Bishop McCort adding wrestling

I try to treat the offseason as just that - time off from the blog - but this story is just to big to ignore.
Bishop McCort is looking to add wrestling, sooner rather than later. The Crimson Crushers have been wrestling in a co-op with Westmont Hilltop the past three seasons. They attempted to end that co-op this week, but Westmont is making them live up to the terms of their contract, which runs through the 2015-16 season.
Bishop McCort Principal Tom Fleming said that the Crimson Crushers will be starting a program; it's just a year later than they had hoped. You can read Ron Musselman's story about it in The Tribune-Democrat.
The issue is starting to get contentious, as Westmont folks are upset about Bishop McCort ending the co-op. I can understand both sides of the argument. Three of Westmont's stud freshman - Anthony Walters (160, PIAA-8, SW-4, D6-2), Carnell Andrews (120, SW-4, D6-2) and Josiah Jones (220, D6-2, injury ended season) - attend Bishop McCort. If you're a Bishop McCort person, you're saying why should pay $10,000 to Westmont to wrestle for their team when we can start our own program? Westmont parents and fans, on the other hand, are upset because they feel that the McCort wrestlers are biting the hand that feeds them. Coach Matt Beaujon has helped develop Bishop McCort wrestlers over the past three years, even if the biggest names are only freshmen.
So I don't have strong feelings either way on that argument. Like any breakup, there are going to be hard feelings.
I did however, get into a lengthy Twitter debate about the potential of the Bishop McCort program. The way I see it, this could become a powerhouse program almost from its inaugural season, and I think that it's a scenario that public schools in districts 5 and 6 have long feared.
Don't believe me? Take a look at this:

That shows the area in a 30-mile radius from Johnstown, which seems like a reasonable distance that students might travel to attend a private school if so motivated. It's probably a bit unrealistic to expect anyone to travel from Latrobe or Hollidaysburg on a daily basis, but not so much for Ligonier Valley, Central Cambria or North Star. I know of some students that have attended Bishop McCort in the past few years from those school districts.
I'm not going to get into the "private schools recruit" debate that invariably pops up in these discussions. Let's say, for the sake of argument, that there is no recruiting going on whatsoever in our scenario. I still think that Bishop McCort could easily attract some of the top talent in the area without reaching out to anyone if the right coach is in place.
Imagine if the Crimson Crushers were somehow able to launch a program with Jody Strittmatter of Young Guns at the helm. Wrestlers from at least that 30-mile radius would be lining up to look at Bishop McCort under such a scenario. Not only would you get the guy responsible for the No. 1 club in the nation, but the big names that would follow would make most school practices have the feel of a club practice. That would make the Crimson Crushers a legitimate state contender in no time.
To be clear, I don't expect Strittmatter (or either of his brothers) to become the Bishop McCort coach. That was just a best-case/worst-case scenario (depending on your perspective).
Even without an elite club coach in the mix, Bishop McCort could find a well-respected local coach to give the program instant credibility. Again, without doing anything illegal or immoral, the program could draw interest from local wrestlers. Imagine you're a wrestler (or parent) at a school that doesn't have a very strong team. You are the best in the room and don't get much competition in practice. Now, you have the option of going to a private school (not for athletic intent, of course) where you already have three likely state qualifiers in the room and, potentially, a better coach. Most competitors would at least consider that option.

Here's a list of schools that are within about a 30-minute drive that the program could reasonably draw from:

• Greater Johnstown
• Ferndale
• Conemaugh Valley
• Westmont Hilltop
• Richland
• Windber
• North Star
• Forest Hills
• Blacklick Valley
• Central Cambria
• Conemaugh Township
• Shade
• Somerset
• Chestnut Ridge
• Ligonier Valley
• Blairsville
• United

Think you could come up with a pretty good team by getting one wrestler from even half of those schools? I certainly do. That was the discussion I was having on Twitter - a private school doesn't need to have a feeder system because, fair or not, students can come in from other districts.

Now, if Bishop McCort doesn't hire a well-known and well-respected coach and instead hires a caretaker to collect a few PIAA medals courtesy of the studs already on the roster, it could very well be a middle-of-the-road - or worse - program. It could have the big three and very little after that, in which case that lack of a feeder system would be huge.

That's the feast-or-famine scenario that private schools face in wrestling. Need an example? Look at Shady Side Academy. A few years ago, they were winning regional titles left and right at the War Memorial and competing for state team titles. By 2013, they couldn't field a team.

So will Bishop McCort's program be more like Bethlehem Catholic or St. Joseph's Academy, a fellow District 6 school that started wrestling a few years ago? It's too early to tell. The single most important factor will be who is hired to lead the program.

District 6 regional qualifiers and recap

Unfortunately, due to a big project at work and a wild winter storm, I wasn't able to make it to the District 6 tournament in Altoona this weekend. Andy Elder covered the tournament for The Tribune-Democrat.
Complete brackets are available on the District 6 site. Here's a rundown of the regional qualifiers with my thoughts on the weight along with the top guy who won't be at regionals:

106

1. Logan Pirl, LV. 2. Derrick Christie, WH. 3. Huntur Campbell, CH. 4. Darren Yearick, PV. 5. Josh Boozel, MU.

Analysis: I didn't know anything about Pirl coming into the season, but he's been an impressive freshman. He made a name for himself by pinning top-seeded Campbell in the semis and beating Westmont's Derrick Christie in the finals.

Left out: Third-seeded Devon Brown of Tyrone was pinned by Boozel in the quarters, then lost 7-3 to Juniata's Tylynn Miller, who finished sixth, in the consis.

113

1. Max Murin, CC. 2. Nolan Link, PC. 3. Jake Keiper, FH. 4. Joseph Couteret, WB. 5. Izac Benson, HU.

Analysis: This one followed the seeds exactly. Murin beat Link in the finals, to avenge his lone loss of the season, which came in the finals at Bedford.

