Sometimes, you just can’t get enough sports.
Sure, my weekly responsibilities send me all over Northwestern Pennsylvania, from crowded gyms to muddy sidelines and everything in between. What’s better than getting a front-row view to some of the biggest high school games around the area?
I don’t have a great answer to that question, other than getting to see some of the area’s finest athletes showcase their talent on major college stages (literally) and be important cogs on their respective teams. To do this, I took advantage of some non-winter weather over the weekend and went on a mini-odyssey to Clarion University for a two-day adventure into collegiate athletics.
First up, my mom and I made the venture into Tippin Gymnasium to watch the Golden Eagles host Indiana University of Pennsylvania. With State System schools still on their winter break, the crowd was sparse and may have even been smaller than the 200 announced attendance for the men’s game.
“Oh, so you only went to watch your alma mater beat up on the last-place team in the division?” some naysayers might question.
Not so fast. How often does a top-10 team, albeit in Division II, play a game less than an hour from home? It also served as a good opportunity to again watch Clarion’s Cameron Grumley on the hardwood.
Grumley, a 2014 Johnsonburg graduate who teamed with current St. Bonaventure pitcher Cole Peterson to lead the Rams to a state runner-up trophy in basketball and state championship in baseball, is the Golden Eagles’ (5-13) starting point guard. He averages 13.5 points and 3.2 assists per game, both good for second on the team. Most impressively, however, might be his shooting clips: 45.6 percent from the floor and 96.6 (56-for-58) from the foul line.
Against then-16-2 IUP, which just moved to No. 6 in this week’s coaches poll, the going wasn’t quite as easy. The Crimson Hawks used long-range shooting and a pressure defense to stifle the Clarion offense on their way to a 70-52 win.
There were bright spots, however, for Grumley and Clarion. Most notably was when IUP had a side out-of-bounds play in their own backcourt and a streaking Crimson Hawk player caught a pass for a sure layup. Grumley trailed the play and perfectly timed the shot attempt, swatting away the shot in LeBron James-like fashion.
Day Two’s event was something I was really looking forward to, moreso from an aesthetic point of view than from the actual sports aspect. Clarion, which wrestles at the Division-I level, hosting Michigan State seemed like a big enough event in itself, but the Golden Eagles program instead tried out something different by hosting the meet on the stage of the university’s main auditorium.
Throwdown at the Theater, dubbed “a one-of-a-kind wrestling event,” had all the normal stops of a regular meet, but this one featured an elevated vantage point and balcony seating.
Evan DeLong, a 2014 Kane High graduate and former state champion at 170 pounds, is now in his junior campaign and entered his match Sunday against Spartan Drew Hughes with a 13-6 record.
DeLong and Hughes battled for the better part of two scoreless periods, then DeLong was in the bottom position for the third period while Hughes struggled to keep him down. Hughes earned a late point to come away with the narrow 1-0 victory, while Michigan State won the match.
DeLong may have lost his match, but I think everyone in that auditorium came away as winners because of the uniqueness of the setup, which I hope could someday spread to a high school in the coverage area.
And as far as how my mini-odyssey went? It wasn’t so bad.
What’s better than getting a front-row view to some of the best student-athletes the area?
