District 5 tournament preview and predictions

Disclaimer: These picks are all made in good fun and are not meant to discredit any of the competitors. Best of luck to all.

The rumors are getting louder and louder that this might be the last year for the District 5 tournament at Windber. I don't know if they're true or not, but the Graham Avenue gymnasium certainly has become like a second home to me over the 30 years or so that I've been attending this tournament.

If it is the event's final year in Windber, it certainly has the potential to go out with a bang. A number of teams could be in the thick of the race for the team title if things go right and this is arguably the best depth the tournament has ever had.

With that being said, here's a weight-by-weight preview of what should be a memorable two days in Windber:

106

There aren't a ton of weight classes with a clear-cut favorite, but I'd say Chestnut Ridge's Derrick Claar is one here. The top seed majored second-seeded Cody Guyer of Northern Bedford and a major and a pin of third-seeded Garret Foster of Somerset. After that, it gets pretty confusing. Guyer has beaten Foster, but split with fifth-seeded Jake Warren of Bedford. Berlin's Tommy DeArmitt, the fourth seeed, also has split a pair of matches with Warren and seventh-seed Joe Pakstis of Shade. DeArmitt has lost twice to Foster, although he has been wrestling much better in the second half of the season, and beat No. 6 Brady McKenzie of Meyersdale in winning the WestPAC tournament title.
Prediction: Despite all of the confusion, I'm going with the seeds: 1. Claar. 2. Guyer. 3. Foster. 4. DeArmitt.

113

COURTESY OF TKO PHOTOS
Chestnut Ridge's Trent Crouse (left) has a pair of victories
over Bedford's Ryan Easter, but he'll likely have to beat
Northern Bedford's Mason Replogle in order to get a shot
at Easter in the championship.

There's more madness here. Top-seeded Ryan Easter of Bedford has been beaten twice by second-seeded Trent Crouse of Chestnut Ridge, who has lost to third-seeded Mason Replogle of Northern Bedford and fourth-seeded Damian Jano of Somerset. Despite Jano's win over Crouse and the 22-5 record of fifth-seeded Kody Ofsanko of Conemaugh Township, I really see this as a three-man race. The smart money is probably on Crouse, who has been wrestling very well since dropping to 113, or Easter, who placed at states last season and just beat Boiling Springs' Joey Byers, who was undefeated at the time. But I just wonder how much of a problem Replogle - who is probably the tallest wrestler I've ever seen at such a light weight - can cause with his height.
Prediction: Going out on a limb here: 1. Replogle. 2. Easter. 3. Crouse. 4. Ofsanko.

120

Forget what I said at 106. There's definitely a clear-cut favorite here in two-time PIAA champ Nick Roberts. Assuming he makes weight and is healthy, he wins this class - not just here, but likely at regionals and states as well. The real battle is for the other two regional-qualifying spots. Berlin's Chris Miller is the second seed despite a pair of losses to third-seeded Garrett Thomas of Bedford. Miller does have an 11-5 victory over Collin Day of Meyersdale, the fourth seed.
Prediction: Roberts becomes the 10th wrestler to win four D5 titles -- the second straight from North Star -- on his way to being named the Outstanding Wrestler. 1. Roberts. 2. Thomas. 3. Miller. 4. Day.

126

Shane Pfaumiller won the the 125-pound title a year ago, but the Chestnut Ridge wrestler faced plenty of questions after a rough start to the season. Of course, there's a big difference between wrestling 145 - where he started the season - and 126. The question now might be, how will Pfaunmiller react to making 126 for the first time this season? He's got plenty of competition if he wants to win a second district title, as this is one of the better weights in the tournament. I originally had second-seeded Toby Brett of Bedford beating Pfaunmiller in the championship, but rumors have been swirling out of Bedford that Brett suffered a hand injury that required stitches and won't be at his best this weekend. That's not good news for any wrestler, but it could be especially devastating for one that relies on the cradle as much as Brett does. Now, I'm not sure Brett gets past third-seeded Tanner Hetrick of Meyersdale, who is 32-4. And the 4-5 match between Hope for Hyndman's Brady Logsdon and Berlin's E.J. Custer might be the bout of the night on Friday. Logsdon pinned Custer earlier this season, but I'm not sure it will be so easy this time around. And either of those could provide a stiff test for Pfaunmiller in the semifinals. This should be a fun weight to watch.
Prediction: Chaos. I really don't know what to expect here, especially if the rumors of Brett's injury are true. 1. Pfaunmiller. 2. Hetrick. 3. Custer. 4. Brett.

132

COURTESY OF TKO PHOTOS
Meyersdale's Stephen McKenzie (left) will be looking to
add a third District 5 title on Saturday.

