a 7-3 decision over Maryland’s Shawn Mosca in his final match of the day.

WOMEN’S HOOPS SMOKED BY WEST CHESTER

CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion women’s basketball team dropped a PSAC contest at home on Sunday, falling by a score of 106-71 to West Chester at Tippin Gymnasium. The Golden Eagles (2-3, 0-2 PSAC) will enjoy a long break before their next game, when they host Ohio Valley on Tuesday, November 28.

Jordan Bekelja led the Golden Eagles with 16 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the field, as well as a 5-of-6 mark from the free throw line. The junior guard also added two assists and a steal. Tynita White came off the bench to provide 13 points while Amesha Harden-Pullium and Yndiah Bobo each notched 11 points.

The Golden Rams lived up to their billing as a dangerous offensive team, shooting 66.1 percent from the field and 67.9 percent from three-point range. Clarion fulfilled its goal of protecting the basketball, committing just 12 turnovers, and kept West Chester to just 15 points off turnovers.

Clarion started out well in the first quarter, taking the lead on the opening score by Tracy Wiehe and staying within two possessions throughout most of the period. A three-pointer by White cut the Golden Rams’ lead to 21-15, but West Chester went on a 9-2 run to close the first quarter and take a 30-17 lead after 10 minutes. The advantage continued to grow in the second quarter as West Chester started to pull away in earnest, with Mia Hopkins making a three-pointer with 53 seconds remaining to put her team ahead 52-34. Harden-Pullium sank two free throws on the next trip down the floor but Destiny Jefferson set the halftime score at 55-36 with a three of her own.

In the third quarter, Clarion cut the lead to 57-41 after an and-one play by Taylor Moltz, but they got no closer as the Golden Rams built a 24-point lead by the end of the period. West Chester kept the pressure on throughout the fourth to finish off the win.

MEN’S HOOPS FALLS TO WEST CHESTER

CLARION, Pa – After falling behind by double digits in the second half, the Clarion men’s basketball team staged a late comeback attempt that fell short Sunday afternoon, falling 91-84 at home to West Chester.

The Golden Eagles (2-3) got off to a good start, building a lead as large as 8 points near the midway point of the first half, but the Rams caught fire and battled back to take a 48-37 lead into halftime.

In the second half, Clarion started to find some shooting rhythm, particularly from three-point range. After going just 2 of 10 from beyond the arc in the first half, Clarion knocked down 8 three-pointers in the second frame, helping to cut into the Rams lead.

Clarion got to within 6 points, multiple times within the final 7 minutes but just could not slow down the Rams attack.

Cameron Grumley and Mason Mraz fueled the 2nd half comeback attempt as Grumley finished the day with 20 points while the freshman Mraz led the Golden Eagles with 21 points.

Freshman Khari Williams also chipped in 11 points while teammate RJ Laugand dished out 5 assists.

Clarion shot 43% from the floor, going 28 of 65 while knocking down 18 of 24 attempts from the line.

Coach Williams’ squad will hit the road this Tuesday (Nov 21) when they travel to Davis & Elkins College for a 2 p.m. tip-off.


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