Wolverine wrestler Ben Gallenz made it to the Championship Quarterfinals during day one matches Southmoreland Holiday Classic to help earn Ellwood City its 28th place finish in the two day wrestling tournament.
The 139-pound Gallenz pinned Carl Raitano (Plum) at 1:57 in his opening round match-up and advanced to later earn a 9-1 decision victory over Keegan Young (Greensburg Salem) in Round 2 before falling in the Championship Quarterfinals. Gallenz was bested by Joshua Alexander (Fox Chapel) with a pin at 3:03.
“It was a learning experience,” said head coach John Fleming. “We had yet another week of one of our athletes being tossed around for two periods and being down by 8 with under a minute to go and get a fall.”
Other Wolverines earning victories included fellow 139-pounder Gavin McClure who pinned Camren Lee (Southmoreland), 0:52 in the championships opening round.
Chris Quintanilla (152 pounds) pinned Matthew Reynolds (Mount Pleasant), at 2:24, while Nathan Chandler (189 pounds) pinned Jayce Putt (Tussey Mountain), at 4:20, in their respective Round 1 Consolation matches.
After defeats in their respective Round 2 Championship matches, Logan Shriver (107 pounds) and Derek Allen (114 pounds) earned victories in Round 2 and Round 3 Consolation matches. Shriver and Allen were finally each bested in their respective Round 4 Consolation matches, both falling in decisions.
“We are learning overall which is showing improvement but mentally we will need to get in the matches more,” says Fleming. “We are a young team with only two seniors and a few coming up next year. Each week we learn and grow and that’s all I can ask.”
Butler claimed the tournament championship with a team score of 255.5 while Ellwood City finished with 26.0 team points. The Wolverines return the mat for a match on Wednesday, January 4th at Hampton beginning at 7:00 p.m.
Team Standings:
(1) Butler 255.5, (2) Plum 182.0, (3) Corry Area 151.5, (4) United 141.0, (5) McGuffey 136.0, (6) Beth-Center 127.5, (7) Greenville 115.5, (8) Mount Pleasant 113.5, (9) Fox Chapel 108.5, (10) River Valley 104.5, (11) Bedford 100.0, (12) Marion Center 99.0, (13) Baldwin 94.5, (14) Somerset 89.5, (15) Fort Cherry 87.0, (16) Keystone Oaks 82.0, (17) Rockbridge County (VA) 78.0, (18) Southmoreland 75.0, (19) Derry Area 70.5, (20) Valley 65.5, (21) Chartiers-Houston 64.0, (22) Greensburg Salem 54.0, (23) Upper St. Clair 51.0, (24) Elizabeth Forward 45.0, (25) Meyersdale 42.0, (26) Tussey Mountain 33.5, (27) Albert Gallatin 32.0, (28) Ellwood City 26.0, (29) South Side Beaver 20.0, (30) South Allegheny 19.0, (31) Yough 18.0, (32) North Catholic 11.0, (33) Ambridge 10.0
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