Stephen McKenzie will be favored to win a third consecutive D5 title, but since the only wrestlers he's faced in this bracket are seeded fifth, seventh and ninth, it's hard to tell exactly what to expect. Second-seeded Damian Corle is just 16-9, but he spent much of the season at 128 and he's won five in a row including victories over third-seeded Jon Fabian of Somerset and fifth-seeded Tevin Mostoller of North Star. Mostoller does have a victory over fourth-seeded Josh Corbin of Tussey Mountain.
Prediction: McKenzie becomes Red Raiders' first three-time district champ since Michael Warnick. 1. McKenzie. 2. Corle. 3. Fabian. 4. Mostoller.

138

Northern Bedford's Drew Gartland was a runner-up at 130 last season, as he lost to Tanner Cahill of Conemaugh Township in the finals.  Now, Gartland will likely have to get past freshman Taylor Cahill just to get to the finals. There have been plenty of complaints about how the seeding points ignore head-to-head matchups, and with a pair of victories - including one by major decision - over third-seeded Blake Miller, Taylor Cahill certainly can make that case. Instead of being in the bottom half of the bracket against second-seeded Mike Laue of Somerset, whom he lost to 8-4 in a dual meet, he'll likely get Gartland, who pinned him in the Thomas Tournament. Meanwhile, Laue could get Miller in the semifinals - assuming Miller beats sixth-seeded Seth Deist of Meyersdale. Miller, who is perhaps the most unorthodox wrestler I've ever seen, has beaten Deist twice this season.
Prediction: Cahill gets to state his case against Miller, but not until the consolation finals. 1. Gartland. 2. Laue. 3. Cahill. 4. Miller.

145 

Tanner Cahill is the favorite here after winning the 130-pound title last season, but things could get very interesting in pursuit of the second- and third-place spots. It would be even more interesting if Bedford's Tanner Williams wouldn't have gotten injured in the PIAA duals. Second-seeded Bryce Fochtman has victories over No. 3 Chris Eichelberger of Everett and fifth-seeded Landon Lohr of Somerset, but both were very tight matches and could easily have gone the other way. Fourth-seeded Cody Gibbner of Hyndman could be in the mix, as could No. 6 Kyle Winegardner of Chestnut Ridge, who beat Lohr after losing to him twice earlier in thie season and wrestled Williams well in the D5 dual-meet championship.
Prediction: I've gone back and forth on this one a couple of times. 1. Cahill. 2. Eichelberger. 3. Fochtman. 4. Lohr.

152

COURTESY OF TKO PHOTOS
Conemaugh Township's Cory Berchick has victories over
the next three highest seeds at 152, including Somerset's
Josh Darr, who is show here during their dual meet.

This is the best weight class in the tournament, which is saying something this year. How good? Well, there are a pair of 2011 District 5 champs and a returning runner-up here. And none of them got the top seed. That goes, deservedly, to Conemaugh Township's Cory Berchick. The Indians senior will be looking to atone for last year, when he came in as the top seed but finished third while wrestling with what he eventually found to be mono. Berchick is a combined 7-0 against No. 2 Wolf Otten of Shade, No. 3 Josh Darr of Somerset, No. 4 Tanner Revak of North Star and No. 6 Trace Heffner of Berlin. Oddly enough, his most difficult match out of that group came in the WestPAC tournament against Revak, who he could face in the semifinals. Berchick trailed Revak until the final minute and was getting frustrated before coming up with a late takedown for a 7-5 decision. Defending champs Darr and Otten likely will meet in the other semifinal, although Heffner does have wins over Darr and Otten this season.
Prediction: The third time isn't a charm for Otten, who already has dropped a pair of closes matches to Berchick. 1. Berchick. 2. Otten. 3. Darr. 4. Revak.

160

After wrestling 152 almost all season, Northern Bedford's Matt Sollenberger - who won the 140-pound title last season - jumped up a weight class, presumably because it's not as difficult to earn a spot at regionals here. It was a good move for Sollenberger, but not so good for Meyersdale's Gavin Berkley, who got bumped to a fourth seed despite his 33-6 record. That means Berkley is in the upper half of the bracket with Somerset's Michael Sutton. Meanwhile, Sollenberger is on the bottom with Chestnut Ridge's Bradie Bollman, who is the third seed despite getting majored by fifth-seeded Josiah Koontz early in the season.
Prediction: Sutton won't score many points, but it will probably be enough. 1. Sutton. 2. Sollenberger. 3. Berkley. 4. Koontz.

170

This isn't one of the better weight classes here. Top-seeded Tyler Dibert of Chestnut Ridge is very good, but I think there are some question marks after that. Meyersdale's Billy Dunbar falls into that category, as he's 19-6 but nearly a third of his matches have come against out-of-state competition. Third-seeded Cody Yingling of Bedford is 23-10, but just 7-7 in his past 14 matches. Fourth-seeded Isiah Gibbons of Everett is 18-4, but one of those losses was by major decision to Yingling, and he hasn't face much in the way of top-flight competition. No. 5 Ben Miller of Berlin was the top seed at the WestPAC Tournament, but went just 2-3 there.
Prediction: Lots of indecision after the champion. 1. Dibert. 2. Yingling. 3. Dunbar. 4. Gibbons.

