Three area wrestlers win titles at Coal Cracker tournament

Caleb Clymer got a measure of revenge.

John Newhall found redemption.

And Matt Peters took another step toward recapturing the form that took him to states two years ago.

After the 9th Annual Coal Cracker Tournament came to an end on Saturday, the trio had gold medals draped around their necks.

Peters edged Notre Dame Green Pond’s Ryan McGuire 1-0 in the 132-pound final, while Clymer topped Scranton’s Jacob Burgette 6-2 for the 160-pound title to give Northwestern two champions. Newhall won a 2-0 decision against NDGP’s Joshua Bauman in the 113-pound final for Jim Thorpe.

All three relished the moment.

“It feels good, considering being out two years,” said Peters. “It feels good that I’m back, and I’m wrestling well.

“I got stuff to work on still, but that’s what it’s all for, the postseason, and we’re still working to get there.”

Peters was a state qualifier as a freshman before an illness derailed his sophomore year and an injury cut short his junior season.

Fully healthy once again, Peters (27-4) has flourished this season. And it showed throughout the two-day tournament.

The senior edged Valley View’s Brandon Judge 3-1 in overtime to reach the finals before pulling out a close win against McGuire.

Peters got an escape with under a minute remaining in the second period against McGuire (23-4) by riding him out in the third period.

“I knew I would have what it takes, but I just had to wrestle hard and keep pushing the pace,” Peters said. “I have some stuff to work on with that match, I could have done some things better. But overall, I wrestled well, and I think that rideout just really did well for me.”

Peters knows he’ll have to win plenty of close matches like he did Saturday if he wants to end his season in Hershey.

“It means a lot, because when you get to regionals and states, all those kids are high-caliber kids. You’re only going to win by a point or two,” said Peters. “So those rideouts, and those close matches are gonna mean a lot going into the placing rounds and so on.”

Clymer knows all about what it’s like to place at states. He’s done it the last two seasons, and placed third a year ago.

The senior has delivered in every possible way so far this season, including winning a title at the Bethlehem Holiday Classic in December.

But the Coal Cracker marked one of Clymer’s few setbacks a year ago, a 7-4 loss to Scranton’s Burgette in the 152-pound semifinals.

Clymer atoned for that loss in impressive fashion Saturday.

After a scoreless first period, Clymer turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead entering the fourth period. Clymer scored another takedown in the waning seconds to provide the final score.

“I thought I wrestled well,” said Clymer, who was third a year ago. “Yesterday, I felt a little sloppy, but it was the first day. Then I opened it up with (Panther Valley’s) Tanner Kennedy (in the semifinals) who I only beat 2-0 at districts, so I knew it was going to be close. I was able to push it a lot harder on my feet, and was able to come out with a 6-0 victory.

“And then to beat Burgette (28-7) there at the end, that was just the icing on the top. It felt good.”

The victory kept Clymer undefeated and moved his season record to 28-0. But he knows there’s still work to be done.

“I am comfortable, but I feel like I still need to get a little bit better on my feet, as far as movement and hitting my fakes,” Clymer said. “So just a little bit more movement on my feet, and I’ll be ready for the postseason.

“But as of right now, I can’t really complain coming out of here still getting first. Just definitely keep working on my feet, and everything should come together nicely.”

An offensive-minded approach is something Northwestern head coach Jim Moll wants Clymer to have heading into the postseason.

“The more he opens up, the better he wrestles,” said Moll. “And that’s it. That’s all he’s gotta do. Clean up a few things, and he should have a real good shot at a state title.

“He still didn’t wrestle his best match, but he did enough to win. He didn’t open up as much as he should, but he did enough to win. And that’s always good, when you can win a match.”

After suffering his first loss of the season to Pottsville’s Nick Onea in last week’s Schuylkill League final, Newhall (28-1) rebounded with four impressive victories before edging Bauman (18-3) for the title.

Newhall had two technical falls, a pin and a decision before defeating Bauman.

“It meant a lot,” said Newhall, who placed seventh last season. “Districts is right around the corner, and this is a hard tournament to win.

“I’m very confident. I feel like I can do well in districts, and regionals, and states, and go far.”

Newhall led Bauman 2-0 after the first period, and never let the Crusaders’ freshman get to his offense in the final two periods.

“He beat the first-seeded kid (Sean Guinan of St. Joseph’s Prep 4-1 in the semifinals), so I figured he’d be pretty decent,” Newhall said. “I just tried to wrestle like I did before and take it to him,”

Newhall’s motivation was never lacking or in doubt. But a 4-2 loss to Onea last week might have been the jolt he needed to take another step forward – and continue his march to postseason glory.

“Number one, I’m very proud of him. He’s been a part of the program since day one,” said Jim Thorpe head coach Shawn Albert. “You have guys that go through your program that become family, so I’m very proud of how he’s doing right now.

“I think that Nick Onea match gave him even more confidence, and that was a closer match than really the score indicated. Coming into this weekend, I saw a much more focused John, and belief that he can win those real tough matches, and it showed today.”

Newhall got a 6-0 decision over Crestwood’s Trey Zabroski in the semifinals.

HAVE SOME HARDWARE … The following Times News area wrestlers finished the tournament in the top eight: Northwestern - Jackson Bernhard (152, third), Colin Rex (138, fourth), Jake Dellicker (106, fifth), Quinn Moyer (220, fifth), Bernhard (126, seventh) and Ryan Havercamp (170, eighth); Panther Valley - Tanner Kennedy (160, third), Hunter Kennedy (170, third) and Derrick Beckham (182, third); Tamaqua - Bronson Strouse (220, third), Pierce Demetriades (126, sixth) and Aaron Coccio (120, eighth); Northern Lehigh - Seth Fronheiser (132, fourth), Preston Bauer (120, sixth) and Dominic Bandle (220, eighth); Palmerton - Lucas Christman (145, fifth) and Matt Lalik (138, eighth); Jim Thorpe - Ethan Mordaunt (195, seventh) and Will Schwartz (106, eighth).

TEAM SCORES … Midd-West won the team title with 177 points. Northwestern was second in the 32-team tournament with 168.5 points. Panther Valley (81.5) was 13th, Tamaqua (81.0) 14th, Jim Thorpe (60.5) 20th, Palmerton (51.0) 23rd and Northern Lehigh (44.5) 25th. “We wrestled really hard. It’s a good tournament, a tough tournament with lots of teams and a lot of really good wrestlers. It’s good. It’s nice to get into a tournament where you’re going to get a bunch of matches – and a bunch of tough matches – because otherwise you go into the postseason not having that, and not being prepared for that. So that’s why we’re here,” said Moll.