Thursday night recap 12-13-12

There were some intriguing duals on Thursday night. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see any firsthand, but here's what happened and what I thought about it.

Westmont Hilltop 37, Somerset 30
285–Christian Roman, WH, forfeit.
106-Drake Dorian, WH, forfeit.
113-Dan Yost, WH, dec. Garret Foster, 5-3.
120-Logan Blackburn, WH, pinned Katherine Luteri, :47.
126-Steven Zipf, WH, maj. dec. Tyler Walker, 11-3.
132-Sheldon Wagner, S, dec. Nick Mical, 9-4.
138-Jon Fabian, S, dec. Mark Barbera, 6-0.
145-Mike Walsh, WH, forfeit.
152-Daniel Talley, S, pinned Seth Ray, 1:01.
160-Mike Laue, S, dec. Riley Schropp, 6-4 (SV).
170-Landon Lohr, S, pinned Cameron Rock, :39.
182-Logan Eller, S, dec. Colin Barron, 6-4 (SV).
195-Jacob Nickelson, S, pinned Jake Buck, :26.
220-Don Shovestull, WH, forfeit.
Records: Westmont Hilltop 1-0; Somerset 0-2.

Note - there were errors in the original box posted here, which listed no matches at 160 and 182. Thanks to the alert reader who posted about this, they have now been corrected, as has the analysis.

Analysis: A good win for Westmont and a disastrous start for Somerset. After going 18-4 last season, the Golden Eagles are likely staring at an 0-4 start, with duals against Berlin Brothersvalley and Cambria Heights before the Christmas break.
There weren't many highlight matches here, as two of Westmont's top wrestlers – Mike Walsh and Don Shovestull – received forfeits. Westmont freshman Dan Yost posted a big win for the Hilltoppers early, beating Garret Foster, who won 17 matches last year, at 113.
Steven Zipf's major decision of Tyler Walker also was a bonus-point boost, while Nick Mical's ability to avoid a major decision at the hands of Sheldon Wagner benefited the Hilltoppers.
Somerset eked out victories at 160 and 182. Returning 27-match winner and regional qualifier Mike Laue bumped up two weight classes from his normal spot to beat Riley Schropp at 160 in overtime. Logan Eller also needed extra time for a 6-4 win over colin Barron at 182.


Chestnut Ridge 60, North Star 11
285-Austin Buttry, CR, pinned Levi Albright, 2:59.
106-Aaron Burkett, CR, tech. fall Lenny Beeman, 16-1 (6:00).
113-Dustin Ickes, CR, forfeit.
120-Sam Shank, CR, forfeit.
126-Derrick Claar, CR, dec. Tayte Mostoller, 4-3.
132-Trent Crouse, CR, dec. Shawn Costas, 8-3.
138-Tevin Mostoller, NS, tech. fall Colby Hilegass, 15-0 (5:58).
145-Dustin Bence, CR, pinned Luke Lepley, 4:58.
152-Corey Fritch, NS, pinned Ben Clark, 4:56.
160-Kyle Winegardner, CR, dec. Austin Connor, 2-1.
170-Brady Bollman, CR, pinned Joey Berkebile, :30.
182-Tyler Dibert, CR, pinned Thomas Miller, 1:41.
195-Brad Winegardner, CR, maj. dec. Hunter Connor, 12-1.
220-Dan Albright, CR, pinned Kevin Horner, 2:44.
Records: Chestnut Ridge 1-0; North Star 0-1.

Analysis: This was even more lopsided than I thought it would be. In their first time out of the gate, the Chestnut Ridge Lions lived up to their billing. The Lions won 10 of the 12 contested matches and picked up a pair of forfeits.
The highlight looks like Derrick Claar's 4-3 victory over Tayte Mostoller at 126. Claar, who won 33 matches and the District 5 title at 106 last year, edged Mostoller, who won 17 matches last year, but has plenty of talent. The 138-pound match also interests me, as Trent Crouse beat Shawn Costas 8-3. Crouse had some huge wins last year, so it impressed me for the North Star sophomore to keep it a 5-point match.
The real shocker was at 145, where Dustin Bence – who was 5-23 last year – pinned Luke Lepley, a 21-match winner.
Kyle Winegardner's 2-1 decision over Austin Connor in a matchup of wrestlers who won at least 20 matches last year also looks like it was a good one.