182

COURTESY OF TKO PHOTOS
Bedford's Michael Brett (left) will be looking to lock up
more opponents in the District 5 tournament this weekend.

This weight was OK when I first saw it, but after I just noticed that the updated brackets don't include Max Strasiser of North Star, who was the originally the third seed. Understandably, Strasiser - who will leave soon for the Navy SEALS training program - decided not to risk injury in the postseason. His withdrawal makes this weight much weaker. Top-seeded Michael Brett is a legitimate contender for a PIAA medal, in my opinion, and second-seeded Jacob Nickelson is pretty solid. Shade's Phil Aikey is now the third seed. Aikey is 12-5 and has some impressive wins, but he's still somewhat of an unknown as he missed time this season. One of Aikey's victories is over Chestnut Ridge's Matt Dull, who is the fourth seed. Dull is 17-8 but has lost four of his final six matches. Fifth-seeded Ben Sterling of Everett already has a win over Dull and will get a chance for another on Friday.
Prediction: If Nickelson can avoid Brett's cradle, he could win this weight, but not many have been able to do that this season. 1. Brett. 2. Nickelson. 3. Aikey. 4. Dull.

195

In my mind, this is the weakest weight class not only in the district, but probably in the region as well. Chestnut Ridge's Dan Albright is the top seed at 30-6, which is an impressive record, especially when you consider the fact that he doesn't have much experience. Albright is strong and hard to score on. Four of his victories are over second-seeded Jon Baer of Somerset, who is the second seed. Baer was the runner-up at 170 last season. Conemaugh Township's Kyle Drenner is 26-8 with two of his losses coming to Baer. The next five seeded wrestlers are all right around .500, with No. 6 Andrew Lenhart of Meyersdale posting the best record at 18-11. Someone to watch out for: Northern Bedford's Eric Grace, who was injured for much of the season. His 9-7 record doesn't look like much, but he's wrestled better competition than just about anyone else at this weight.
Prediction: I'm going out on a limb here - someone on a blog questioned my sanity for this pick - but there always seems to be at least one major upset in the D5 tournament. I'm taking it, with Grace over Baer in the quarterfinals, then beating Drenner in the semis. 1. Albright. 2. Grace. 3. Baer. 4. Drenner.

220

This is one of the best weight classes in the tournament. Eight of the nine wrestlers have winning records, with No. 7 Shane Supanick of North Star sporting a 23-13 record. His reward? A quarterfinal matchup with 2010 champion Jacob Craig of Berlin. Craig has beaten all but one wrestler in the weight - unseeded Justin Brunner of Northern Bedford - and has pinned every one but third-seeded Jake Bennett, whom he majored. But, because of the points system, Craig is the second seed behind Bedford's Jacob Krupa, who he has beaten twice. Everett's Eli Claycomb, Somerset's Pat Blough and Chestnut Ridge's Luke Fochtman could also be in the mix.
Prediction: After seeing how dominant Craig has been this season, it's hard to go any other way. 1. Craig. 2. Krupa. 3. Bennett. 4. Claycomb.

285

COURTESY OF TKO PHOTOS
Northern Bedford's Quinton Hixson (left) and Jake Hayman
could very well meet for the third time in the finals on
Saturday night.

This is probably the best field of District 5 heavyweights in years. Northern Bedford's Quinton Hixson has been the top-ranked 285-pounder in the state all season according to the Pennsylvania Wrestling Rankings. His only loss this season came to Somerset's Jake Hayman, as they split a pair of matches. Chestnut Ridge's Austin Buttry is the only wrestler other than Hixson to beat Hayman this season, although Hayman has won the past two matches with Buttry. Fourth-seeded Dylan Emerick of Hyndman and fifth-seeded Mitchell Hall of Tussey Mountain each have 20-plus victories while sixth-seeded Ty Smith of Meyersdale, who has 19 wins.
Prediction: Good heavyweights often come down to overtime or rideout, as Hixson-Hayman I and II each have. No reason to expect an early end to the evening here either. 1. Hixson. 2. Hayman. 3. Buttry. 4. Hall.

Team race

I figured going into it that Chestnut Ridge is probably the favorite to win the team title, with Bedford second. Oddly, when I looked at how my predictions played out, I have Northern Bedford with SEVEN wrestlers in the finals, with three champs. I have Chestnut Ridge with four champs, but no runners-up and Bedford with one champion and four second-place finishers. Hard as it is for me to believe, that would seem to mean I'm picking the Panthers to win the team race. Somerset should be in the mix as well, with - according to my projections - one champ, three runners-up and eight total qualifiers, which would be the most in the tournament.