Connect with us

News

Back-to-Back Pins at End of Match Helps Brookville Fend Off Redbank Valley

NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (D9Sports) – Trailing by seven with two bouts left and its 56-on-the-mat win streak against District 9 opponents at stake, Brookville got back-to-back pins from Tanner LaBenne and Colby Whitehill to knock off Redbank Valley, 33-28, at Redbank Valley.

(Photo: Brookville’s Elliot Park looks to escape the grasp of Redbank Valley’s Coltin Bartley. Park ended up pinning Bartley at 170 pounds)

Relisten to the match:

At 220 pounds, LaBenne got the best of Kobe Bonanno at 1:27 of the second period to get the Raiders, who trailed 28-21 going into the bout, within a point, 28-27.

lutons_485x75_20160128204935
District 9 wrestling coverage on D9Sports.com is brought to you by Luton’s Plumbing, Heating, and Air Conditioning.

Whitehill, the third-ranked heavyweight in the state, then came to the mat, and it took him just nine seconds to send Kolby Barrett to his back to give the Raiders the win, extending their winning streak to 57 against District 9 foes. The Bulldogs were the last team to beat the Raiders on the mat back in the 2013 Class 2A Dual final. The Raiders forfeited a match due to an ineligible wrestler against Brockway in 2015.

While Whitehill’s pin was expected, LaBenne’s pin made a lot of the difference for Brookville.

After battling Bonanno to a scoreless draw where both wrestlers stayed on their feet in the first period, LaBenne was on the bottom to start the second period but quickly reversed then pinned Bonanno to all but give Brookville the win.

“I knew I was good on the bottom,” LaBenne said. “I knew I could get out and reverse him. He put a leg on the left side and got high. I swam under him, laced my arm and put him his back. When I got him there, I needed to finish.”

Watch all of LaBenne’s thoughts on the match.

Brookville may have actually won the match during a couple of bouts it lost.

The most obvious place for the Bulldogs was at 182 pounds with the match tied at 21 Hudson Martz had a chance near the end of the first period to pin Braden MacBeth but ended up with a near fall, and went on to win the bout, 10-6 getting just three points instead of six.

Outside of the end-of-match excitement, the best bout of the day came at 132 pounds where Redbank’s Ethan Wiant eked out a 5-4 victory over Brookville’s Cabe Park.

Park took a 4-0 lead midway through the first period before Wiant was able to close within two, 4-2, at the end of one.

An escape by Wiant with 1:15 left in the second got him within one, and then he picked up two points at the 31.2 mark to go ahead 5-4 after two periods.

Park was the down wrestler in the third period, but Wiant was able to keep him from scoring to secure the victory, which at the time put Redbank Valley ahead 15-6.

Wiant’s victory was part of 21-0 run by the Bulldogs after they fell down 6-0 when Owen Reinsel pinned Ridge Cook at 45.6 seconds of the first period at the 106-pound bout to start the match.

Trenten Rupp got Redbank Valley on the board with a 4-2 decision over Cayden Walter at 113 pounds before Mason Songer pinned Josh Popson at 120 pounds at the 1:36 mark of the second period to give the Bulldogs a 9-6 advantage.

Then at 126 pounds, Brayden Altobelli beat Parker Fleming, 6-0, to put Redbank Valley ahead 12-6.

Following Wiant’s win at 132 pounds, Brookville forfeited at 138 giving the Bulldogs a 21-6 lead.

But the tide started to turn for Brookville in the middleweights.

At 145 pounds, Wyatt Kulik beat Kris Shaffer, 7-6, in a bout that was tied at 4-4 after two periods but saw Kulick go ahead 7-4 with about a minute left in the third before Shaffer got a reversal, Shaffer had a chance for a pin, but Kulik held off the pin for the victory.

The Raiders continued their surge at 152 pounds Jacob Cable beat Caleb Snyder, 3-0, and then at 160 pound Wyatt Griffin beat Travis Crawford, 7-1, to make it 21-15 Redbank Valley.

Elliot Park then pinned Coltin Bartley at 170 pounds at 1:18 of the second period to tie the match at 21 setting up the strong finish.

Redbank Valley retook the lead with the Hudson Martz win before a major decision (10-1) at 195 pounds by Aiden Gardner over Nathan Taylor gave the Bulldogs a 28-21 advantage.