CLARION, Pa. --- The Golden Eagle wrestling team finalized their season-opening starting lineup while putting on an entertaining exhibition for their home fans, as the Blue team defeated the Gold squad by a 28-24 score in Tippin Gymnasium on Thursday night.
 
The Gold side was the beneficiary of three bonus point victories comparted to just two for the Blue side, with Koen Kish, Jack Martinec and Ty Bagoly all contributing major decisions to their team's point total. Blue matched that bonus point total with a major decision by Ethan Wiant and a win by fall for John Worthing, with the latter scoring the only pin of the night.
 
That victory for Worthing decided the starter for 174 pounds, one of seven weight classes up for grabs at this year's match. Taking on freshman Suds Dubler, Worthing enjoyed a solid start to the bout, and early in the second period took Dubler to his back. He quickly secured four back points but continued to work for more, though Dubler worked hard to prevent the fall as long as possible. Worthing finally contorted him to the point of getting him on his back, winning the second match of his series with Dubler to lock up the starting spot.
 
Two weight classes, 133 and 149 pounds, required two matches on Thursday night, and in both cases one competitor took both ends of the series. At 133 pounds, Koen Kish locked up his spot in the lineup with two wins over Mason Prinkey, starting with an 8-0 major decision in the first bout of the night. The second contest was much closer as Prinkey kept it tight, but Kish held on for a 4-2 decision.
 
The other weight that featured an immediate rematch was 149 pounds, where Kyle Schickel held on for a pair of hard-fought victories over Lavinsky Collins. The first bout required extra time as Schickel and Collins were tied at 6-6 after seven minutes. Schickel managed a takedown of Collins in the sudden victory period to take a 1-0 lead in their series. The second bout went down to the wire, but Schickel fought off a late shot by Collins for a 3-2 decision.
 
Four other weights were decided on Thursday as well. Seth Koleno fought off a charge from a feisty Chandler Ho in a low-scoring bout, winning over him 3-2 to earn the starting spot at 141 pounds. Eli Brinsky outlasted Caleb Hetrick in the 165-pound bout, winning in overtime by a 5-3 score. Bagoly defeated Brett Wittmann by major decision, outscoring him 9-0, and Austin Chapman won a tiebreaker against Reynold Maines in the heavyweight decider.
 
Koen Kish def. Mason Prinkey MD 8-0
Kyle Schickel def. Lavinsky Collins SV-1 8-6
Clayton Bashor def. Elias Smith Dec. 5-0
Seth Koleno def. Chandler Ho Dec. 3-2
Nate Burnett def. Alex Blake TB-1 3-2
Eli Brinsky def. Caleb Hetrick SV-1 5-3
Jack Martinec def. Hunter Verge MD 15-6
John Altieri def. Shermuhammad Sadriddinov Dec. 4-1
Koen Kish def. Mason Prinkey Dec. 4-2
Kyle Schickel def. Lavinsky Collins Dec. 3-2
John Worthing def. Suds Dubler Fall 4:19
Ty Bagoly def. Brett Wittmann MD 11-0
Ethan Wiant def. Chase Cordia MD 9-0
Trevor Elfvin def. Gavin Wilmoth Dec. 6-3
Austin Chapman def. Reynold Maines TB-1 3-2