The Semifinal 12/19

First Period

Stars and studs: It's not often that a second-place finish will land you at the top of this list, but it's also rare for a local team to compete in a tournament like the Beast of the East. Yes, some local squads have participated in the POWERade tournament - Westmont still does - but I think the Beast of the East is even better. For Richland's John Rizzo to finish second at 220 shows just how good he is. Yes, he's won a pair of PIAA Class AA titles, but I believe his run to the finals in Newark, Del., this weekend was even more impressive than either of those. Rizzo knocked off the seventh-ranked wrestler in the nation at 220 and was a stalling point away from taking the second-ranked one to overtime. ... Forest Hills 160-pounder Cody Law has been coming on strong for more than a year, but his high point might have been Saturday's 10-7 victory over Central Cambria's Tony Risaliti. Law went right after his frequent practice partner in the finals of the Sheetz Holiday Classic, and his persistence paid off. After missing out on a trip to states last season, Law looks like he's ready to find a spot on the podium in Hershey come March. ... I said in this feature last week that Ligonier Valley's Josh Patrick should have won the the Outstanding Wrestler award at Conemaugh Township. On Saturday, his younger brother, Justin, did just that at Penn Cambria. He won a solid weight class that included Forest Hills' Tristan Law (whom he beat 8-3 in the semifinals), Trinity's Devon Bently and Hempfield's Rick Vacallo (whom he beat 5-0 for the championship). ... An honorable mention should go to Altoona freshman D.J. Hollingshead. Even though he's not in my coverage area and he finished second, Hollingshead was very impressive in Cresson. Not only did he knock of returning state placewinner Josh Patrick (although I heard the reversal that resulted in the 2-1 victory was iffy at best), he proved his mettle by hanging with Trinity's Ryan Diehl in the finals. The match was tied at 2 in the third before Diehl, the Super 32 champion, came up with a five-point move for the victory.

Upset-minded: It wasn't necessarily a surprise that Bedford had four placewinners and finished in 14th place at the King of the Mountain tournament on Saturday. What did catch my attention is that the list of placewinners didn't include Garret Thomas but instead Tanner Williams. After going 17-13 last season, Williams is off to a solid start this year. First, he avenged a loss to Westmont's Tanner Patton as the Bisons did the same, and then came his placement at Central Mountain.

Second Period

On deck: This week's schedule can't live up to the standard set last week, but few will. With Christmas coming up this weekend, the schedule is very light. Here's a look at what The Tribune-Democrat has on its schedule for the next seven days:

TuesdayCentral Cambria at Bedford, 7 p.m.
Meyersdale at Berlin Brothersvalley, 7 p.m.
Chestnut Ridge at Claysburg-Kimmel, 7 p.m.
Portage at Central, 7 p.m.
Richland at Greater Johnstown, 7 p.m.
Somerset at Penn Cambria, 7 p.m.
Conemaugh Township at United, 7 p.m.
Forest Hills at Westmont Hilltop, 7 p.m.

ThursdayForest Hills at Blairsville, 7 p.m.
Mount Union at Central Cambria, 7 p.m.
Bedford at Chestnut Ridge, 7 p.m.
Shade at Conemaugh Township, 7 p.m.
Penn Cambria at Westmont Hilltop, 7 p.m.
Ligonier Valley at Richland, 7:30 p.m.

Meyersdale at Berlin and Chestnut Ridge at Claysburg-Kimmel are the two most interesting duals on Tuesday night while the Lions will be back in the spotlight on Thursday with rival Bedford visiting for a dual that is always highly anticipated. Also, on Thursday, Conemaugh Township's Cory Berchick could be going for his 100th career victory.

Third Period

I already covered this in Monday's editions of The Tribune-Democrat, but what Berlin Brothersvalley has done in the past three years is truly remarkable. In the 2008, the Mountaineers had just five wrestlers on the varsity wrestler - four after a knee injury ended Trace Heffner's season in December . They finished last in the Sheetz Holiday Classic and went 0-14 in dual meets. In Heffner's senior season, Berlin finished second in the tournament and had 10 placewinners.
It's a good story not just because it's my alma mater and there are plenty of good people in Berlin. It's a story that we all should be celebrating. Wrestling faces plenty of obstacles - from student-athletes that no longer want to make the kind of commitment that the sport requires to college programs that are constantly on the chopping block because of Title IX to a lack of professional wrestlers that can serves as role models for youngsters.
I don't have any statistical proof of this, but it seems to me that many local schools have made great strides in filling their lineups over the past few years. Whether it's just a cyclical phenomenon or a testament to the growing popularity of mixed martial arts and wrestling's impact on it, we can all celebrate how Berlin has bounced back.