Left out: Mount Union's Andrew Todaro had a nice tournament from the 12 seed, as he beat No. 7 Clayton Dorian of Westmont Hilltop and No. 9 Bryce Campbell of Cambria Heights but fell just short, placing sixth.

120

1. Collin Glorioso, HU. 2. Carnell Andrews, WH. 3. Braedon Swab, CEN. 4. David Wiles, MC. 5. Tanner McCall, FH.

Analysis: Glorioso winning wasn't a surprise, but it looks like Andrews did a nice job, as the freshman pinned unbeaten Hunter Kern in the semifinals and dropped a 5-0 decision in the final.

Left out: Kern. The Juniata Valley sophomore won his first 24 matches of the season before losing his final three to finish sixth.

 

126

1. Triston Law, FH. 2. Curtis Decker, PV. 3. Ian Ostrowski, CC. 4. Brock Biddle, CEN. 5. Stephen Rouser, RI.

Analysis: Law was pretty dominant here. It looks like he only allowed a single point in the tournament - to Ostrowski in a 9-1 major in the semis.

Left out: Charlie Beatty, Marion Center. The freshman was the eighth seed, but beat No. 5 Alex Caldwell of Ligonier Valley.

132

1. Jake Boozel, MU. 2. Adam George, RI. 3. Richie Gilson, JU. 4. Jared Hurd, PV. 5. Drake Dorian, WH.

Analysis: This one surprised me. I saw Boozel struggle at Bedford and George has been remarkably consistent. Dorian getting out was also a surprise for me. The senior came in as the ninth seed, but he beat No. 10 Devon Walker of United, who had knocked off No. 5 Hunter Parks of West Branch, and then beat No. 4 Ethan Kennedy of Central.

Left out: Kennedy. The Central sophomore was the fourth seed and dropped a 4-3 decision to top-seeded George of the semis, but then lost 6-3 to Hurd and 4-2 to Dorian.

138

1. Tommy Opdenhoff, CC. 2. Dalton Clark, LV. 3. Nick Hoenstine, CEN. 4. Tyler Scott, HU. 5. Robbie Steel, MU.

Analysis: Clark was the top seed, but as I said earlier, I really liked the winner of the semi between Opdenhoff and Hoenstine to win this one.

Left out: Michael Stewart, Marion Center. There are quite few here - No. 4 Jacob Confer of Penns Valley and sixth-place finisher Zach Stephens of Penn Cambria come to mind - but the Stingers sophomore suffered a couple of tough losses. The No. 11 seed, Stewart beat Stephens before falling, 3-0 to Hoenstine. He also lost 3-2 to Steel, showing that he was right in matches with place-winners.

145

1. Robby Patrick, LV. 2. Isaac Stewart, MC. 3. Larry Brown, MV. 4. Travis Templeton, FH. 5. Seth Baney, HU.

Analysis: Patrick turned the tables on Stewart, who had beaten him earlier in the season. Brown did the same against Templeton, who beat him in the quarters but won their consi final match.

Left out: Mike Eckenrode, Penn Cambria. The No. 5 seed would have been good enough to make it out of most weights, but not this weekend in the deepest weight in the tournament. He lost twice to Baney, including by fall in the fifth-place match, and won't be going to regionals despite having beaten Patrick earlier in the season.

152

1. Jacob Oliver, HU. 2. Dominic Farabaugh, PC. 3. Andrew Hurd, PV. 4. Bryce Biddle, CEN. 5. Brent Troutman, JV.

Analysis: No surprise at the top, as Oliver is one of the studs of the tournament. Farabaugh hung with him in the district duals, losing 5-2, but it was a major this time. Farabaugh came into the tournament with just a 13-8 record, but a few quality wins got him the third seed, and he showed that he was better than his record with a 13-3 major of second-seeded Hurd in the semis.

Left out: Kris Smeal, West Branch. The fifth seed was pinned by Biddle and Hurd, then dropped a 12-6 decision to sixth-seeded Troutman for the final regional spot.

160

1. Drew Doak, BL. 2. Andrew Walters, WH. 3. Jon Wagner, HU. 4. Clayton Green, WB. 5. Ryan Thomas, MV.

Analysis: I was asked on Saturday evening how I thought a Doak-Walters final would go. I said I thought Walters could slow down Doak, but probably not enough to win, and anticipated a 3-2 Doak win. It turned out to be pretty close to that, as Doak didn't get the takedown I expected until overtime in a 3-1 victory. It was the 150th career win and fourth D6 title for Doak, so it says something about the freshman from Westmont that he was able to go toe-to-toe with the Blairsville senior.

Left out: Exree Loe, Greater Johnstown. The eighth seed had a chance to be the Trojans' first regional qualifier in AA, but lost in tiebreaker to Mo Valley's Thomas. He also dropped a 3-2 decision to Green, the fourth-place finisher.

170

1. Levi Niebauer, CH. 2. Luke Slippey, WB. 3. Nick Pecze, BL. 4. Jake Driskel, PC. 5. Zach Mock, BA.

Analysis: Not too many surprises at the top. 1-2 went according to seeds while 3-4 flip-flopped. Driskel doesn't get much attention, but the Penn Cambria junior has had a nice season. Mock was a surprise in the fifth spot, as he came from the eighth seed.

Left out: Ty Treaster, Juniata. The fifth-seeded senior got pinned by Pecze in the quarters and then pinned again by Central Cambria's Caliber Castel in the consis.

182

1. Corey Hazel, PV. 2. Scott Carbaugh, SH. 3. Taylor Foster, JU. 4. Dalton Waksmunski, CH. 5. Josh Wilson, BA.

Analysis: Statewide, I think this is the weakest weight. Hazel was second according to the most recent Off the Mat rankings, so I expected him to cruise through this bracket, but he only beat Foster 4-3 and Carbaugh - a surprise finalist from the sixth seed - 6-3. Other than a 4-3 victory over No. 3-ranked Dakota Geer of Franklin, Saturday's decisions marked the first time in two months that Hazel hadn't gotten bonus points. Waksmunski, the No. 10 seed, put together a nice tournament with a victory over second-seeded Wilson and a pair of wins over No. 7 Brad Smith of Marion Center.

