NTL WRESTLING: TOWANDA'S WATKINS COMES UP JUST SHORT IN HIS BID TO ADVANCE TO SUPER REGIONALS (2021-02-27)
BY CHRIS MANNINGNorthern Tier Sports ReportWILLIAMSPORT — In a normal season Towanda’s Clay Watkins would be headed to Hershey. Instead, his season came to end at the Northeast Regional Tournament on Saturday.
The Black Knight senior went 2-2 on the day to finish fourth at 215 pounds. In the past the top four from regionals earned a PIAA Championship berth, but due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the state inserted an East Super Regionals, with only the top three getting an invite.
Watkins fell to Mount Carmel’s Damon Backes by fall in 4:51, though the match was 1-1 before Backes was able to get a quick fall and send Watkins to his back.
To get to the third place match Watkins lost his quarterfinals match to eventual regional champion, Montoursville’s Dylan Bennett, by fall in 1:34.
He then came back and pinned Lackawanna Trail’s Jonah Houser in 4:39, before getting an injury default win over Wyoming Area’s Connor Wrobleski.
Other area wrestlers didn’t fare as well as Canton’s Hayden Ward (138) went 1-2, while Troy’s Seth Seymour (126) and Wyalusing’s Nick Woodruff (152) both finished 0-2.
In Watkins’ consolation match against Houser, the Knight was up 1-0 when he cradled Houser up for three back points to go up 4-0.
Houser was able to get an escape, but Watkins took him down. He then bundled him up to turn him to his back to get the fall.
In the consolation semifinals Watkins dominated from the second period on, extending a 2-0 lead into 7-0 with a takedown and back points in the second.
In the third the obviously injured Wrobleski kept getting hit with stalls before ultimately injury defaulting with 20 seconds to go.
In the third place bout Watkins did his best to stay low, and keep the fast Backes from his legs. It worked through two periods, but in the third Backes used a quick shot to Watkins’ left to get the down, which led to the fall.
For Canton, Ward lost his quarterfinal match 11-2 to Lackawanna Trail’s Robert Schneider.
He came back to pin Scranton Prep’s Antonio D’appollonio in 4:44. Ward scored a late takedown in the first period to to up 2-0.
In the second he scored an escape, then got another takedown on a shot to D’appollonio’s hips. The Prep wrestler was able to reverse Ward to cut it to 5-2 after the second period.
In the third Ward started on top, and used that to his advantage, scoring two back points early, then getting the fall late.
Ward was then pinned by Southern Columbia’s Ian Yoder in 4:36 in the consolation semifinals.
Yoder struck first, going up 5-0 in the first period with a takedown and back points.
Ward was on top in the second, and rode Yoder out for two minutes, though he wasn’t able to turn him.
In the third Ward was able to reverse Yoder to go up 5-2, and continued to ride hard, but with no luck at turning him. Finally, as time ticked down, Ward went big with a head lock, but when he pulled Yoder back he hit his head on the mat.
That broke his grip, and Yoder was able to turn around and pin him.
Seymour opened the tournament with an 18-2 technical fall loss to Benton’s Gable Strickland in the quarterfinals.
In the consolations he lost 3-1 to Lackawanna Trail’s Ethan Lee. A first period takedown by Lee was the difference in the match.
Woodruff opened the tournament with a loss to Montgomery’s Devon Deem in 5:14. Then in the consolations he was pinned by Central Columbia’s Troy Johnson in 2:35.
Woodruff actually led after the first period thanks to a takedown with a one second left on the clock.
Johnson would get a reversal in the second to knot things up at 2-2, but Woodruff reclaimed the lead with an escape.
Johnson, though, would get a takedown on Woodruff to get the fall.
CUTLINE: Towanda’s Clay Watkins takes Lackawanna Trail’s Jonah Houser to his back…PHOTOS BY CHRIS MANNING AND MATT PATTON.
