Schatz, Cowburn in D9 Regionals

Elk County Catholic senior Jesse Bosnik (left) was airborne against Coudersport's Colton Corey in Wednesday night's game at Clarion. The Crusaders broke away after halftime for 68-48 win. Paul Burdick photo

Two local wrestlers battled into the final round of the PIAA District 9 Championships at Clarion University last weekend before falling to a couple of defending title holders. Cameron County's Chad Schatz and Coudersport's Dirk Cowburn are still moving on to the PIAA Northwest Regionals this weekend in Sharon.

Schatz (32-3), a senior, coasted through the weekend until he met up with rival Eli Morres, a Brookville bruiser who complements his technical skills with brute strength.

He stayed within reach, but couldn't find an opening in dropping a 7-0 decision at 275 lbs. Morres, now 39-0 this season, joins Curwensville senior Nick Sipes (189) as the first wrestlers ever to win four District 9 championships.

Schatz reached the title match with a pin of Ridgway's Ben Thompson at 2:09 in the semifinals. Earlier he made quick work of Johnsonburg's Steve Mix with a pin in 35 seconds. Schatz took just :06 to drop Keystone's Ethan Hannold in Friday's opener.

Cowburn, a freshman, also faced a D9 stud in the 140-lb. finals, Ridgway senior Nikko Leitzel. He held his own against the three-time district champion before falling, 3-1.

Leitzel, all-time winningest wrestler in District 9 history, spent the first two periods trying to find an opening against Cowburn (28-1), but the score stood 0-0 entering the third period. Leitzel managed a takedown and an escape down the stretch to notch the win.

"He's a good wrestler and stayed very defensive," Leitzel (39-0) said of the young Coudersport star. "He really stayed away from me and it made it tough to do anything."

Cowburn earned his berth with a lopsided 14-4 win over Johnsonburg's Josh Woodford. Earlier, he jumped all over Kane's Dan Milstead in a 16-0 technical fall. Cowburn opened the tourney with a bye.

Several other local wrestlers enjoyed some success at Clarion:

Mike Baker (CC): Baker barely missed qualifying for Northwest Regionals. He lost a tough decision to Johnsonburg's Dylan Nelson in the 160-lb. consolation finals to take fourth place; only the top three wrestlers advanced. Baker reached the bout by scoring a dramatic 2-0 overtime decision over Keystone's Kyle Jones in the consolation semifinals. He opened the tourney with a 7-6 win over Brookville's Noah Johnson and dominated Smethport's Kyle Nobles, 13-3, in the quarterfinals before running into eventual D9 champion Zeke Drake and losing 12-1 in the semifinals.

Taylor Songer (CC): Songer fell to Smethport's Ben Hahn, 10-0, in the consolation semifinals at 152, after he took care of Rick Fry of Port Allegany, 9-1, in the semifinals. Songer, a junior, started Friday's action with a bye and lost a tough 4-3 decision to Oswayo Valley's Brandon Slater in the quarterfinals. He came back to beat Matt Sicher of Kane 15-2 in the second round of the consolation bracket.

Rich Keagle (Coud). Keagle, a sophomore, scored a 6-1 win over Johnsonburg's Chad Whippo in the consolation quarterfinals at 189, but was pinned by Kane's Ross Nicholson in the semifinals. Keagle had a bye to start the tourney and ran into Sipes in the quarterfinals, where he fell in 3:10. He stayed alive by beating Redbank Valley's Bryant Dean, 10-7, in the second round of consolations.

Randy Schatz (CC): Schatz pinned Kane's Tyler Geer in the opening round at 145, then lost to Keystone's Mike Switzer in the quarterfinals, 3-1. Schatz, a sophmore, rebounded with an impressive pin of Clarion's Joel Matticks in 2:35 in the consolation round, then came on strong in overtime for an 11- 5 win over Bryce Norton of Oswayo Valley in the consolation quarterfinals. He was finally eliminated the next time out by Brookville's Shane Ross, 4-2.

Tyler Bidwell (CC): Bidwell lost his opener on Friday at 119, but rebounded for a 5-2 win over Curwensville's Brett Sutika in the second round of consolations. He was knocked out on Saturday, 17-8, by Ridgway's Ed Buhler in the consolation quarterfinals.

Dom Manginell (CC): Manginell opened with a pin at 112 before he lost a decision in the quarterfinals. He fell to Curwensville's Tyler Peters, 7- 5, in the consolation second round.

Brock Belkowski (CC): After a bye in the opener at 125, Belkowski lost a dramatic 1-0 overtime decision to Johnsonburg's Chase Gardner in the quarterfinals. He also had a bye in the consolation bracket before he was eliminated by Ridgway's Sam Skraba, 14-0.

Bryce Frey (CC): Frey had an opening bye at 130, followed by a loss in the quarterfinals. He had another bye in the second round of the consolations and was beaten by Port Allegany's Gary Leschner by technical fall in the quarterfinals.