Chestnut Ridge in 2013 Powerade Tournament

  Before the high school wrestling season was over, Chestnut Ridge coach Greg Lazor told me that it was very likely that the Lions were entering the prestigious Powerade Tournament for the 2013-14 season.
  That has now been confirmed and the schedule and teams entered are up on the tournament website, www.poweradewrestling.com. The tournament is scheduled for December 27 and 28 at Canon-McMillan High School. Other area teams that are joining Ridge for the first time in the event include Blairsville and Mifflin County.
   This is another jump in the toughness of the schedule which Lazor has enhanced every year in his short tenure at Chestnut Ridge. Remember that this coming season, Chestnut Ridge is already going to the Ultimate Duals at Brookville in mid-January. Couple that with the always-tough Thomas Subaru Tournament, too. And Ridge is also working on plans to host a dual meet tournament on the second weekend of the season.

Bulldog Tilts and Legs Wrestling Camp

   The Bulldog Tilts and Legs Camp for 2013 will be held May 20-23 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Claysburg-Kimmel High School Wrestling Room. Cost is $50, with any coaches attending free with wrestlers. The camp clinician is Claysburg coach Dave Marko, and the counselors are A.J. Schopp and Corey Aungst. Schopp is a former state champion and four-time PIAA medalist from Tyrone, and he placed fourth at nationals this past season for Edinboro University. Aungst wrestled for Marko at Claysburg, placing at states as a senior. He currently wrestles at UPJ.

   The camp philosophy is focused on riding from the top position as well as scoring back points on elite wrestlers. For more information and to sign up for the camp, contact Coach Marko at 814-931-8894.

District 5 Wrestling website needs a new home

   This week, I informed Tom Elling that I would not be able to continue as his Pennsylvania Wrestling District 5 website promoter as part of his statewide network. When I first inquired to him five years ago about taking on this venture, I had more time and figured I would be able to update scores and local wrestling news without much of a problem. At the time, I believe that District 5 was one of only two districts in the state that didn't have a website presence. That previous season, Chestnut Ridge's Gary Pfahler had won a state title, while Bedford was a state semifinalist in the Class AA State Duals. Having been made aware of wrestlers such as North Star's Nick Roberts and Bedford's Ryan Easter coming up through the ranks, I felt strongly that District 5 deserved representation on Tom's site.

   While the website never evolved into what I exactly had hoped, I did my best to post scores from dual meets and tournaments, any milestones, and historical information. Unfortunately this year, I ran into the age old problem of not enough time. I started this blog and it picked up strongly in the fall, and the response that I received from all of you was tremendous. During wrestling season, much of the information that I posted on here would have been on there, so if you went to that site looking for something, I apologize. Since beginning the D5 website, I was later named Sports Editor at the Bedford Gazette, which gave me extra responsibilities. I also have had exciting changes in my life outside of work, so the website suffered. And it's not fair to Tom, District 5, or any of the fans to still stay on as that person when someone else might have the time and the know-how to do things a little better and quicker.

   I don't know what Tom's plans are, but if anyone is interested in being the District 5 representative on his PA Wrestling homepage (no pay involved, just love for the sport), I would contact him at tom@pawrsl.com.

Top Wrestling Recruits - Class of 2014

   PA Power Wrestling has just released its top 200 recruits (Class AA and AAA) for next year's senior class. Several local wrestlers are mentioned, headlined by Bedford's Ryan Easter at 19th. Easter is a three-time state medalist, finishing second this past season at 120 pounds. I have listed the top 5 below along with any locals, plus others from District 5 and District 6.

PA Power Wrestling
Top 5 Recruits for 2013-14
1. Chance Marsteller, Kennard-Dale
2. Solomon Chishko, Canon-McMillan (verbal commitment to Virginia Tech)
3. Thomas Haines, Solanco (verbal commitment to Penn State)
4. Jason Nolf, Kittanning
5. Joe Galasso, Father Judge

D5 and D6 Top Recruits
19. Ryan Easter, Bedford
28. Justin Patrick, Ligonier Valley
35. Austin Buttry, Chestnut Ridge
52. Morgan Selepack, West Branch
82. Nick Naglic, Richland
106. Gavin Berkley, Meyersdale
123. Garrett Thomas, Bedford
134. Landon Lohr, Somerset
139. Jared Beckwith, Tyrone
156. Damian Huff, Hollidaysburg
165. Nico Pecora, Richland
174. Chad Reese, Central Mountain
176. Toby Brett, Bedford
188. Kyle Kahley, Mifflin County

Chestnut Ridge Summer Wrestling Camp

   I have just received information regarding Chestnut Ridge's annual summer wrestling camp, courtesy of Lions' coach Greg Lazor, this year's PIAA Class AA State Coach of the Year. The best part of the camps may be that they are free to all participants.

Dates - All camps held at Chestnut Ridge High School
Elementary (Grades 1-6): June 17-18 from 9-11 a.m.
Junior High (Grades 6-9): June 17-19 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Varsity (Grades 9-12): June 19-22 from 9 a.m.-12 p.m.

   Camps consist of wrestling technique sessions and live wrestling. Camp clinicians include Coach Lazor, other area coaches, and current Chestnut Ridge wrestlers. For more information or to obtain a signup form, contact Greg at glazor@crsd.k12.pa.us.

Updated League Standings

Here are updated standings for local baseball and softball, after Tuesday's games.
(League record first, then overall record)

Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference Baseball
Bedford 7-1, 8-1
Somerset 7-1, 10-2
Bishop McCort 7-2, 9-2
Richland 6-3, 6-3
Cambria Heights 5-3, 6-3
Bishop Guilfoyle 4-3, 5-4
Forest Hills 2-4, 2-4
Central Cambria 2-6, 2-6
Penn Cambria 2-6, 2-7
Westmont 2-6, 3-7
Johnstown 1-5, 2-5
Bishop Carroll 1-6, 2-6

Sideling Hill League Baseball

McConnellsburg 6-1, 9-1

Everett 4-1, 5-1

Northern Bedford 8-2, 9-2

Southern Fulton 7-2, 10-3

Chestnut Ridge 4-2, 5-4

Forbes Road 1-6, 3-6

Tussey Mountain 1-7, 1-7

Fannett-Metal 0-7, 0-10

 

Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference Softball

Johnstown 6-1, 7-1

Cambria Heights 6-1, 6-1

Penn Cambria 6-1, 6-2

Westmont 4-2, 4-2

Somerset 4-2, 6-3

Richland 4-3, 4-3

Central Cambria 3-4, 3-4

Bishop McCort 3-5, 3-5

Bishop Carroll 2-4, 2-4

Forest Hills 2-4, 2-6

Bedford 0-6, 0-7

Bishop Guilfoyle 0-7, 0-7
 

Sideling Hill League Softball

Chestnut Ridge 5-1, 7-1

Forbes Road 5-2, 5-4

Everett 2-2, 5-4

Fannett-Metal 7-3, 8-5

Tussey Mountain 3-5, 4-6

Northern Bedford 2-5, 2-8

McConnellsburg 1-5, 1-8

Southern Fulton 3-6, 5-8

Pennsylvania Wrestling Day announced

   The upcoming month of May has been declared World Wrestling Month. In addition, May 15 will be Pennsylvania Wrestling Day. Show support for the sport and its hopeful inclusion in the Olympic program by wearing wrestling related apparel or posting something on your Facebook, Twitter or other outlets.

   This initiative was proclaimed by the PA State Senate today. It was sponsored by state senator Bob Robbins.