EASTON - Pleasant Valley head coach Justin Micklos knew that if his Bears wrestling squad was to overcome an unfortunate start they were forced into, it would have to come from the bottom half of its lineup.

Those lightweights were able to come through with James Gehr, Jonathan Klein and Jason Jacobi logging 18 team points with three consecutive Pleasant Valley falls.But it turned out that giving up four forfeits in the first five bouts against Dieruff in Saturday's Eastern Pennsylvania Conference dual tournament was too much to overcome. In a matchup of No. 7 seeds on championship day, Dieruff edged Pleasant Valley, 45-36."The forfeits obviously killed us," Micklos said. "With that being said, all of the kids wrestled well…We went to 120 and James Gehr came up with a big pin. Then at 126 Jon Klein did the same thing. Jason Jacoby came through [with a pin] at 132."The run on pins tied the bout at 24-24, leaving the match a toss up with seven bouts remaining. And while the next bout at 138 wouldn't necessarily determine the outcome, it was likely the bout that turned the tide back over to the Huskies after Anthony Rosato pinned Pleasant Valley's Craig Choynowski late in the third period."I think 138 was a tough weight," Micklos said. "We gave up a little bit more points than we thought. But other than that the match went pretty well."Choynowski earned a reversal in the second period to trail Rosato at just 3-2. But a Rosato reversal turned into back points and eventually a Husky fall, their first of the afternoon.The two teams each earned a forfeit victory and a pin over the next four bouts, bringing the team score to 42-36 in favor of Dieruff with a bout remaining. And while Pleasant Valley's Trevor Dorn came up short in a double overtime decision 2-1 at 180 pounds, it was one of the more impressive Bear bouts of the match."In the upper weights, Garret Gouger wrestled very well," Micklos said. "And Trevor Dorn, even though he lost too, he wrestled a good match. We bumped him up, so he's giving up 12 pounds and that kid is a state qualifier."I was very impressed with him, especially giving up the amount of weight he was giving up."A FALL-FOR-ALL ... Of the seven contested bouts, six of those victories came via fall for either Dieruff or Pleasant Valley. Reyes' double overtime decision was the only bout that was not a forfeit or did not end by pin.LOOKING AHEAD ... After not qualifying for this week's district team duals, the Bears have a lengthy break before individual districts begin. The individual tournament is set for Feb. 26 and 27.FINISHING ON TOP ... Bethlehem Catholic continued to have its way in the EPC landscape. After an unbeaten 8-0 season in the conference, the Hawks defeated Nazareth, 40-9, in a matchup of the top-two seeded teams at Saturday's conference tournament.OTHER WINNERS ... Easton defeated Parkland 30-29, Liberty routed Emmaus 46-14, Stroudsburg downed Northampton 38-30, Freedom topped Allen 54-21, East Stroudsburg South defeated East Stroudsburg North, 39-32, Pocono Mountain West beat Pocono Mountain East, 42-30, and Whitehall downed against Central Catholic, 51-29.Dieruff 45, Pleasant Valley 36195 - Trent Thomas (PV) won by forfeit220 - Adam Roldon (D) won by forfeit285 - Shai Hines (D) won by forfeit106 - Joevanni Vazguez (D) won by forfeit113 - Gabriel Cruz (D) won by forfeit120 - James Gehr (PV) pinned Danny Berro in 1:49126 - Jonathan Klein (PV) pinned Jose Ramirez in 3:12132 - Jason Jacobi (PV) pinned Rafi Birro in 1:13138 - Anthony Rosato (D) pinned Craig Choynowski in 5:31145 - Joey Hamaii (D) won by forfeit152 - Ronald Nguyen (D) pinned Tyler Dorn in 4:29160 - Garrett Gouger (PV) pinned Ronnie Simmons in 4:48170 - Colby Frey (PV) won by forfeit182 - Jayden Reyes (D) dec. Trevor Dorn, 2-1 in tiebreaker