Left out: Logan Fisher, Huntingdon. The third seed was 13th in the state according to Off the Mat, but was edged, 4-3, by Carbaugh in the quarters, then lost 3-2 to Wilson in the consis.

195

1. Scott Thompson, BL. 2. Vince McDowell, WB. 3. Cody Hamilton, MV. 4. Richard Reader, TY. 5. Matt Norris, HU.

Analysis: No surprise at the top, as Thompson joined 160-pound teammate Drew Doak as a four-time champ and picked up his second straight OW award. He pinned McDowell in the finals, his third fall in four bouts on the weekend. Reader kind of came from nowhere. He was the 10th seed and had only wrestled nine matches entering the tournament - although he did win eight of them. He pinned sixth-seeded Dennis Link of Cambria Heights and majored No. 4 Adam Rigney of Mount Union in the consis.

Left out: Rigney, Mount Union. I haven't seen Rigney at all, but he came in with a 20-4 record and reached the semis. His was the only guy to go 6 minutes with Thompson on the weekend, but his 14-7 defeat was the first of three straight losses, which will keep from from attending the regional tournament in Canonsburg.

220

1. Buzzy Maines, WB. 2. Josiah Jones, WH. 3. Tyler Oliver, UN. 4. Mason Hockenberry, MU. 5. Raymond Carlheim, GL. 

Analysis: For me, Josiah Jones is the story of the tournament. I thought the Westmont freshman might be able to hang with Oliver, who was a D6 champ last season and a state place-winner; I didn't expect Jones to beat him in the semis. And I certainly didn't expect him to hang with Buzzy Maines, who is one of the most dominant guys I've seen in AA this season and deserving of his No. 1 ranking in the state. I knew that Jones, who missed the first part of the season while recovering from a knee injury, was good, but this was a really impressive showing, even if he only finished one spot above his No. 3 seed.

Left out: Tyler Elder, Claysburg-Kimmel. The Bulldogs will be shut out of regionals, as the fifth-seeded Elder lost by fall to the sixth-seeded Carlheim for the final spot.

285

1. Andrew Deitman, UN. 2. Nick Winfield, SH. 3. Kody Ness, GL. 4. Stevie Colyer, TY. 5. Jake Smith, BL.

Analysis: This went pretty close to expectations. Deitman, the second seed, beat top-seeded Winfield in the ultimate tiebreaker - shocking for heavyweights, I know. 3-4-5 went as expected.

Left out: Hussein Sbeitan, Westmont Hilltop. The Westmont senior, who could have wrestled 220, won 14 matches in just his second year of wrestling and was just one spot short of qualifying for regionals.

Team race

1. Huntingdon (175). 2. West Branch (157). 3. Westmont Hilltop (135.5). 4. Penns Valley (134.5). Blairsville (129.5). 
Analysis: I would have pegged Huntingdon as the favorite with West Branch in the mix. I believe it was actually pretty close until the placement rounds. Westmont's four freshmen runners-up made a big difference for the Hilltoppers. I wouldn't have expected a top-five finish from Penns Valley, which had a rough year in duals, but the Rams have some solid individuals. I was surprised Central slipped to seventh and Forest Hills was all the way down to No. 14. Glendale, which finished 19th, looks like it could be a program on the upswing.

Tuesday night recap: big upsets and more

There were a ton of matches on Tuesday night, and quite a few of them turned out to be really good ones, with some of the biggest upsets of the season so far.

I wasn't able to make it out to any matches, as I spent most of my day off tracking down two big stories.

Here's what I think of the duals:

Westmont Hilltop 32, Somerset 31 

Arguably the match of the night, as the Hilltoppers won the final two bouts by fall to edge the Golden Eagles.
I raved about Westmont's great crop of freshmen before the season, and this is exactly why. Now that Josiah Jones is back from injury, the Hilltoppers are looking very solid. They might be a year or two away from contending for the District 6 AA title, but this result shows that they're as good as some of the top teams in the area.
Jones had one of the biggest victories for Westmont on Tuesday, as he pinned Somerset's Nate Zanoni at 285. Zanoni, who used to wrestle for Berlin, is a decent heavyweight, and the fact that Jones pinned him - with just 17 seconds left in the match - made the difference in a one-point dual.
Westmont's six freshmen combined to go 6-0 and scored 29 of the Hilltoppers' 32 points. They were big in pressure situations, winning four of the final five bouts in the victory.
The one upperclassman to get a win for Westmont was Drake Dorian at 138. His 6-5 decision over Morgan Bell in the first bout would have changed the dual had it gone the other way.
The victory, combined with Cambria Heights' win over Penn Cambria, leaves Westmont Hilltop as the only undefeated team in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference. The Hilltoppers have just two conference meets remaining - Jan. 20 vs. Bedford and Jan. 27 at Cambria Heights.

Penn Cambria 40, Cambria Heights 31 

I didn't see this one coming, and I'm guessing the Highlanders didn't either. Even though they trailed 31-25 with three matches to go, they had the meat of their order coming up in regional qualifier Austin Gill, district placewinner Dalton Waksmunski and state placewinner Levi Niebauer. But the Panthers took two out of three, making Niebauer's points moot.
Dominic Farabaugh's 7-2 decision over Gill put the pressure on the Highlanders and Austin Farabaugh's pin of Waksmunski eliminated any hope for a comeback.
The Panthers have now won four in a row and have established themselves as contender in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference, although early losses to Westmont Hilltop and Somerset hurt. Now that coach Todd Niebauer has freshman Brock Talko - whose 8-2 victory over Bryce Campbell at 120 was huge - and Dominic Farabaugh back in the lineup - neither was available for the conference losses - Penn Cambria is looking very dangerous.
Cambria Heights still has to wrestle Somerset and Westmont Hilltop, so the conference title could still be within reach, or a season that started with such promise could result in a middle-of-the-pack finish. 

