Thursday night recap

Thursday was a big night in terms of a big schedule and a huge matchup - Bedford at Chestnut Ridge - and a couple of milestone victories. 

Unfortunately, the Bedford County battle did not live up to the hype, as the Bisons steamrolled their way to a 41-4 and a 59-16 victory. You can read my story on it in The Tribune-Democrat.
Meanwhile, Conemaugh Township's Cory Berchick and Central Cambria's Tony Risaliti each joined the century club last night, becoming the third and fourth local wrestlers to earn their 100th win this season. Westmont Hilltop's Ryan Burnheimer and Forest Hills' R.J. Brydon were the other two.
Berchick's victory was especially notable because he became the Indians' first 100-match winner in 15 years - the last to do it was Chris Speranza in 1996 - and only the fifth all time. The others were Mike Gavin and Matt Cuppett (both in 1994) and John Mastillo (1985).
Risaliti 100th victory was impressive because he had to have his reconstructive surgery on his knee in July. The fact that he's not only wrestling but wrestling well says a lot about Risaliti's drive and determination.

Bedford 59, Chestnut Ridge 16 

106-Jake Warren, B, pinned Sam Shank, 3:24.
113-Ryan Easter, B, pinned Dustin Ickes, :17.
120-Garrett Thomas, B, pinned Derreck Claar, 1:54.
126-Toby Brett, B, dec. Trent Crouse, 11-10.
132-Caleb Grimes, B, maj. dec. Zach Etterman, 9-0.
138-Zach Dudek, B, pinned Colby Hillegass, 4:30.
145-Shane Pfaunmiller, CR, maj. dec. Devin Clark, 11-2.
152-Tanner Williams, B, pinned Kyle Winegardner, 3:59.
160-Josiah Koontz, B, maj. dec. Bradie Bollman, 14-3.
170-Cody Yingling, B, pinned Kavan Holderbaum, 5:03.
182-Tyler Dibert, CR, pinned Dylan Evans, 2:59.
195-Michael Brett, B, pinned Luke Fochtman, 4:16.
220-Jacob Krupa, B, pinned Dan Albright, 5:17.
285-Austin Buttry, CR, pinned Justin Easter, 2:31.
Records: Bedford 4-0. Chestnut Ridge 4-1.

Analysis: There were some surprises here, and none of them went in Chestnut Ridge's favor. I thought 106 would be a close match that could go either way, but once Jake Warren pinned Sam Shank, it was all downhill for the home team.
Ridge's Trent Crouse showed the ability to battle back from a 7-0 deficit to take an 8-7 lead before finally falling to Toby Brett.
"He's a scrapper," Chestnut Ridge coach Greg Lazor said of his freshman. "He battles his heart out. He needs some work on his technique, obviously. If we can put some excellent technique along with that heart, he's going to be a real tough character."
Shane Pfaunmiller couldn't pick up the big bonus points that his team needed at 145 and Bradie Bollman, who I had penciled in for a win, got majored by Josiah Koontz.
The Chestnut Ridge fans, who came into the night thinking their team might be able to knock off their heated rivals, sat in stunned silence for much of the night.
"They took it to us from the start and it just snowballed," Lazor said.

Conemaugh Township 63, Shade 9 

138-Taylor Cahill, CT, pinned Adam Hutzell, 4:47.
145-Tanner Cahill, CT, forfeit.
152-Cory Berchick, CT, pinned James Kostick, 2:16.
160-Wolf Otten, S, pinned Ryan Grosik, 2:21.
170-Matthew Orner, S, dec. Jusdan Griffith, 2-1.
182-Andrew Gowarty, CT, pinned Bradley Goodin, 4:40.
195-Kyle Drenner, CT, pinned John Baublitz, :14.
220-Luke Gindlesperger, CT, forfeit.
285-Nick Holsopple, CT, pinned Michael Ohler, :09.
106-No match.
113-Kody Ofsanko, CT, pinned Joe Pakstis, 3:09.
120-Mickey Sanders, CT, dec. Mike Manges, 6-3.
126-Casey Berchick, CT, pinned David Dietz, 1:13.
132-Matt Bridge, CT, forfeit.
Records: Conemaugh Township 3-0. Shade 0-2.

Analysis: Berchick's milestone aside, not too much of note here. Joe Pakstis wrestling 113 was a bit of a surprise. From what I understand, he weighed in around 108, so it would seem that he'll still be a 106-pounder at the end of the season.

Mount Union 61, Central Cambria 18 

132-Ben Rager, CC, pinned Cord Aurand, 2:29.
138-Tyler Long, MU, pinned Cordale Kline, 1:30.
145-Derek Tress, MU, pinned Kevin Bednar, 1:48.
152-Dylan Smith, MU, pinned Brad Zeman, :49.
160-Tony Risaliti, CC, pinned Cole Boozel, 4:49.
170-Cory Kylor, MU, maj. dec. Luke Kozorosky, 17-4.
182-Phil Kyle, MU, pinned Calvin Crow, 1:24.
195-Darrian Stapleton, MU, forfeit.
220-Kai House, MU, dec. Luke Zearing, 1-0.
285-Nik Smith, MU, pinned Evan Sokira, 3:08.
106-Sage Moist, MU, forfeit.
113-Brad Taylor, CC, pinned Tyler Foor, 4:59.
120-Dylan Knable, MU, pinned Justin Jeffers, 1:48.
126-Ryan Wilson, MU, pinned Colton Makin, 1:12.
Records: Mount Union 4-0. Central Cambria 3-4.

