CHAMBERSBURG — Almost, but not quite.

Chambersburg opened its Mid Penn Commonwealth Division schedule Thursday night against perennial powerhouse Cumberland Valley and came this close to pulling off a win.

The Eagles broke to a 24-11 lead, but had to overcome a 33-30 deficit in the final bout to pull out a 36-33 victory in the CASHS Auxillary Gym.

Freshman Jacob Lucas put CV over the top with a pin in 4:54 over Zae Kirk.

“I still think our best 14 are better than their best 14,” Chambersburg coach Matt Mentzer said, “but injuries and sickness are things you can’t control. I thought our kids wrestled really hard against a talented group of kids.”

The Trojans (2-1, 0-1 MPC) had three starters out — one with an injury and two with skin conditions. And that made it extra difficult to catch the Eagles (1-0, 1-0 MPC).

However, Chambersburg did win 8 of the 14 bouts. CV made up the difference by notching four pins and a pair of forfeits to get a maximum of 6 points in each win.

Mentzer said, “We thought we had five matches that would be close, and we figured we had to win three of them — and we did. But the two we didn’t win gave up bonus points, so it kind of wiped that out.”

In those five bouts, the Trojans got a pin from Wyatt Hull at 285, a major from Cole Grove at 126 on a four-point move from his feet in the final 6 seconds, and a 6-5 decision by Anthony Colangelo at 120.

But Mentzer could point to three other matches in which Chambersburg was close to extra points and could not close the deal.

At 182, Luke Nichter settled for a quick 16-1 technical fall in 2:38, just missing a pin. At 138, Spencer Runshaw was within a takedown of a major, but ended up with an 8-3 decision. And at 160, Drake Brenize was up 10-2 with less than 40 seconds left, but his decision to let Matt Barrick up and try for another takedown came up short and he won 10-3.

Mentzer said, “For us to be an elite team — and I think we can be — we can’t miss out on those chances to get bonus points, and we can’t give them up, either.”

The Trojans’ Carson Mello won perhaps the night’s most exciting bout at 152. He led CV’s Jacob Hart 6-2 with time winding down. Hart broke free for an escape, then tried a desperation headlock in the final seconds. He took Mello down, but the official ruled the clock had run out before any back points were earned.

The noise and atmosphere in the old gym made for an electric feel to the match.

“It was a good night of wrestling for Chambersburg,” Mentzer said. “A lot of people were here and it was a good match.”

Cumberland Valley 36, Chambersburg 33
182 — Luke Nichter (Ch) tf Quinn Bonney, 16-1, 2:38; 195 — Lukas Wandling (CV) won by forfeit; 220 — Austin Kupko (CV) won by forfeit; 285 — Wyatt Hull (Ch) p Quincy Thomas, 4:55; 106 — Ruston Dzielak (CV) p Tyler Smith, 1:33; 113 — Ben Monn (CV) p Will Sharrar, 2:45; 120 — Anthony Colangelo (Ch) d Hunter Arbogast, 6-5; 126 — Cole Grove (Ch) md Cade Reichart, 10-2; 132 — Russell Zimmerman (CV) p Seth Runshaw, 4:45; 138 — Spencer Runshaw (Ch) d Jacob McKenzie, 8-3; 145 — Tate Nichter (Ch) p Mason Viehman, 1:02; 152 — Carson Mello (Ch) d Jacob Hart, 6-5; 160 — Drake Brenize (Ch) d Matt Barrick, 10-3; 170 — Jacob Lucas (CV) p Zae Kirk, 4:54.