Bald Eagle Area 36, Central 29 

Maybe the biggest surprise of the night, and possibly the year. I know that Bald Eagle Area wrestles a much more difficult schedule than Central, but I certainly didn't foresee the Eagles beating the Scarlet Dragons.
The biggest shock of the night - and the difference in the dual - came at 182 pounds, where Bald Eagle's Colton Comly, who came in with a 5-9 record, pinned 7-0 Jordan Quarello.
That was a big loss for Central, as was the one at 126, where 7-0 Brock Biddle was pinned by 12-4 Seth Koleno. While not as surprising as Quarello's loss, it still had to sting for the Scarlet Dragons to see one of their best wrestlers not only lose, but to do so by fall.
Back-to-back close victories in high-profile matches gave Bald Eagle the dual-meet win, as Coby Bainey beat Ethan Kennedy 3-1 at 132 and Clint McCaslin edged Bryce Biddle 6-4 in sudden victory.

Clearfield 37, Huntingdon 36 

I found a story online by Gant Daily for this one. Looks like it was a very good one and another huge surprise to me. I'm a big supporter of Class AA, but this is another case of a AAA team without a winning record beating one of the top AA teams in District 6. That's not exactly a ringing endorsement for the small schools.
Freshman Luke McGonigle gave Clearfield a 31-18 lead with a 10-3 victory over Seth Baney at 145. Huntingdon ripped off four straight victories to take a 36-31 lead, but the fact that Jacob Oliver was only able to get a technical fall over Tallin Norris at 160 was huge. That left the door open for the Bison in the final bout and Travis Ogden took it, pinning Mark Zoerner for the stunning victory.
Other results (with links to boxes and some brief analysis)
Bedford 45, Richland 15 - It's been a rough year by Bedford's lofty standards, but the Bisons got back to the .500 mark with a thumping of Richland. There were two decent matchups in this one, which featured just as many double forfeits. Bedford's Jon Gabriel beat Stephen Rouser 6-1 in the highlight of the night at 126 while the Rams' Adam George beat Kyle Mehle 15-5 at 132.
Bellefonte  40, Penns Valley 25 - This followed the trend of the night was a AAA squad beating a AA squad, but didn't fit into the surprise category. Brock Port was not in the Bellefonte lineup. Eight of the 12 contested bouts brought bonus points, so there weren't many close matches to speak of. Luke Leathers beating Jacob Confer 7-0 looks like one of the bigger matchups. 
Berlin Brothersvalley 60, Shade 9 - This one must have been over in about 20 minutes, as only six bouts were wrestled and half of those ended with a first-period fall. The only six-minute match of the night brought the big surprise, as Shade's Trevor Brown beat Anthony Collins 8-5 at 285. It isn't a huge surprise, considering I saw Brown push Collins to the limit at the WestPAC tournament last season, but Collins controlled their conference rematch this year in a 9-4 victory. Still, it was just the second loss of the season for Collins (13-2) and the biggest win for Brown (10-3).
Blairsville 43, Forest Hills 30 - One of the better duals of the night. Blairsville gave up two forfeits (and got one back), and couldn't pull away until Drew Doak and Nick Pecze picked up falls in the final two bouts. The Bobcats' Colin Weinell avenged a 14-6 loss to Gage McCall at the Southmoreland Holiday Classic with a 13-9 victory at 106 pounds.
Central Cambria 60, Greater Johnstown 15 - Not much to write about, as only six matches were contested and five of those ended by fall. The lone six-minute match would have been the highlight, as the Trojans' Exree Loe beat Caliber Castel 6-3 at 170.
Chestnut Ridge 65, Everett 3 - The Lions have been so dominant that perhaps the biggest surprise is the one match they didn't win. Everett's Kyle Peterson improved to 9-3 on the season with a 9-8 victory over Shane Davis at 285.
Jersey Shore 45, Hollidaysburg 21 - Don't know much about Jersey Shore, and most of the Hollidaysburg names I know won. One thing I did notice is that Noah Worley, one of the Golden Tigers top wrestlers through the first month of the season, hasn't wrestled since the Southmoreland tournament.
Juniata Valley 53, Tussey Mountain 30 - This wasn't nearly as close as their meeting three days ago at the Bloody Run Duals, when Juniata Valley won 42-40. Much of that swing was a result of JV's Damion Dunkle pinning Skyler Brumbaugh at 170 after getting majored by him on Saturday.
Marion Center 40, Kittanning 34 - Challen Cornetto's 1-0 decision over Matthew Vukovich at 132 proved to be key in dual with seven forfeits.
Mount Union 51, Moshannon Valley 21 - The best match in a lopsided dual looks like it came at 152, where Larry Brown beat Nathanel Morgan.
North Star at 56, HOPE for Hyndman 18 - The match of the night looks like it was at 160, where North Star's Gus Strasiser beat Lee Moskey 7-3. Moskey is a solid wrestler and it looks like he hung around. While Strasiser is one of the better 160-pounders in the area, he tends to be more of a grinder than a big point-scorer, so the close match isn't that big of a surprise. The Hornets' lone win on the mat came at 285, where Brandon Greise pinned Brady Vinisky.
Philipsburg-Osceola 54, Tyrone 22 - Another AAA school beating a AA squad, although this one wasn't much of a surprise, as it's been a rough year for Tyrone. The Mounties Dakota Weitosh pinned Sage Dixon at 138 in one of the better matchups of the night while the Golden Eagles' Stevie Colyer continued his strong season with a fall over Eddie Voyzey at 285.
Southern Huntingdon 42, Bellwood-Antis 28 - The Blue Devils won six of the nine contested bouts, but couldn't overcome five forfeits. The highlight match came at 182, as Jeremy Wilson beat Scott Carbaugh 9-8.

