CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion wrestling team made its first appearance in front of the fans on Friday evening, with Blue defeating Gold 29-25 in the annual Blue/Gold Dual at the Student Recreation Center.  The Golden Eagles' first regular season match of the year is in one week, when they host Gardner-Webb.
 
Wrestle offs highlighted the evening, with wrestlers capping a preseason's worth of competition by winning spots in the starting lineup.  All told, eight competitors earned their spots by finishing off a best-of-3 series, including a dramatic finish in the 184-pound bout.
 
Indeed, fans were treated to a rubber match between Ty Bagoly and Shae Bloom, who split their first two meetings in the wrestle offs.  Bagoly won the first match-up 7-3, but Bloom responded in the duo's first match of the night with a win by fall with three seconds remaining.  The clincher lived up to the hype as well, with Bagoly rallying from a 7-2 deficit in the final seconds with a takedown and four-point near fall, defeating Bloom 9-7 to earn a spot at 184 pounds.
 
The night started with the 125-pound wrestle off, with Tyshawn White defeating freshman Brock Whorton by a 10-1 major decision to clinch his series.  The 133-pound bout featured two wrestlers on opposite ends of the spectrum, with true freshman Seth Koleno edging senior Roshaun Cooley for the lineup spot.  Taylor Ortz (141) and Greg Bulsak (197) each locked up their spots with technical fall victories, while Mike Bartolo won an 8-0 major decision over Caleb Hetrick at 157 pounds.
 
Two of the tightest matches of the wrestle off came at 165 pounds and heavyweight.  In the former, Evan DeLong held off Jack Peura for an 8-4 decision, while in the latter Edgar Ruano tacked on a late takedown for a 5-2 decision.
 
Fans were also treated to a quartet of exhibition matches, including a 13-0 major decision by Brock Zacherl over Lavinsky Collins and a 15-0 technical fall by Mike Vernagallo over Mitch Dean.  Taylor Cahill also came away with an exhibition win, defeating Luke Funck by 3-2 decision.
 
125: Tyshawn White (Blue) def. Brock Whorton (Gold) MD 10-1
133: Seth Koleno (Gold) def. Roshaun Cooley (Blue) Dec. 14-8
141: Taylor Ortz (Blue) def. Andrew Gapas (Gold)TF 15-0 6:05
157: Mike Bartolo (Gold) def. Caleb Hetrick (Blue) MD 8-0
165: Evan DeLong (Blue) def. Jack Peura (Gold) Dec. 8-4
184-1: Shae Bloom (Blue) def. Ty Bagoly (Gold) Fall 6:57
184-2: Ty Bagoly (Gold) def. Shae Bloom (Blue) Dec. 9-7
197: Greg Bulsak (Blue) def. Willie Bivens (Gold) TF 15-0 3:26
285: Edgar Ruano (Gold) def. Brylee Shumaker (Blue) Dec. 5-2
 
Taylor Cahill (Gold) def. Luke Funck (Blue) Dec. 3-2
Brock Zacherl (Gold) def. Lavinsky Collins (Blue) MD 13-3
Hunter Michaels (Blue) def. Evan Myers (Gold) M. For.
Mike Vernagallo (Gold) def. Mitch Dean (Blue) TF 15-0 5:38