BY BRYAN SEYMOURNorthern Tier Sports Report
It is that time of year again. Weekends are full of college wrestling taking part all over the country. Our area has lots to follow and a lot to be proud of. Wrestling is different. Individuals in battle are working for their team.
Saturday night kicked off with Sheldon Seymour (Lehigh University) wrestling Eddie Ventresca (Virginia Tech) at the NWCA All-Star Classic. This was a rematch from the 2024 national championship tournament, where Ventresca won by major decision 11-4. This time around Seymour closed the gap; however, came up short 4-0.
At the Clarion Open, our area saw CJ Carr (Lock Haven), Colton Wade (Clarion), and Nathan Higley (Bellarmine) were in action. Carr, wrestling unattached for Lock Haven, opened up against former District IV and Muncy wrestler Scott Johnson (Clarion), by a major decision 14-1 in the round of 32. Dropping down to the consi round of 16 #1, Carr saw Brady Mercer unrostered Spartan RTC, where he won by major decision 12-2. Moving into the consi round 16 #2 Carr beat Jack Martinec (Clarion) 10-8. Moving into the consolation round, Carr would lose to Bragan Fielding (Ohio State) 5-1 in round 8. Carr would end his day 2-2.
Also wrestling at the Clarion Open was Nathan Higley (Bellarmine). In the round of 32, Higley would win by technical fall 17-1 over Cadreanu Vlad (unrostered). In the round of 16, Higley would lose by technical fall 24-7 to Bo Bassett (unrostered). Dropping to the consi round 16 #2 Higley would win by fall in 3:48 over Oliver Fairchild (Clarion). Moving into the consi round 8 #1 Higley would lose by decision 6-2 to Conner Eck (Clarion). Higley would end his day 2-2.
The last wrestler in action at the Clarion Open was Colton Wade (Clarion). Wade would open up his day losing to Tyler Ferrara (Cornell) by decision 8-1. Falling to the consi round 16 #2, Wade would lose to Jacob Jones ( Air Force) by major decision 14-1. Wade would end his day 0-2.
At the Princeton Open, Kade Sottolano (Lock Haven) was in action. In the round of 16, Sottolano lost to Brady Colbert by decision 6-1. Falling to the consi round 8 #1, Sottolano would win by decision 6-4 over Khale McDonnell of Oregon State. In the consi round 8 #2, Sottolano would win by major decision 11-3 over Ethan Miller (Lock Haven). Sottolano would face James Lynch (Rider) in the consi round of 4, where he would win by decision 3-0. In the fifth-place match, Sottolano would win by decision, 10-3, over Sebastian Garibaldi (Princeton). Sottolano would end his day 4-1 with a fifth-place finish.
Wrestling at the Pioneer Open was Riley Oakes (Millersville). Oakes would lose by major decision 16-4 to Seth Thomas (Salem). In the consi round 1 Oakes would lose by major decision 9-1 to Diego Chavez (Findlay). Oakes would end his day 0-2.