No report
West Branch at Glendale

Recap and analysis for Monday, 12-29-2014

It was an action-packed Monday, with local teams at the POWERade and Southmoreland tournaments, among others, and an interesting dual meet between Central and Cambria Heights.

Mifflin County's Noah Stewart and Chestnut Ridge's Trent
Crouse scramble for control in a wild 160-pound bout at the
POWERade Christmas Tournament on Monday.

POWERade Christmas Tournament
I got to check out the round of 32 at POWERade but wasn't able to stay for the quarterfinals. FloWrestling is providing live updates, brackets and everything you need from it. The POWERade site links to it.
Not surprisingly, it was a rough day for local teams at the tournament, which is ranked as the third-best in the nation. Here's a quick recap of local teams in the 48-team tournament, with wrestlers in bold still alive in the tournament:

Altoona, 42^nd place, 1 in championship bracket, 1 in consolations

106-No entry

113-C.J. Manley 2-1

120-Hunter Hileman 2-2

126-Jerrell Kephart 0-2

132-Tristan Grassmyer 0-2

138-Mike Sarbo 0-2

145-Dylan Riscigno 3-2

152-Parker McClellan 0-2

160-D.J. Hollingshead 3-0

170-Brinton Simington 0-2

182-Trent Kephart 2-2

195-Garth Fochler 1-2

220-Jacob Scheinberg 0-2

285-Kevin Givens 0-2

Notes: I didn't see any Altoona matches, but Manley, who was the sixth seed, had a couple of big early wins before losing to No. 3 Daniel Planta of St. Paul's (Md.), 2-1. Hollingshead, the fourth seed, beat Penn-Trafford's Devin Austin 3-2 in the quarterfinals and draws top-seeded Josh Shields of Franklin Regional in today's semifinal round.

Chestnut Ridge, 18^th place, 0 in championship bracket, 5 in consolations

106-Aaron Burkett 2-1

113-Dylan Williams 1-2

120-Luke Hobson 2-2

126-Justin McCoy 1-2

132-Morgan Deremer 3-1

138-Derrick Claar 0-2

145-Levi Hobson 0-2

152-Josh McGill 0-2

160-Trent Crouse 2-1

170-Colby Hillegass 2-2

182-Brandyn Beaver 3-1

195-Conner Buttry 2-1

220-Jon Heming 0-2

285-Shane Davis 2-2

Chestnut Ridge's Conner Buttry controls Fort LeBoeuf's
Garrette Reinwald at 195 pounds.

Notes: Second-seeded Aaron Burkett posted a couple of shutouts before being shut out, 8-0, by Patrick Glory, a freshman from Delbarton (N.J.).  

I'm not surprised that the Lions still have five alive in the tournament, but I am a bit surprised by who is back for Day 2. Derrick Claar had a rough day, going 0-2 while Brandyn Beaver and Morgan Deremer impressed, with each going 3-1.

Conner Buttry looked solid in a 5-1 win over Fort LeBoeuf's Garrette Reinwald, a District 10 champ last season and the No. 8 seed here, before losing 13-2 to top-seeded Dylan Reynolds of Saegertown in the quarters.

Ryan Spring's blog says Trent Crouse picked up his 100th career victory. I missed that, but I did see his back-and-forth battle with Mifflin County's Noah Stewart. Crouse scored the opening takedown, then fell behind 7-2 before rallying to tie it only to lose 9-7 on a reversal with 6 seconds remaining in the third period.

Mifflin County, 16^th place, 2 in championship brackets, 1 in consolations

106-No entry

113-Kyle Smith 0-2

120-Noah Myers 1-2

126-Jonah Kile 1-2

132-Logan Wise 0-2

138-Trent Hidlay 2-2

145-Hayden Hidlay 3-0

152-Isaac Underhill 2-2

160-Noah Stewart 2-1

170-Keith Corson 1-2

182-Scott Kyper 0-2

195-Trey Harstock 3-0

220-Wyatt Renninger 2-2

285-Gavin Erb 0-2

Notes: The Huskies' big guns are all still alive, with Hidlay and Hartsock in the semifinals today. Hidlay was supposed to be the fourth seed, but moved up to third when Travis Vasquez of Delbarton (N.J.) scratched. I'm not sure why that is, but it certainly helps Hidlay. Rather than facing Franklin Regional's Michael Kemerer, an Iowa recruit, in the semis, he likely will get him in the finals. For now, Hidley faces Nick Monico, a sixth-place PIAA Class AA finisher a year ago, in the semifinals. The unseeded Monico pounded second-seeded Hunter Dean of Strasburg (Va.).

Hartsock also draws a Saegertown wrestler in the semis, as he gets top-seeded Dylan Reynolds, who finished third in Class AA last season.

I recapped Stewart's funky match with Trent Crouse above in the Chestnut Ridge notes. Stewart reached the quarters before falling, 7-0, to second-seeded Thomas Bullard of Archer (Ga.).

Westmont Hilltop, 46^th place, 0 in championship bracket, 2 in consolations

106-Derrick Christie 1-2

Westmont Hilltop's Anthony Walters (right)
works to bring Reynolds' Michael Millero
back to the mat.

113-No entry

120-Clayton Dorian 0-2

126-Carnell Andrews 2-1

132-Trent Blackburn 0-2

138-Drake Dorian 3-2

145-Nick Mical 0-2

152-Jake Dorian 0-2

160-Mark Barbera 0-2

170-Anthony Walters 3-1

182-No entry

195-No entry

220-Hussein Sbeitan 0-2

285-No entry

Notes: A rough day for the Hilltoppers. Their two highly touted freshmen are still alive. Anthony Walters pushed sixth-seeded Michael Millero of Reynolds in a 2-1 loss. Walters was hit for stalling twice in the second period on top and gave up an escape with 3 seconds left in the period to fall behind 2-0. He escaped to start the third and pushed Millero around for almost 2 minutes but, surprisingly, only drew one stall call on the senior. He'll need to beat fifth-seeded Bill Bowlen of Jefferson-Morgan on Tuesday morning to place.

