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The stars were aligned for the Bisons, who made quick work of its pool opponents to reach the finals where they held off a game Montoursville squad, 37-34. The win in the finals not only gave Clearfield its historic 700th win but also was Aveni's 100th at the helm of the Bisons. Aveni took over his alma mater just after the Bisons hit the last century mark at 600 wins.
The milestone keeps Clearfield among the state's elite when it comes to wrestling programs. The Bisons are the tenth school to reach 700 wins and currently have a 700-194-9 record. Clearfield is the third school to accomplish the feat this season as Nazareth and Greenville beat the Bisons to 700 wins. Greenville is lone Class AA school to reach the mark.
Canon-McMillan leads the state in all-time dual meet wins with more than 940. Other programs to go over 700 wins include Waynesburg, Easton, Bethlehem Liberty, Trinity, Northampton and Manheim Central.
The finals win also made Aveni just the third coach in school history to reach the century mark in wins (100-45).
All the celebration was made possible by a nice win over Montoursville in the finals.
Clearfield (10-0) won seven of the first 10 bouts in the finals to build a 37-15 advantage. The Bisons got pins from Shane Harper, Derek Danver, Logan Shadeck, Shane Peters and Christian Stone, while Andrew Hill had a major decision to open the night.
All those bonus points proved to be important for Clearfield as Montoursville staged a thrilling comeback bid. The Warriors won the final four bouts, two by fall, but couldn't quite overcome the big lead Clearfield built.
Clearfield reached the finals with wins over Bradford (56-18), Port Allegany (51-22), General McLane (44-20) and Reading (56-21).
Peters, Danver and Logan Shadeck all went 5-0 on the day. Peters and Shadeck each had four pins, while Danver had three. Stone, Nolan Barger, Kodie Lowder, Cliff Hill and Andre Buck all went 4-1 while Shane Harper was 3-2. Stone, Lowder and Shadeck all had four pins and Cliff Hill posted three falls.
Johnsonburg and Curwensville also were in attendance. The Rams went 3-2 and beat Reading, 36-33, for seventh place, while Curwensville was 1-4 with its lone win being a 45-17 victory over Keystone for 11th place in the 12-team event.
Clearfield travels to St. Marys Tuesday, while Johnsonburg (12-6) goes to Ridgway the same day. Curwensville (4-11) travels to Brookville Tuesday.
