HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING: HORSEHEADS FALLS IN MATCHUP IN PENNSYLVANIA AGAINST TOWANDA (24 PHOTOS) (2024-12-10)

BY CHRIS MANNING
Southern Tier Sports Report
TOWANDA — Horseheads was hoping to return to the favor to Towanda after the Black Knights came to their place last year and handed them a loss. The Raiders, though, came up just short, falling to the Knights 44-22 in non-league dual meet wrestling action Tuesday.

“Towanda’s a great program,” said Horseheads coach Brett Owen. “Coming in I was hoping for a different score, but you come down here for the match-ups, and the match-ups we got is exactly what we came here for.”

The big ones were at 152, 160, and 215 - all three matches the Raiders lost but all three they were in until the end.

The 160 pound was the closest with Towanda’s Rylee Sluyter getting late overtime takedown to edge Coleton Owen 4-1, while at 152 Knight Riley Vanderpool decisioned Zachary Shrage 15-8, and at 215 Towanda’s Sawyer Robinson decisioned Hunter Lavigne 14-7.

They flip those it’s a 2-point match.

“We come down here to get battle tested,” Owen said. “Like I told the guys I want to be tested now in December so we’re preparing for January and February, and that’s why we put the schedule together. We put together probably the toughest schedule I’ve been doing for seven years.”

After giving up a fall to Towanda’s Mason Higley at heavyweight Horseheads got a pin from Connor McAllister (107) and a tech fall out of Josh Knapp (114) to take an 11-6 lead.

Towanda, though, would rattle off 35 straight points after that, including four straight pins from 121 to 139.

Curtis Maynard (121), Tanner Vanderpool (127), Jazick Brown (133), and Gage Evans (139) got the falls for the Knights, while Brayden Spencer (145) earned a technical fall.

At 152 Vanderpool jumped out to a 3-0 lead with a takedown, only for Schrage to take a 4-3 lead with an escape and takedown. Vanderpool got a reversal late in the first period for a 5-4 advantage.

He got an escape and takedown in third to go up 9-4, with Schrage getting a late escape to make it a 4-point match.

Schrage nabbed a reversal to start the third to cut it to a 2-point deficit, but Vanderpool quickly reversed him back, then added back points to pull away.

At 160 Owen and Sluyter got escape points as they went into sudden victory. Late in the period Sluyter got the winning takedown for the 4-1 win.

Jaxson Burchard (172) got a fall for Horseheads, followed by Lucas Mosher (189) earning an 18-2 tech fall in 3:00.

That set up a good final match between Towanda’s state medalist Sawyer Robinson and Horseheads’ state qualifier Hunter Lavigne.

Lavigne led 3-0 early off a takedown, but Robinson came back with a reversal and three back points for a 5-3 lead after one.

Robinson got an escape to start the second, but Lavigne came back with a takedown to knot things up at 6-6. Robinson would take a 7-6 lead with an escape.

In the third Robinson pulled away with a takedown followed by back points.

With the match behind them Owen is looking to see his team improve as they get closer to the end of the month.

“We just want to keep on improving, and that’s all we can do,” he said.

TOWANDA 44, HORSEHEADS 22

285: Mason Higley (T) fall Seamus Carroll, 1:13

107: Connor McAllister (H) fall Mason Harbst 1:42

114: Josh Knapp (H) tech. Jayden Stranger, 19-2, 3:44

121: Curtis Maynard (T) fall Tanner Knapp, 2:45

127: Tanner Vanderpool (T) fall Nate Miller, :25

133: Jazick Brown (T) fall Gavin Hornsby, 1:08

139: Gage Evans (T) fall Kole Zufall, :56

145: Brayden Spencer (T) tech. Aiden Culshaw, 19-2, 5:11

152: Riley Vanderpool (T) dec. Zachary Shrage, 15-8

160: Rylee Sluyter (T) SV Coleton Owen, 4-1

172: Jaxson Burchard (H) fall Jace Gunther, 1:00

189: Lucas Mosher (H) tech. Chase Guerin, 18-2, 3:00



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