I didn't see Andrews' matches, but he beat Derry Area's Stone Kepple, a state qualifier last season, 9-2 to reach the quarters, where he was pinned by top-seeded Jacob Lizak of Parkland. Andrews draws freshman David Johnson of Walsh-Jesuit (Ohio), who lost 6-1 to South Park's Dallas Bulsak on Monday, in the consolation round Tuesday.

Southmoreland Holiday Classic

The complete brackets are online here, so I won't go over this too much.

North Star, tied for 3rd with 81.5; Southmoreland leads with 97.5; Northern Bedford (8) and Blairsville (T9) are only others in top 10 out of 29

Local semifinalists
106-Logan Pirl, Ligonier Valley
113-Jake Keiper, Forest Hills
120-David Wiles, Marion Center
126-None
132-Triston Law, Forest Hills
138-Carter Replogle, Northern Bedford
145-Michael Baker, North Star; Robby Patrick, Ligonier Valley
152-Isaac Stewart, Marion Center
160-Drew Doak, Blairsville
170-Nathan Trottier, Ligonier Valley; Chris Hutzell, Meyersdale
182-Jon Thomas, North Star
195-Scott Thompson, Blairsville; Ty Smith, Meyersdale; Tyler Oliver, United
220-Hunter Conner, North Star
285-Hunter Gill, Hollidaysburg

And, finally:
Central 40, Cambria Heights 36
220-Anthony Mezzello, CH, pinned Mitchell Conrath, 2:23.
285-Alexander Albright, CH, forfeit.
106-Hunter Campbell, CH, pinned over Cameron Ulery, :24.
113-Bryce Campbell, CH, dec. Nathan Earnest, 8-2.
120-Braeden Swab, C, maj. dec. Michael Dautlick, 11-0.
126-Brock Biddle, C, pinned Austin Kirsch, 2:25.
132-Ethan Kennedy, C, pinned Brody Mezzello, 4:36.
138-Nick Hoenstine, C, forfeit.
145-Bryce Biddle, C, pinned Eric Kuskoski, 2:15.
152-Jordan Quarello, C, pinned Ben Yahner, 2:17.
160-Mike Mock, C, pinned Austin Gill, 3:03.
170-Dalton Waksmunski, CH, dec. Jared Smith, 4-0.
182-Levi Niebauer, CH, pinned Jeremiah Albright, 2:30.
195-Dennis Link, CH, pinned Kaleb Gahagan, :52.
Analysis: This is a big win for Central over a Cambria Heights team that many saw as one of the stronger ones in District 6-AA. I would have given the Highlanders the edge going into it, but give coach Dave Marko's team credit for improving to 5-0 on the season. The Scarlet Dragons were down 21-0 before getting to the strength of their lineup, and the middleweights did not disappoint, running off seven consecutive victories for a 40-21 lead. The big one for me came at 160, where Mike Mock pinned Austin Gill in what I would have seen as a toss-up match. Gill was a District 6 fourth-place finisher at 145 in an injury-marred sophomore season while Mock placed sixth at 152. When Central avoided bonus points at 170, it was all over.

POWERade preview

If you haven't been to the POWERade tournament before, you owe yourself a trip to Canonsburg to check it out. Simply put, it's the best tournament you'll see within a few hours' drive of Johnstown. It's ranked as the best tournament in Pennsylvania and the third-best in the nation, and this year's field doesn't disappoint.
There's an extremely informative website at poweradewrestling.com.
There are 48 teams, including Altoona, Chestnut Ridge, Mifflin County and Westmont Hilltop from districts 5 and 6. There also are teams from California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia. Three of Intermat's top 10 Fab 50 teams - No. 6 Archer (Ga.), No. 8 Franklin Regional and No. 10 Buchanan (Calif.) - are in it. So are No. 33 Belle Vernon and No. 36 Greater Latrobe.
The POWERade tournament has so many interesting facts and tournaments that I can't possibly get into all of them, so check out the website.
For now, here's what you need to know:

Where: Canon-McMillan High School, Canonsburg. It's a little more than an hour and half from Johnstown, according to Google.

Competing teams (48): Altoona, Archer (Ga.), Arlington Martin (Texas), Belle Vernon, Benton, Bethel Park, Bishop McDevitt, Blue Mountain, Brookville, Burrell, Buchanan (Calif.), Canon-McMillan, Cedar Cliff, Central Catholic, Chestnut Ridge, Connellsville, Delbarton (N.J.), Derry, Erie McDowell, Father Ryan (Tenn.), Fort LeBoeuf, Franklin Regional, Good Counsel (Md.), Hempfield, Huntington (W.Va.), Jefferson-Morgan, Kittanning, Latrobe, Mifflin County, Mifflinburg, Moeller (Ohio), Mount Lebanon, Norwin, Parkersburg (W.Va.), Parkland, Penn Trafford, Peters Township, Saegertown, St. Pauls (Md.), Walsh Jesuit (Ohio), Waynesburg, Westmont Hiltop.

Schedule:

• Monday: Pigtails starting at 8:30 a.m., followed by round of 32, round of 16, pigtail consolations and first-round consolations. The second round of constellations are set for 6 p.m. with the quarterfinals and third-round consis at 7:30 p.m.
• Tuesday: The fourth round of consolations begin at 10 a.m. with the semifinals and the fifth-round consolations at 11:30 a.m. Sixth-round consolations begin are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Consolation finals begin at 5 p.m. with the finals set for 7:30 p.m.

Seeded wrestlers from area: 

• Chestnut Ridge: Aaron Burket, second at 106.
• Mifflin County: Hayden Hidlay, fourth at 145; Noah Stewart, seventh at 160; Trey Hartsock, fifth at 195.

