CLARION, Pa. – The Clarion wrestling team held its final set of wrestle-offs in front of a crowd of hundreds on Saturday night, with the "Blue" squad defeating "Gold" 25-13 in an intra-squad dual.
 
The bouts had implications not just for personal pride but also for the composition of the Golden Eagle lineup, as the matches represented the finals of the team's wrestle-offs for the preseason.  The winners of the team's first eight contested bouts earned spots in the starting dual lineup for the early portion of the season.
 
The match also afforded Golden Eagle fans the opportunity to see a trio of athletes that had not graced the Blue & Gold in some time.  Jake Gromacki wrestled in his first Clarion match in 22 months after suffering a season-ending injury in January 2018, with the 2017 NCAA qualifier earning a spot in the starting line-up after beating Cam Butler 4-2 in a sudden victory.  In addition, Brock Zacherl and Taylor Ortz both returned to action after suffering injuries midway through last season.  Zacherl defeated Jalin Hankerson and Ortz downed Roshaun Cooley to cement their spots.
 
Freshman Brayden Palmer finished off a two-match series win over Dylan Burnoski at 133 pounds, marking the second straight year that a true freshman will start the season at 133 pounds.  Mike Bartolo won a hard-fought match against Jack Peura to take the starting spot at 165 pounds, and veterans Avery Shay and Max Wohlabaugh held off tough challenges from Hunter Michaels and Derek Brown to take the jobs at 157 and 174 pounds, respectively.  Luke Funck won the final wrestle-off of the night, beating Gold's Dylan Bisel by 9-3 decision.
 
In the exhibition matches, Evan Myers ran up Blue's lead with a win over Alex Blake, and John Worthing countered an aggressive offense by Alec Cook for a 4-2 decision.  One of the highlights of the night came in the final exhibition match, with Greg Bulsak and Ty Bagoly - the presumptive starters at 197 and 285, respectively – going one-on-one in an exciting offensive match.  The two big men traded shots, with Bulsak getting the better of Bagoly in an 8-7 decision.
 
 
 
Blue 25, Gold 13
Jake Gromacki (Blue) def. Cam Butler (Gold) SV-2 4-2
Brayden Palmer (Blue) def. Dylan Burnoski (Gold) Dec. 6-1
Taylor Ortz (Gold) def. Roshaun Cooley (Blue) Dec. 17-14
Brock Zacherl (Blue) def. Jalin Hankerson (Gold) MD 12-3
Avery Shay (Gold) def. Hunter Michaels (Blue) Dec. 8-2
Mike Bartolo (Blue) def. Jack Peura (Gold) Dec. 4-2
Max Wohlabaugh (Gold) def. Derek Brown (Blue) MD 14-4
Luke Funck (Blue) def. Dylan Bisel (Gold) Dec. 9-3
Evan Myers (Blue) def. Alex Blake (Gold) Dec. 8-4
John Worthing (Blue) def. Alec Cook (Gold) Dec. 4-2
Caleb Hetrick (Blue) def. Joe Sliwoski (Gold) Dec. 7-3
Greg Bulsak (Gold) def. Ty Bagoly (Blue) Dec. 8-7