Blairsville 52, Forest Hills 30
220-Luke White, B, pinned Jarret Beland, :34.
285-Brandon Kunkleman, B, pinned Matt Marra, 3:07.
106-Tanner McCall, FH, pinned Hunter Cunningham, 1:39.
113-Triston Law, FH, pinned Judah Napolitano, :29.
120-Luke Keiper, FH, forfeit.
126-Luke Mowery, B, pinned Josh Gould, 1:37.
132-Nick Pecze, B, maj. dec. Ean Bopp 8-0.
138-Noah Tarr, B, pinned Travis Templeton, 4:26.
145-Lucas Palmer, B, pinned Kris Knotts, 3:21.
152-Andrew Doak, B, pinned Ian Shugars, :55.
160-Cody Law, FH, pinned Ben Stivison, 2:54.
170-Zack Pinkas, FH, pinned Bobby Thompson, 5:11.
182-Alex Tripodas, B, forfeit.
195-Tyler Jasper, B, pinned Billy Kovalcik, 4:47.
Records: Blairsville 5-0; Forest Hills 1-1.

Analysis: Blairsville should be one of the best teams in District 6, so this isn't a bad result for Forest Hills. The Rangers actually won the highlight match of the night, as Zack Pinkas pinned Bobby Thompson at 170 pounds. Thompson was a 23-match winner a year ago and pinned Pinkas in the fifth-place match in District 6.
Thompson's younger brother, Scott, didn't wrestle. I'm not sure why, although I'm guessing one of my regular readers can fill me in on this. Scott Thompson placed sixth in the state as a freshman last year.
His fellow stud sophomore from Blairsville, Andrew Doak, had no problems in picking up a first-period pin.
Forest Hills' Law brothers – Triston and Cody – each picked up pins.


Cambria Heights 45, Penn Cambria 29
106-Mark Zabinski, CH, forfeit.
113-Zach Stevens, PC, maj. dec. Michael Dautlick, 15-3.
120-Ryan Biter, PC, pinned Chris Poutrain, 1:52.
126-Brad Thomas, CH, pinned Austin Farabaugh, 3:24.
132-Joe Davis, CH, dec. Dominic Farabaugh, 9-2.
138-Mike Eckenrode, PC, dec. Mike Zabinski, 9-3.
145-Austin Gill, CH, pinned Aaron Hogue, 3:05.
152-Levi Niebauer, CH, pinned Jake Hurley, 2:10.
160-Jacob Driscoll, PC, maj. dec. Travis Yahner, 10-2.
170-Dalton Waksmunski, CH, pinned Brendan Myers, :51.
182-Matt Wyland, PC, pinned William Hoover, 1:49.
195-Tyler Crawford, CH, pinned Matt Smith, :13.
220-Henry Schlosser, PC, pinned Tony Novello, 2:58.
285-Aaron Gill, CH, forfeit.
Records: Cambria Heights 1-0; Penn Cambria 1-1.

Analysis: Despite the 16-point loss, this shows that Penn Cambria looks be much improved over last year. Cambria Heights is probably the best team in Cambria County, so this isn't a bad result for Todd Niebauer's squad, especially considering the Panthers gave up two forfeits.

These results can get a bit confusing, as Mike Eckenrode wrestles for Todd and Matt Niebauer at Penn Cambria while Levi and Ray Niebauer wrestle for Mike Eckenrode at Cambria Heights. Got that?

There were only two decisions in this bonus-point-fest. Joe Davis, a 27-match winner and District 6 runner-up a year ago, was only able to muster a 9-2 decision over Penn Cambria sophomore Dominic Farabaugh. Mike Eckenrode (the Penn Cambria wrestler, not the Cambria Heights coach) beat Mike Zabinski by a nearly identical score at 138.