Carolina seems to be on the mind of a number of Pennsylvania wrestling fans.
Johnstown-area wrestlers are making a big impact for both the University of North Carolina and Duke wrestling teams.
I've already documented Evan Henderson's strong start to the season in The Tribune-Democrat. The thing is, when I wrote that the former United wrestler and New Florence native couldn't have dreamed up a better start to his college career, I didn't realize how much better it would get. After earning a share of the ACC Wrestler of the Week award for his 5-0 start at the Hokie Open, Henderson was simply dominant in the Wrestle for a Cure Duals on Saturday in Harrisburg. The true freshman went 4-0 with four falls in the event.
How's that for a good day?
Henderson wasn't doing it against weak competition, either. The "worst" team that the Tar Heels took on was Boston University, which is ranked 36th by Intermat. Henderson pinned the Terriers' Peter Ishiguro in 35 seconds!
Against Nebraska, which is tied for 26th in the national rankings, Henderson needed to go to the second period (but only 23 seconds of it) to pin Jake Sueflohn.
I haven't been able to locate how long it took Henderson to pin of Tucker Armstrong of Illinois, but a pin is a pin, especially when it comes against a team that is tied for ninth in the rankings like the Illini.
But Henderson saved his best for last. He pinned Hunter Stieber of No. 11 Ohio State in just 1:31. Not only was Stieber, another true freshman, listed higher in the recruiting rankings, he is No. 15 in Intermat's ranking of 141-pounders. Henderson has now beaten the No. 15-ranked wrestler twice in a week. (The first was North Carolina State's Darius Little in the finals of the Hokie Open).
Henderson, who entered Saturday 18th at 141, seems destined to shoot up the rankings after his amazing start.
The same can't be said for his team, which went 0-4 in Harrisburg. Henderson's win over Stieber was the Tar Heels' only victory against the Buckeyes. They won just won one other match against Illinois, two others against Boston and three more against Nebraska.
North Carolina sure could use the skills that Westmont Hilltop graduate Zac Bennett provided last season, when he captured the ACC title and won a match at nationals. Unfortunately, the 197-pounder recently had surgery and probably won't return to the lineup until January.
Considering 149-pounder Joe Burns went 1-3 on Saturday, North Carolina likely could have used Robert Henderson, Evan's twin brother, as well. But Robert has had some medical issues of his own and is expected to redshirt this season.
Tar Heels coach C.D. Mock had made recruiting Pennsylvania a priority - which isn't a surprise considering he was a PIAA champion at Council Rock North - and having Keystone State legend Cary Kolat on his staff certainly doesn't hurt.
North Carolina was interested in Richland heavyweight John Rizzo, but the two-time PIAA champion has his heart set on playing college football. The Tar Heels were reportedly going to let Rizzo walk on to the football team if he agreed to wrestle for them.
But, as Joe Tuscano reported yesterday, North Carolina has now inked Canon-McMillan heavyweight Cody Klempay.
Rizzo, who is ranked as the nation's fifth-best heavyweight prospect, isn't expected to make a decision any time soon.
Another District 6 wrestler is quickly making an impact just down the road from Chapel Hill, in Durham, N.C. Like Henderson, Westmont Hilltop grad Tanner Hough won his first tournament as a college wrestler.Wrestling unattached, Hough was dominant in Charleston, S.C., last weekend. Oddly enough, he started his career against a familiar face - Claysburg-Kimmel graduate Cole Claar, who is wrestling for Georgia's Darton College. Hough beat Claar 13-3 in the first round, the first of his three major decisions on the day.
He added a pair of falls, including one over Belmont-Abbey's Eric Tozzi with a second left in their championship match.
Hough will be looking for a second consecutive tournament title today when the Blue Devils compete in the Wolfpack Open at North Carolina State, but he won't get an opportunity to wrestle Evan Henderson on Jan. 9 when Duke visits North Carolina, as he is redshirting this season.
He's far from the only Hilltopper in a college wrestling room. Josh Polacek, is a freshman 125-pounder at No. 9 Maryland who is injured, while Westmont grad Trevor Kushner is a still trying to recover from a serious knee injury at West Virginia. T.J. Keklak is a 157-pounder with No. 25 Kent State, and a sixth former Hilltopper, 165-pounder senior Mike Brant, is wrestling for Navy.
While there are no Johnstown-area wrestlers currently competing for Pitt or Penn State, both kick off their dual-meet season this weekend. No. 18 Pitt did it in style, beating No. 6 Lehigh on the road Saturday night. The two-time defending EWL champions built a 15-0 lead, then held on for the 18-16 victory at Grace Hall. You can watch the entire match here for $6.95.
The Panthers won't have long to enjoy the victory, as they visit Drexel at 1 this afternoon.
No. 2 Penn State will hit the mats an hour later. After an extremely difficult week in State College - which followed a problem-filled offseason for the defending NCAA champs - the Nittany Lions must be ready to do what they do best: Wrestle for coach Cael Sanderson. Bloomsburg, which lost 41-3 a year ago, will be a decided underdog. The most interesting match will be at 157 pounds, where PSU's No. 12 Dylan Alton is set to face No. 14 Frank Hickman. The Nittany Lions have eight wrestlers ranked in the top 20 according to Intermat. Derek Reber (133 pounds) and Sam Sherlock or Bryan Pearsall (141) will be the only Nittany Lions to hit the mat unranked.
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