The Sunday Six-Pack: Important notes from Dec. 15-20

It was an interesting week in districts 5 and 6. Some of the top matches of note:

1. Central Mountain is the team to beat in District 6-AAA: I've never had much cause to follow Class AAA, as Greater Johnstown and Westmont Hilltop are the only one of the teams from The Tribune-Democrat's coverage area that have spent any recent time in it and both are now in Class AA. With that being said, I would have guessed, from early results that Mifflin County would have been the favorite in the big-school classification. I would have been wrong. The Wildcats beat the Huskies 36-24 on Saturday night.
2. The gap between Chestnut Ridge and Bedford is bigger than it's ever been: I don't have records to back this up, but I'd bet that the Lions have never beaten the Bisons any worse than the 63-6 thumping that they laid on them Saturday night. As of now, the box isn't posted on TrackWrestling, but we did have it in The Tribune-Democrat today and you can view it on the E-edition. The Bisons won the highlight match - Jonathan Gabriel edged stud freshman Justin McCoy - 4-3, but the only other match Bedford won was at 285, where Nate Shoemaker beat Shane Davis. Ridge is deep, talented and getting better. For my money, they are clearly the best team in District 5 (and would be in District 6 AA) and one of the top ones in the state.
3. Berlin Brothesvalley isn't the second-best team in District 5 (or is it?): After seeing the box score from how the Mountaineers struggled against Meyersdale on Wednesday night, I was pretty confident that Berlin wouldn't be threat to Chestnut Ridge this season and that Somerset or even North Star might be a better dual meet team. The Mountaineers have had a number of wrestlers quit, robbing them of depth, and there's plenty of discussion about whether or not Braden Fochtman will wrestle at all this season. There were too many holes in the lineup, I thought, to be as strong as last season. But then I saw Berlin dominate the WestPAC tournament, winning nine of 14 titles. It wasn't so much the titles - most of the weights had very little depth - but the fact that Berlin won nine of 12 head-to-head matches with North Star. One was an exhibition between North Star 106-pounder Keaton Furry and Berlin 113-pounder Kyle Boyce, and most were close, but the Mountaineers certainly looked like the better team. If they do get Fochtman in the lineup for the Jan. 6 showdown with Chestnut Ridge (and he's in wrestling shape), they could be a good dual meet team, though still a step behind the Lions.
4. Chestnut Ridge isn't the only strong team in Bedford County: I've heard about Northern Bedford being a dark horse this season, and the Black Panthers' performance against Somerset on Saturday shows that they very well could be. Somerset beat Northern Bedford 40-31, but if Somerset is a top-three team in the district, as most feel it is, then Northern Bedford can't be far behind. Northern Bedford forfeited at 160 and 285 but still hung right with the Golden Eagles. 
5. The reports of Mount Union's demise are greatly exaggerated: I heard rumors earlier in the season that the Trojans didn't have the depth that they normally do and so they might not be a factor in District 6. West Branch's 31-28 victory over Mount Union on Tuesday proves that while the Trojans aren't the favorite, they aren't far from it. 
6. The Heritage classic: The Heritage Conferece hasn't been a powerhouse conference by any means, with Blairsville, Ligonier Valley, Marion Center and United, now that Northern Cambria has canceled its season, but it did include an interesting dual meet on Thursday night, as Blairsville beat United 39-33. The dual was closer than I thought, but the real highlight was the 220-pound bout between state placewinners Scott Thompson of Blairsville and Tyler Oliver of United. Thompson edged Oliver 8-6 for his 100th career victory. You can watch the entire match here. Oliver might not have to wait long for a rematch. There is a good chance they will meet again at the Southmoreland Tournament on Dec. 30.