Owen, Lowe Win Big Dog Tournament

BROCKWAY – Nine Bison wrestlers climbed the medal stand, including two “top dogs” Sean Owen (285) and Holden Lowe (130) at the Brockway Big Dog Invitational.

Owen claimed his 100th career win in Monday’s “pool wrestling” before pinning his way to his second “Big Dog” title. He scored falls over Zach Manning (Port Alleghany, 0:42), Jimmy Antonelli (St. Marys, 1:06) and Logan Stout (Brookville, 0:44).

“It’s always a special moment and doesn’t happen often,” Assistant Coach Brent Lykens said. “We seem to be accumulating more here recently. But it’s a great accomplishment to reach that mile step.”

The returning state champion also collected three falls in pool wrestling action, decking William Nelson (Saegertown, 0:11), Doug Beitz (Attica Central, 5:39) and Brandon Philips (Harbor Creek, 1:17).

Owen, who has a 104-26 career mark, has passed Lykens (102-18) and moved into the seventh spot on Clearfield’s All-Time Win List.

Lowe also topped the medal stand for Clearfield. En route his tournament crown, the 130-pounder picked up a 15-0 technical fall over Jon Stoy (Penn Cambria) at the 5:40 mark before beating Dylan Zimmerman (Brookville) 5-4 and Chet Tanner, Port Alleghany, 8-2, in the final.

“Holden wrestled the best tournament that I’ve seen him wrestle. He was very offensive and wrestled well from every position,” Lykens said.

Lowe also put up a trio of wins in the pool wrestling action for a perfect tournament record.

He pinned Ryan Angelotti (Iroquois) in 1:04, in addition to decisions wins over Kurtis Henry (Saegertown, 3-1) and Cody Hartman (Butler, 4-2).

Bison Andrew Spicer and Andre Buck posted silver medal finishes at 119 and 215 pounds, respectively.

Spicer majored Alec Gawne (Mercer) 8-0 before sneaking by Joey Stoy (Penn Cambria) 3-2 for a spot in the championship bout.

Unfortunately for Clearfield, the Bison senior came up short in a 2-0 loss to Ian Grecco (Brockway) in the title bout.

At 215, Buck posted a pair of falls over RJ Swartz (Mercer, 1:08) and Marino Quercio (Butler, 5:14) before picking up a 10-6 decision win over Mike Paradise (Harbor Creek). He, then, lost by fall in 5:45 to fellow district opponent Sean Sadosky (St. Marys).

After losing his opening bout, Clearfield’s Shane Peters reeled off three wins for a bronze medal at 103 pounds.

In the consolations, the sophomore pinned Andrew Burrows (Iroquois) in 1:22. He had also recorded a fall over Burrows in Monday’s pool wrestling.

Peters continued his momentum for a 11-1 major decision over Trey Constable (Brookville) and a 15-0 technical fall over Brandon Bauer (Butler) in 3:26. He also recorded a tech over Bauer by the same score but at the 1:47 mark in action the previous day.

Both Bison Andrew Hill (125) and Derek Danver (145) earned fourth place, while Kodie Lowder (112) and Shane Harper (140) finished fifth for the tournament.

Overall, Lykens said the team wrestled well across the board.

“I think everyone wrestled better and improved. Even our guys who didn’t place showed improvement. We were pleasantly surprised by the kids’ intensity level,” he said.

He said he believes the team is heading in the right direction.

“Hopefully, we'll keep building on this momentum heading into the new year,” Lykens said.

Clearfield returns to action Wednesday, Jan. 7 at home against DuBois. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start.