The Fred Bell Wrestling Tournament is one of western Pennsylvania’s toughest individual competitions. General McLane won the 40th annual Fred Bell Wrestling Tournament.
McLane’s 187.5 points bested runner-up Penns Valley’s 182. Host Grove City was third with 163.5 points while Cranberry and Pine-Richland rounded out the top five in a field of 477 wrestlers from teams from five different PIAA districts, two states and both PIAA classifications.
Second-place finishes by Magnus Lloyd (189 pounds) and Ryan Dedrick (215) paced the Lancers.
“To have a team championship without a tournament champion isn’t the way you plan it out, but it shows our team depth,” Cook said. “Our team is wrestling really well right now and coming together. Those little things we’ve kept working on all year long, they worked for us today.”
In tournament format, Saturday provided a confidence boost for the Lancers. General McLane will soon be tested in dual meet format.
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“This is a great tournament to win,” General McLane head coach Ryan Cook said. “This is the best tournament in District 10 year in and out. They do a great job of running the tournament and bring in some really good teams.”
The 133-pound bracket at Fred Bell was as deep as any. Hunter Gould of Conneaut topped Cyrus Hurd of North East 4-1 in the final after Hurd edged Grove City’s Hudson Hohman in the semis.
“It’s a tough match and I’ll see (Hurd) down the road a bunch of times, but I look forward to the rivalry every time I get it and I felt good about that win,” said Gould, a senior.
Titusville’s Issac Roberts won the 107-pound championship with a technical fall in the finals. Sharpsville’s Caullin Summers set a school record during the tournament, hitting 120 career wins to pass head coach Tim Findley’s previous record of 119.
Cathedral Prep topped a 13-team field at the Frank Ferguson Brooke Classic at Brooke High School in West Virginia. Keagan Oler won the team’s lone individual title at 126 pounds, turning in a 13-5 major decision over Zander Ward from John Marshall (W.V.) in the finals.
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Aiden Carter (106 pounds), Gabe Dorman (144) and Jaden Crockett (165) each finished second for Prep. The Ramblers’ 210 team points placed them far ahead of runner-up Spring Mills, W.V. (181 points) and third-place Fox Chapel (168.5).
Reynolds won West Branch’s Ultimate Warrior Tournament, its 182 points topping a notoriously strong field of 44 teams. Waylon Waite (114 pounds) and Louie Gill (121) each won an individual championship for the Raiders and Logan Stewart was second at 127. Hickory finished 14th as a team, paced by Dylan O’Brien’s runner-up finish at 133.
District 10 duals begin Wednesday with the Class 2A preliminary round and continue Thursday with the Class 3A duals at Hagerty Family Events Center. Twelve teams populate this season’s 2A bracket, including four which received a bye into Saturday’s quarterfinals at Sharon: Reynolds, Fort LeBoeuf, Corry and General McLane.
Four preliminary-round duals will be wrestled Wednesday. No. 5 Greenville hosts No. 12 North East, No. 6 Grove City hosts No. 11 Cambridge Springs, No. 7 Titusville hosts No. 10 Saegertown and No. 8 Sharpsville hosts No. 9 Commodore Perry.
Fred Bell Finals 2022
Hamilton Wins Historic Title
Cody Hamilton’s 5-3 victory over Ty Watson of Penns Valley gave Grove City its first Fred Bell champion since 2012. Their last? Grove City head coach Wes Phipps.
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“It feels really nice seeing all the hard work pay off,” said Hamilton, a 152-pound junior. “I stayed composed (in the first period) and tried not to give up any stupid positions or takedowns because I knew I’d find a way to take him down in the second period. I really just try to have fun with the sport. I think it’s fun getting into interesting positions and funks, so that’s how I like to wrestle.”
Hamilton was awarded co-Most Outstanding Wrestler for the tournament, an honor he shared with 215-pound champion Brenan Morgan of Central Valley. Tanner Hamilton (114 pounds) and Hunter Hohman (172) each finished second for the Eagles.
“Kudos to (Hamilton), who wrestled a really tough kid who was ranked ahead of him in the state,” Phipps said. “We’ve built the program up to where we want to - three returning state medalists and a lot of other guys stepped up. That’s why we’re seeded sixth in the (D-10) duals and having success like we are."
“It’s not just the guys in the finals, it’s the guys who come back and get pins in the consolation bracket. They’re a team of fighters who have all bought into what we’re trying to do here.”
Here is a summary of notable match results from the tournament:
- Paxton Newell (Kiski Area) won by tech.
- Kael Kimmy (North East) won by tech.
- David Dominguez-Ashton (Union City) won by tech.
- Nathan Steger (Ridgway) won by tech.
- Graeson Harris (Erie McDowell) dec.
- Connor Naser (Grove City) dec.
- Joshua Mitcham (Union City) won by tech.
Table: 40th Annual Fred Bell Wrestling Tournament Results (Championship Finals)
| Weight Class | Winner | Result | Loser |
|---|---|---|---|
| 107 pounds | Issac Roberts (Titusville) | Tech. Fall 19-4 [4:44] | Adrian Torres (Southwestern, N.Y.) |
| 114 | Dalton Wenner (Cranberry) | Pinned 3:38 | Tanner Hamilton (Grove City) |
| 121 | Antonio Boni (Central Valley) | Decision 3-2 [TB2] | Dom Canali (Trinity) |
| 127 | Lucas Barr (McGuffey) | Pinned 3:02 | Elijah Brosius (Cranberry) |
| 133 | Hunter Gould (Conneaut) | Decision 4-1 | Cyrus Hurd (North East) |
| 139 | Blake Reihner (Trinity) | Decision 9-3 | Dominic Ferraro (Pine-Richland) |
| 145 | Liam Costa (Moon) | Decision 2-1 | Brody Beck (Cambridge Springs) |
| 152 | Cody Hamilton (Grove City) | Decision 5-3 | Ty Watson (Penns Valley) |
| 160 | Reece Bechakas (Kane) | Decision 6-5 | Mac Miller (Pine-Richland) |
| 172 | Vaughn Spencer (Pine-Richland) | Decision 5-4 | Hunter Hohman (Grove City) |
| 189 | Tavio Hoose (Southwestern, N.Y.) | Decision 2-1 [TB2] | Magnus Lloyd (General McLane) |
| 215 | Brenan Morgan (Central Valley) | Pinned 1:20 | Ryan Dedrick (General McLane) |
| 285 | Daniel Williams (Glendale) | Pinned 2:54 | Casey Wilson (Laurel) |
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