Defending champions: Devon Brown, Franklin Regional (106); Spencer Lee, Franklin Regional (113); Luke Pletcher, Greater Latrobe (120); Michael Kemerer, Franklin Regional (138), Josh Shields, Franklin Regional (152); Omar Haddad, Parkland (220); team champion, Franklin Regional.

Weight(s) to watch: The easy answer is all of them. With so many great wrestlers in this tournament, each weight delivers unbelievable action, but there are two that really stand out this season.
The 120-pound weight class has five returning state champions in it. The fact that one of them is named Spencer Lee makes it a pretty daunting task for the rest, even if the No. 2 seed, Ty Agaisse of Delbarton (N.J.) was 44-0 last season and ranked No. 14 by Intermat.
But, my real pick is 132. I haven't seen the bracket yet, but the talent in it is ridiculous. How about this? Five defending state champions (Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia) plus Derry Area's George "Mickey" Phillippi, who won a PIAA title in 2013; Georgia runner-up Chris Diaz and, oh yeah, A.C. Headlee of Waynesburg, who just happens to be ranked No. 1 in the country by Intermat. All told, the No. 1, No. 2 (Greater Latrobe's Luke Pletcher), No. 6 (Phillippi) from Intermat are entered.

I hope to be

Local wrestlers in NCAA Division I

I did this once before and it proved pretty popular, so I thought I'd take a crack at it again this year. I went through every Division I roster and found every wrestler from districts 5 or 6 that I saw. It is intended to be a comprehensive list, so if you know of someone that should be on here and isn't, please let me know. The notes come almost exclusively from each individual college's website, so if it is wrong, it's likely because they have not updated their website yet for this season.

A few observations:

• Central Mountain had the most wreslters in D-I schools (7) followed by Tyrone and Westmont Hilltop (3 apiece).
• As the districts currently stand, District 6 AA has the most (16) followed by District 6 AAA (13) and District 5 (2).
• Penn State has the most (5), followed by Edinboro and Pitt (4 each).

Wrestler	High School	College	Wt	Year	Notes
Tony Risaliti	Central Cambria	Army	174	So	Went 7-5 in 2013-14
Chad Reese	Central Mountain	Bucknell	165	Fr
Tanner Cahill	Conemaugh Township	Bloomsburg	141	R-Fr	Starting for first time
Blake Morder	Mount Union	Clarion	149	R-Fr
Nick Shawley	Bellefonte	Clarion	184	Fr
Jake Taylor	Bald Eagle Area	Cornell	197	Fr
Nathaniel Powers	Central Mountain	Davidson	174	Jr.	Went 9-15 in 2013-14
Tanner Hough	Westmont Hilltop	Duke	141	R-Jr	NCAA qualifier in 2013, missed last season with injury
T.J. Brandt	Altoona	Edinboro	141	Fr.
Mitchell Port	Bellefonte	Edinboro	141	R-Sr	2x All-American, ranked No. 2
A.J. Schopp	Tyrone	Edinboro	133	R-Sr	2x All-American, ranked No. 1
Jason Schopp	Tyrone	Edinboro	133	Fr
Tyler Buckwalter	Central Mountain	Kent State	165	Jr	Fifth in MAC in 2014
Blaze Buckwalter	Central Mountain	Lock Haven	184	So
Dillon Gavlock	Central Mountain	Lock Haven	165	R-So
Josh Polacek	Westmont Hilltop	Maryland	125	R-Jr	Starting for first time
Donnie Shovestull	Westmont Hilltop	Navy	285	Fr	Injured
Evan Henderson	United/Kiski School	North Carolina	141	Sr	2x All-American, expected to redshirt
Robert Henderson	United/Kiski School	North Carolina	149	R-Jr	Went 11-9 in 2013-14
Andrew Alton	Central Mountain	Penn State	149	R-Sr	2x NCAA qualifier
Dylan Alton	Central Mountain	Penn State	157	R-Sr	2012 All-American
Zack Beitz	Juniata	Penn State	141	R-So	Went 11-9 in 2013-14
Jon Gingrich	Bald Eagle Area	Penn State	285	R-Sr	NCAA qualifier in 2014
Cody Law	Forest Hills	Penn State	157	R-Fr	Went 14-4 during redshirt
Ronnie Garbinsky	Tyrone	Pitt	157	R-Jr	NCAA qualifier in 2014
John Rizzo	Richland	Pitt	285	So	Temple transfer; starting for first time
Nick Roberts	North Star	Pitt	125	R-So	Ohio State transfer; eligible second semester; NCAA qualifier in 2014
Nathan Russell	Huntingdon	Pitt		Fr
Josh Patrick	Ligonier Valley	Rutgers	125	R-Fr	Went 25-13 during redshirt
Patrick Myers	Penn Cambria	SIU-Edwardsville	133	R-Sr	Career record of 43-30
Tyler Millward	State College	West Virginia	149	R-Fr

The Semifinal 12-16-2012

The first full week of the regular season included some great wrestling as well as some surprises. For those of you new to the blog, the semifinal is my weekly recap/lookahead to wrestling in the Cambria/Somerset/Bedford area. Its name comes from the fact that many wrestling insiders will tell you that the semifinal round often features the best wrestling because too many guys tighten up in the finals. So, here’s the best of what I saw (or read about) from the past week.

