Picking up a little extra steam with each passing round, Cumberland Valley advanced to the third round of the PIAA Class AAA Team Wrestling Championships Friday night.
The Eagles wrestled smart, disciplined and used several strong third periods to subdue District 10 champion McDowell 38-21 at Giant Center.
Cumberland Valley (18-2) won eight of 14 matches against the Trojans. But when it came to bonus points, the Eagles dominated.
“Our first match last night we were not crisp at all,” Cumberland Valley coach Dave Heckard said. “Every match we’re getting better. We had a little more energy tonight, and showed more fight.”
Next up for the Eagles is District 1 runner-up Spring-Ford on Saturday morning.
Sophomore Dayne Ross had the first of several big third periods for the Eagles at 170 pounds – the third bout of the match that started at 152 with a pin by Eagles’ T.C. Warner in 67 seconds.
Ross was in a 2-2 deadlock with McDowell’s Joseph Campanella. And escape and a takedown by Ross in a dominating third period led to a 5-3 decision to give the Eagles a 9-3 lead they never relinquished.
The other standout third period came from freshman Will Kaldes at 106 pounds. Tied with Gabe Stoler 2-2 after two periods, Kaldes built a 7-2 lead in the third before pinning Stoler with 8 seconds remaining for three monster bonus points.
“Will is tough. He keeps moving,” Heckard said. “He didn’t coast and kept going. And that’s what I want.”
In addition to Warner and Kaldes, Jackson Stanford also registered a victory by pin for CV and Patrick Duggan and Cal Reichart registered major decisions.
McDowell had only one victory where it tacked on bonus points.
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