ALTOONA — Eight Bison grapplers will continue their post-season Friday at the Class AAA Northwest Regional Championships at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
Preliminary action gets under way Friday night at 5 p.m., with quarter-final action to follow at 7:15 p.m. The first consolation round will start at 9:15 p.m.
The semi-finals and second consolation round are set for Saturday at Noon, while the third consolation round will begin at 2:30 p.m.
The consolation finals are slated for 5:30 p.m., with the Parade of Champions and finals to follow at 6:30 p.m.
Adult admission is $6 for each session and $8 for the finals, while student tickets are $3 for each session and $4 for the finals.
Clearfield will be led by seventh year head wrestling coach Jeff Aveni. The Bisons posted a 3-10 dual meet record and were 2-3 in district competition. Clearfield finished third at both the District IX Championships and Team Duals for the second straight year and qualified eight wrestlers for regionals. The qualifiers include: District IX Champion Sean Owen (285), runner-ups Shawn Hall (135), Anthony Moore (140) and Lee Zalno (160) and third placewinners Holden Lowe (119), Kasey Casher (152), Jake Riglin (171) and Andre Buck (189).
Owen
, a sophomore District IX Champion, will receive a first-round bye. Owen (27-6) will either meet Jahil Jones (Alderdice, Jr., 13-2) or Tim Watson (Bald Eagle Area, Jr., 22-7) in quarter-final action. Jones finished second at the Pittsburgh City League Championships, while Grover Walker (Peabody, Sr., 21-9) pinned Jones in 5:49. Watson took third at the District VI Championships with a 7-5 decision over Nate Knepp (Indian Valley, Sr., 27-10). Owen has not wrestled Jones this season, but defeated Watson by a 5-1 decision in dual meet competition.
Hall
, a sophomore, will meet Nick Endres (Titusville, Jr., 30-9) in his preliminary bout. Hall (13-13) is a District IX Runner-up after suffering a tough 7-0 loss to Nick Centra (DuBois, Sr., 29-11). Endres took third at the District X Championships. The Hall-Endres winner will face Daniel Duffy (Brashear, Sr., 26-9) in the quarter-finals. Duffy won the Pittsburgh City League Championships with a 7-3 win over Mike Richards (Langley, Jr., 23-9).
Moore
, a senior, will square off with returning Northwest Regional Runner-up Cody Johns (Lewistown, Sr., 21-11) in the preliminaries. Moore (17-13) fell 9-3 to Brian Hineman (DuBois, Sr., 30-10) to finish second at the District IX Championships, while Johns took third at the District VI Tourney with a 7-2 decision win over Bronson Pfehler (Altoona, So. 26-8). The winner of the Moore-Johns match-up will meet Jamal Lyons (Erie Cathedral Prep, Fr., 26-4). Lyons pulled out a 3-1 decision over Brian Greenlee (Franklin, So., 31-9) to win his District X title.
Zalno
, a junior, will face Zach Fradeneck (Holidaysburg, Sr. 16-13) in preliminary action. Zalno (11-17) notched a second place finish after falling 13-3 to Zach Lundgren (DuBois, Sr., 31-5) at the District IX Tourney. Cody Dolan (Central Mountain, Fr., 29-12) scored a 19-7 major over Fradeneck to drop him to fourth at the District VI Tournament. The Fradeneck-Zalno winner will face Bryan Towers (Meadville, Sr., 34-4), who won the District X Tournament by a 10-3 decision over Lou Decker (General McClane, Sr., 21-7).
Lowe
, a sophomore, will open the Northwest Regional Tournament against Steve Rothstein (Alderdice, Fr., 12-2), who finished second at Pittsburgh City League Championships. Rothstein fell to Josh Igims (Langley, Jr., 22-12) by a 10-1 major decision. Lowe (10-8) looked impressive in his District IX semi-final outing with Ethan Swope (DuBois, Sr., 25-3). Lowe came up short in an 8-3 loss, but bounced back in a 6-3 win over Derek Burkett (Punxsutawney) to win a bronze medal. The winner of the Lowe-Rothstein match-up will meet District X Champion, Cyrus Parlin (General McClane, Jr., 30-8).
Casher
, a junior, will battle Brandan Eck (Corry, Sr., 28-8) in preliminary action. Eck recorded a second place finish at the District X Tourney after falling 3-2 to Cash Horne (Conneaut Lake, Jr., 31-4) in overtime. Casher (9-17) recorded an 11-1 major decision over Justin McAninch (DuBois) to earn his bronze medal and ticket to the regional tournament. The Eck-Casher winner will face Caleb Hoffman (Bald Eagle Area, Jr., 26-8) in the quarter-finals.
Riglin
, a senior, will open the regional tournament up against Ryan MacNamera (Bald Eagle Area, Sr., 21-7). MacNamera came up short in a 14-8 loss to Will Harris (Johnstown, Jr., 26-3) to finish second for the District VI Tournament. Riglin (10-12) pinned James Kan (Bradford) to place third for the District IX Tournament. The winner of the Riglin-MacNamera match-up will take on James Barnaba (Brashear, Sr., 22-6), who won the Pittsburgh City League title.
Buck
, a freshman, will meet District VI Runner-up J.R. Brown (Bellefonte, Sr. 31-4) in the preliminaries. Brown fell to Ryan Maggs (Central Mountain, Sr. 31-5) 3-2 in the title bout. Buck (1-2) posted his first varsity win in the District IX consolation finals, when he picked up a 11-5 decision over Kyle Herzing (St. Marys). Buck and Brown have not wrestled this season, and the winner will face District X Champion DeAndre Bell (East Strong Vincent, Jr., 29-4). Bell managed a 2-1 win over Edwin Taylor (McDowell, Jr., 31-9) to take the District X title.
The top three placewinners at each weight class will advance to the PIAA State Championships March 8-10.