First Period

Stars and studs: Greg Lazor’s Chestnut Ridge team earns a spot here thanks to a dual-meet demolition of North Star as well the Lions’ weekend performance, which resulted in the Mount Carmel tournament title. Six Lions – Aaron Burkett (106), Derrick Claar (126), Trent Crouse (132), Tyler Dibert (182), Dan Albright (220) and Austin Buttry (285) – captured individual championships. … Like Chestnut Ridge, Berlin Brothersvalley picked up an impressive dual-meet victory as well as the tournament title at the Sheetz Holiday Classic. The Mountaineers didn’t have any individual champs, but had 10 of their 13 wrestlers (an injury forced them to wrestle without a heavyweight) placed in the top seven in the 21-team tournament. … Ligonier Valley’s Josh Patrick, who recently committed to wrestle for Rutgers, rolled through the Sheetz tournament, including a dominating, 10-0 victory over Cambria Heights’ Brad Thomas in the 126-pound finals. … Bedford didn’t bring home a tournament title – team or individual – but the second-place performances by freshman Jonathan Gabriel and junior Ryan Easter are impressive, considering the caliber of the competition at the King of the Mountain tournament. Gabriel didn’t disappoint in his varsity debut, as he went 4-1, with his lone loss coming to Joe Wheeling of General McLane in the 106-pound finals. Easter also went 4-0 in the tournament before falling to Will Koll – son of Cornell coach Rob Koll – in the 126-pound championship.

Upset-minded: Penn Cambria’s Mike Eckenrode was unseeded but went on to win the 138-pound title at the Sheetz Holiday Classic. Eckenrode had three falls – including one over top-seeded Vinny Romeo of Canandagiua Academy – and knocked off second-seeded Rodney Brant of Mercer in the finals. … Conemaugh Township’s Taylor Cahill won the Sheetz tournament title at 152 pounds from the third seed. The sophomore took advantage of upsets by Cambria Heights’ Levi Niebauer – who beat top-seeded Mitch Fisher of Canandagiua Academy – and Portage’s Caleb Kephart – who knocked off second-seeded Ethan Charlesworth of Mount Pleasant.

Second Period

On deck: Despite a few days without any matches on our schedule, there are some intriguing matches on top. The biggest is on Tuesday night, when Chestnut Ridge travels to Bedford. This one is always a big one, but it takes on added importance this year, as the Lions look to knock off their nemesis. Also on Tuesday, Westmont Hilltop visits Cambria Heights, which could test my statement in an earlier blog that the Highlanders might be the best team in Cambria County.

Friday brings the second edition of the WestPAC tournament, which will be held at North Star.

Monday

None

Tuesday

Chestnut Ridge at Bedford, 7 p.m.

Westmont Hilltop at Cambria Heights, 7 p.m.

Richland at Forest Hills, 7 p.m.

Penn Cambria at Greater Johnstown, 7 p.m.

North Star at Ligonier Valley, 7 p.m.

Marion Center at Portage, 7 p.m.

Berlin Brothersvalley at Somerset, 7 p.m.

Blairsville at United, 7 p.m.

Conemaugh Township at Shade, 7:15 p.m.

Wednesday

None

Thursday

Portage at North Star, 6 p.m. 

United at Central Cambria, 7 p.m.

Shade at HOPE for Hyndman, 7 p.m. 

Forest Hills at Penn Cambria, 7 p.m. 

Cambria Heights at Somerset, 7 p.m. 

Friday

WestPAC Tournament at North Star

United at Ligonier Valley, 6 p.m. 

Central Cambria at Richland, 7 p.m. 

Bedford at Westmont Hilltop, 7 p.m. 

Saturday

Claysburg-Kimmel at Chestnut Ridge, 5:30 p.m.

Third Period

While there is plenty of action that I’d like to see this week, I’m not sure how much of it I’ll be able to make it to in person. It looks like I’ll miss Tuesday night’s action altogether. I’ll have to check on the start time for the WestPAC Tournament on Friday, but I’m afraid it’s early in the day, which could limit my chances of attending it as well.

I’ll be depending on readers and other media outlets to keep up-to-date on what’s happening.

UPDATE - Westmont at Bedford preview

Just got an update that I'll be able to do a live chat on the match from Bedford tonight. Assuming that the Internet is working there and I can plug into an outlet, that is. There will be a link on The Tribune-Democrat and I'll start chatting at 6:30.

Well, the big night is almost here: Westmont at Bedford. It's usually the match of the year and, depending on how Somerset does this season, it very well could be again. Last year, Westmont beat Bedford 39-23 on the way to the LHAC title. Repeating will be a tough feat though, especially at Bedford.
Here's last year's box score

Westmont 39, Bedford 23

152-Stephen Popchak, WH, maj. dec. Cody Yingling, 13-5.
160-Josiah Koontz, B, pinned Corbin Nulton, 4:34.
171-Brian Gibbons, B, maj. dec. Sam Patrick, 19-5.
189-Ryan Burnheimer, WH, maj. dec. Mike Brett, 13-0.
215-Jacob Krupa, B, maj. dec. Don Shovestull, 14-2.
285-Josh Duplin, WH, pinned Justin Easter, :43.
103-Ryan Easter, B, pinned Stephen Zipf, :24.
112-Garrett Thomas, B, dec. Logan Blackburn, 3-0.
119-Josh Polacek, WH, maj. dec. Caleb Grimes, 18-5.
125-Travis Kushner, WH, maj. dec. Shayne Rininger, 11-3.
130-Mike Walsh, WH, maj. dec. Chris Wilson, 12-0.
135-Tanner Hough, WH, pinned Andrew Miller, :50.
140-Ian Helsel, WH, maj. dec. Zach Dudek, 16-5.
145-Tanner Patton, WH, dec. Tanner Williams, 4-3.

Westmont won nine of the 14 matches in that one, but three of the wrestlers responsible for those wins (and 14 team points) have graduated. Bedford lost just one winner (and four team points). Take away those team points and it's 25-19. Throw in the fact that the matchups seem to favor Bedford this year, and I'd make them the favorite.
Yes, the Bisons struggled in their opener, beating North Star 34-31, while Westmont rolled over Cambria Heights, but Bedford was without Jacob Krupa and forfeited 220. Rumor is that Krupa, who was injured during football season, has been cleared to wrestle tonight. The question is whether or not he'll have the stamina to repeat his major decision of Don Shovestull.
I think Bedford's lightweights are too strong for Westmont to overcome. The Hilltoppers could win it with an upset or two, but my prediction is 37-26 Bedford.
What are your thoughts? Feel free to make a prediction in the comments section below.