LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – A match between longtime rivals came down to the thinnest of margins on Saturday night, as Lock Haven edged the Golden Eagle wrestling team by a 17-16 score at Thomas Fieldhouse.

The teams split the evening’s 10 bouts evenly, but the Bald Eagles scored two bonus points to the Golden Eagles’ one in earning the team win.

The two evenly-matched opponents traded decisions for most of the night, with the sole exceptions entering the final match coming at 149 and 157 pounds. In the former, 27th-ranked Brent Moore came tantalizingly close to pinning Connor Eck, which at the time would have given Clarion a 9-6 advantage in the team match. Moore slapped a front headlock on Eck and brought him to the mat for a near fall, holding him on his back for what seemed like an eternity. Moore, though, could not get the final push on Eck, and was forced to settle for a 15-4 major decision that made it 7-6.

Likewise, Lock Haven’s 31st-ranked Ben Barton went to work on Chanz Shearer in the 157-pound bout, taking him down and cutting him loose until finally racking up a 20-7 major decision of his own. The Bald Eagles took a 10-6 lead and expanded it to seven points at 165 pounds, on a decision between two nationally-ranked contenders in Ashton Eyler and Cam Pine.

Clarion rallied with three straight decisions, starting with John Worthing‘s narrow 9-7 decision over Tyler Stolzfus at 174 pounds. Worthing worked to tilt Stolzfus for near-fall points but Stolzfus held him off and nearly took the bout himself. Max Wohlabaugh tied the team match at 184 pounds with an emotional sudden victory at 184, taking down Colin Fegley in overtime to win by 3-1 decision.

Will Feldkamp gave the Golden Eagles their best chance to win at 197 pounds, starting out strong against Parker McClellan in the former’s first action since December 23. Feldkamp saw his streak of five straight wins by fall snapped, but he did hold on for a 6-5 decision to put Clarion ahead 16-13 in the team match. That set up a decisive showdown at heavyweight, where 26th-ranked Isaac Reid got a takedown with six seconds remaining to extend his lead over Ty Bagoly. With the riding time point in hand, Reid earned the major decision, giving his team the crucial bonus point needed to win the team match.

Lock Haven 17, Clarion 16

125 — #21 Anthony Noto (Lock Haven) over #32 Joey Fischer (Clarion) (Dec 4-1)
133 — Cole Manley (Lock Haven) over Alex Blake (Clarion) (Dec 2-0)
141 — #30 Seth Koleno (Clarion) over Gable Strickland (Lock Haven) (Dec 8-3)
149 — #27 Brent Moore (Clarion) over Connor Eck (Lock Haven) (MD 15-4)
157 — #31 Ben Barton (Lock Haven) over Chanz Shearer (Clarion) (MD 20-7)
165 — #24 Ashton Eyler (Lock Haven) over #33 Cam Pine (Clarion) (Dec 9-3)
174 — John Worthing (Clarion) over Tyler Stoltzfus (Lock Haven) (Dec 9-7)
184 — Max Wohlabaugh (Clarion) over Colin Fegley (Lock Haven) (SV-1 3-1)
197 — Will Feldkamp (Clarion) over Parker McClellan (Lock Haven) (Dec 6-5)
285 — #26 Isaac Reid (Lock Haven) over Ty Bagoly (Clarion) (MD 14-6)