Analysis: Tony Risaliti was the story here, and not just because he got his 100th win. It was how he did it. From speaking with Central Cambria coach Bob Nikolishen, he said that Risaliti was winning something like 12-2 when he pinned Boozel. Nikolishen described it as "like two squirrels going at it in the front yard." (How did I not use that quote in the paper?) Whatever it's like, that's a dominating performance for the fourth-ranked guy in the state (Risaliti) and the 11th-ranked one (Boozel).

Westmont Hilltop 78, Penn Cambria 5 

195-Eric Kowalewski, WH, pinned Nick Geisbrecht, :37.
220-Don Shovestull, WH, pinned Johnathan Wilkinson, :56.
285-Josh Duplin, WH, pinned Seth McLendon, 3:25.
106-Drake Dorian, WH, forfeit.
113-Logan Blackburn, WH, pinned Nathan Gates, :57.
120-Stephen Zipf, WH, pinned Zach Rhone-Hatch, :51.
126-Nick Mical, W, forfeit.
132-Mike Walsh, WH, pinned Mike Eckenrode, 2:35.
138-Nick Szala, PC, tech. fall Travis Kushner, 3:43.
145-Ian Helsel, WH, pinned Matt Wyland, 1:59.
152-Tanner Patton, WH, pinned Henry Spangler, 3:29.
160-Jonah Cramer, WH, forfeit.
170-Colin Barron, WH, forfeit.
182-Ryan Burnheimer, WH, pinned Henry Schlosser, 1:06.

Analysis: In what's looking like a very difficult year for a Penn Cambria team that has been good for the past few years, things got even tougher. In a week that featured matches with two of the best teams in the Laurel Highlands with Somerset and Westmont, the Panthers were without one of their best wrestlers in Jon Stoy, who is sick. In both cases, Nick Szala was the lone bright spot for Penn Cambria. At least now Stoy will have a couple of weeks to rest up before the Panthers' next competition.

Richland 64, Ligonier Valley 17 

220-John Rizzo, R, forfeit.
285-Matt Moose, R, pinned Mark Ebberts, 1:33.
106-Justin Patrick, LV, tech.f all Adam George, 16-0.
113-Steve Rouser, R, forfeit.
120-Justin Cinko, R, forfeit.
126-Dan Croyle, LV, pinned Marcus McKool, 1:37.
132-Tyler Smith, LV, pinned Eric Seth, 1:09.
138-Nick Naglic, R, dec. Derek Croyle, 9-0.
145-Dan Devan, R, pinned Don Davis, 3:31.
152-Mac Long, R, pinned Dylan Youngblood, 1:26.
160-Niko Pecora, R, forfeit.
170-Elizah Metzger, R, pinned Jeremy Withrow, :52.
182-Mike Merriman, R, forfeit.
195-Killian Snopko, R, pinned Dakota Peters, 2:33.
Record: Richland 3-0.

Analysis: Speaking of teams being without top guys, Ligonier Valley took another hit this week. The Rams reportedly lost Josh Patrick - a fourth-place winner at states a year ago - to a dislocated elbow. No word on how long he's going to be out, but that's obviously a huge loss for Ligonier Valley, which is also without Joey Puschnigg, and for wrestling in our area. Would have loved to have seen Patrick in a weight class with Nick Roberts and Jason Nolf next week at the Southmoreland tournament. Unfortunately, it looks like that won't happen now.

Somerset 58, Greater Johnstown 18 

138-Malcolm Harris, S, pinned Mike Laue, 4:46.
145-Landon Lohr, S, pinned Jacob Gittens, 2:35.
152-William Leeth, GJ, dec. Josh Darr, 5-2.
160-Michael Sutton, S, pinned Jesaiah Wilson, 1:37.
170-Logan Eller, S, forfeit.
182-Jacob Nickelson, S, forfeit.
195-Kawan Butcher, GJ, pinned Jon Baer, 1:33.
220-Jerimiah Mitchell, GJ, dec. Patrick Blough, 3-2.
285-Jake Hayman, S, pinned Raymond Beauregard, :17.
106-Garret Foster, S, pinned Madison Lima-Tanaka, 2:25.
113-Damian Jano, S, forfeit.
120-Sheldon Wagner, S, maj. dec. Malik Walker, 14-5.
126-Tyler Walker, S, forfeit.
132-Jon Fabian, S, forfeit.

Analysis: Somerset is a very good team. I think we all know that by now. But give Johnstown credit for some impressive wins. Malcolm Harris pinned a good wrestler in Mike Laue and William Leeth beat another one in Josh Darr. And Kawan Butcher pinning Jon Baer (via headlock) definitely surprised me, as did Jeremiah Mitchell's 3-2 victory over Patrick Blough. Another thrashing of an LHAC foe by Somerset, but some good individual performances by Johnstown. If injuries and academic issues hadn't devastated the Trojans this month, this could have been a lot closer.

Blairsville 60, Forest Hills 13

I didn't get a report on this one, but I was able to find the full box score here. Blairsville's the class of the Heritage Conference and might make some noise in District 6. The biggest thing I noticed in this was that R.J. Brydon still wasn't in the Forest Hills lineup. From what I hear, he has a thumb injury. No word on how long he'll be out.