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LOCK HAVEN You could say that the Lock Haven Bald Eagles women's wrestling team ran all over the Elmira College Eagles on Thursday night in their dual match. For a match that the Bald Eagles won by two points last year, 23-21, the Bald Eagles dominated from start to finish and were minutely impressive. The Bald Eagles won by a final score of 37-12.
"We thoroughly handled them. We couldn't have done it any better," Lock Haven coach Matt Lackey said.
Despite a few losses due to forfeits, the Bald Eagles were determined to win and got going right away. Bald Eagles sophomore Kaelani Shufeldt started the night for Lock Haven with a pin 30 seconds into the first period, extending her record to 7-0. Then, Carly Gross added 10 points and won a quick match in less than a minute in the 116 weight class and all of a sudden Lock Haven was rolling.
"Kaelani (Shufeldt) went out there and took care of business," coach Lackey said. "Workman like."
The Bald Eagles had all the momentum until Elmira's Abby Duke and Lock Haven's Madison Packer stepped onto the mat. With Packer wrestling up one weight, coach Lackey knew it would be a challenge, but knew it was a challenge she could handle.
This would be the first of two matches that would take longer than one period to claim a winner. Packer responded by rattling off eight points with two-consecutive takedowns, going ahead 8-4, eventually leading to a 10-4 score after the first three minutes.
In the second period, Packer took control of the match with coach Lackey encouraging her from the sideline. Packer's quickness and decisive movement on the mat led to her pinning Duke multiple times. After Duke got out the first two pins by Packer, on the third pin, Packer's pin gave her a 14-4 win in the takedown.
"She went from 116 to 123 to help out the team and she did a tremendous job," coach Lackey said.
In the 136 weight class, Elmira's Gabby Bradigan and Bald Eagles junior Madison Matta battled early. Both girls felt each other out in the early minutes of the match between the two fighters. But with less than one minute to play, Matta took down Bradigan and applied pressure for 30 seconds until Bradigan finally gave in and Matta took the victory by pin.
In the next match, Bald Eagles sophomore Jessica Johnson and Elmira's Skylah Chakouian battled. Last year, Johnson split with Chakouian, beating the Elmira star in duals and losing in the national qualifier. This time, Johnson took down Chakouian, but Chakouian did a good job battling out to avoid a pin. Johnson's early work put her ahead 8-0 in the first period with just over one minute to go. Then, with 30 seconds remaining, Johnson shut out Chakouian, 10-0, winning a major decision.
"This was a redemption match for her so I'm really happy for her progress and how she started to set herself apart.
In the final bout of the night, in the 191 weight class, Elmira's Tayana Labada and Bald Eagles freshman Trinity Monaghan faced off. In the early stages of the match, Labada took with a takedown--much to the delight to her teammates--going ahead 4-0. But Monaghan's calmness allowed her to regain control and she took down Labada, gaining three points to make the score 4-3.
The two girls knew it would be a battle for the remainder of the period. As time wound down, Labada gained a 6-3 lead, but a quick cradle by Monaghan to make the score 6-5. The two battled to a 7-7 tie at the end of the first period.
In the second period, Monaghan amped up her play behind a much-delighted Bald Eagle crowd. With her coach encouraging her from the sideline and her patience playing a factor, Monaghan pinned Labada and won 11-7 to help the Bald Eagles capture a 37-12 victory in dominant fashion.
"I'm going to continue to challenge them," coach Lackey concluded. "We're last ranking out of 10, so let's get to the top five. We have all underclassmen, so for us it's just about, 'let's continue to improve ourselves, make statements and build a top-five team within the country."
101: Taylor Goguen (EC) by forfeit. 109: Kaelani Shufeldt (LHU) pin Skylynn Tomlinson, 0:29. 116: Carly Gross (LHU) tech fall Kaitlyn Potter, 10-0, 0:30. 123: Madison Packer (LHU) tech fall Ariyanna Orosco, 14-4, 3:58. 130: No. 4 Lily Sherer (LHU) by forfeit. 136: Madison Matta (LHU) pinned Gabby Bradigan, 2:40. 146: No. 6 Grace Stem (LHU) by forfeit. 155: Jessica Johnson (LHU) tech fall Skylayh Chakouian, 10-0 2:29. 170: Hazel Dahlquist (EC) by forfeit. 191: Trinity Monaghan (LHU) pinned Tayana Labady, 4:34.