Freshman wrestler Gage McClenahan excels for Bald Eagle Area High

WINGATE — There were impressive underclassmen up and down both lineups in Bald Eagle Area’s 35-32 win over Penns Valley on Jan. 24.

Both schools have seasoned wrestling programs, and both are built for the long haul.

None of the underclassmen, however, have stood out this season quite as much as BEA freshman Gage McClenahan.

With his 6-5 victory over Jared Hurd in the PV meet, McClenahan raised his season record to 22-2. That record includes 10 pins and is the best one on the 11-4 Bald Eagles’ team.

Freshman or not, McClenahan is hardly new to wrestling, but at the same time, he’s grateful for the help he has been getting from his coaches and teammates in his first varsity season.

“I’ve been working since I was young,” McClenahan said. “I took a break, but I’m back and ready to go. Everyone is really helping me out, and it’s great. Everyone is helping me a lot, and I’m getting better every week.

“If I wrestle my style — mean and nasty, get after it, just go — I know I can beat anyone.”

That style and that attitude got McClenahan through one of the pivotal matches in BEA’s big win over the Rams.

The match against Hurd was the third of the night, and BEA scored pins in the first two to put up a 12-0 lead.

Hurd, an experienced senior, was an impressive 17-2 coming in to this match at 145, and both wrestlers knew that the Rams needed a win badly.

McClenahan got off to a 2-0 lead with a takedown in the first period and then extended that to 4-0 with a second-period reversal. Hurd countered and picked up two with a reversal, but McClenahan escaped and took a 5-2 lead into the third period.

Another Hurd reversal made it 5-4, but McClenahan escaped again and was able to ride out the match for a hard-fought, 6-5 win.

“Hurd is a stud,” McClenahan said, “and I knew I would have to wrestle my style if I wanted to win. I got a takedown early in the match and just kept working.

“He’s the first kid that reversed me twice in a match for a while. He surprised me when he reversed me the second time and it was 5-4. I just wrestled and wrestled until the whistle was blown.

“Good match. It was awesome.”

BEA went on to build a 20-0 from there, endured a furious PV comeback, and held on for the 35-32 win. In the end, every decision like McClenahan’s was important for the Eagles.

“We expected a lot from those (first two) guys and from Gage going at 145,” BEA coach Ron Guenot said. “Hurd is an exceptional wrestler, and that was a nice win for Gage.”

BEA now has just the Ultimate Warrior Tournament at West Branch on Friday, Jan. 27, and Saturday, Jan. 28, before the District 6 tournament Saturday, Feb. 25. The regional and state championships will follow in March.

McClenahan is planning to be as well prepared as possible for wherever the post season takes him.  

“I just have to keep getting better every week,” he said, “and keep progressing. Do big and better things.

“I just hope our team can go on to districts and do well, and if we keep working and our chemistry stays together we should keep progressing.”