Marstellar-Wiercioch

Link to Flowrestling's video of 1 vs. 2 in the nation. If you watched it live, watch it again. If you didn't see it, tune in. Incredible action, especially in the third period.

http://www.flowrestling.org/coverage/250000-Flomajor-10-2012-Powerade/video/674964-170-lbs-finals-Chance-Marsteller-Kenndard-Dale-vs-Cody-Wiercioch-Canon-McMillan

Southmoreland Finals results

2012 Southmoreland Holiday Classic
Team Key and Final Standings
Bt – Butler, 193; MP – Mount Pleasant, 148; G – Greenville, 145; NB – Northern Bedford, 145; Bl – Blairsville, 130.5; My – Meyersdale, 115.5; JM –Jefferson-Morgan, 113; V – Valley, 112; PR – Pine Richland, 102; WG – West Greene, 99.5; FH – Forest Hills, 98; SS – South Side, 91.5; Bn – Bentworth, 89.5; NS – North Star, 89; LV – Ligonier Valley, 88.5; Co – Corry, 86; Hi – Hickory, 85.5; Ho – Hollidaysburg, 79; MC  - Marion Center, 75; Sm – Southmoreland, 64; M – Mars, 58; F – Freedom, 56; SR – Slippery Rock, 56; Bg – Burgettstown, 54.5; B – Baldwin, 52; GC – Grove City, 47.5; Gt – Gateway, 44.5; BC – Beth-Center, 43.5; K – Knoch, 41; Ch – Charleroi, 38; H – Highlands, 21.5; J – Jeannette, 15; Ca – California, 3; R – Riverview, 0.

Championship Finals
106 – Austin Griffiths, Sm, maj. dec. Austin McDermitt, Bg, 11-2.
113 – Damian Huff, Ho, dec. Tristan Law, FH, 6-4.
120 – Nathan Reckner, SS, dec. Justin Patrick, LV, 5-3.
126 – Josh Patrick, LV, dec. David Kelly, PR, 4-2.
132 – Shane Gentry, SS, maj. dec. Tanner Hetrick, My, 11-2.
138 – Nick Gavazzi, Ch, dec. Noah Tarr, Bl, 3-1.
145 – Drew Gartland, NB, maj. dec. Jason Stay, BC, 9-1.
152 – Andrew Doak, Bl, dec. Boe Bonzo, F, 5-1.
160 – Cody Law, FH, dec. Brendan Burnham, PR, 7-3.
170 – Ryan Hannon, Bt, dec. Austin Davidson, Gt, 5-1.
182 – Dustin Conti, JM, dec. Terrell Fields, V, 7-1.
195 – Ryan Morris, Co, dec. Joe Hines, Hi, 6-3.
220 – Levi Albright, NS, dec. Eric Grace, NB, 9-7.
285 – Forrest Christmann, SR, dec. Jake Beistel, Sm, 8-5.

Outstanding Wrestler Award - Nathan Reckner, 120.

Southmoreland Finals Matchups

Here are the championship pairings for the Southmoreland Holiday Classic, set for later this afternoon.

106 - Austin Griffiths, Southmoreland vs. Austin McDermitt, Burgettstown
113 - Tristan Law, Forest Hills vs. Damian Huff, Hollidaysburg
120 - Justin Patrick, Ligonier Valley vs. Nathan Reckner, South Side
126 - Josh Patrick, Ligonier Valley vs. David Kelly, Pine Richland
132 - Shane Gentry, South Side vs. Tanner Hetrick, Meyersdale
138 - Noah Tarr, Blairsville vs. Nick Gavazzi, Charleroi
145 - Drew Gartland, Northern Bedford vs. Jason Stay, Beth-Center
152 - Drew Doak, Blairsville vs. Boe Bonzo, Freedom
160 - Cody Law, Forest Hills vs. Brendan Burnham, Pine Richland
170 - Ryan Hannon, Butler vs. Austin Davidson, Gateway
182 - Dustin Conti, Jefferson-Morgan vs. Terrell Fields, Valley
195 - Joe Hines, Hickory vs. Ryan Morris, Corry
220 - Eric Grace, Northern Bedford vs. Levi Albright, North Star
285 - Forrest Christmann, Slippery Rock vs. Jake Beistel, Southmoreland

Action-packed weekend

This is one weekend of wrestling where I wish I could be in three or four places at the same time. Along with my local schools Chestnut Ridge and Northern Bedford being involved at Chambersburg and Southmoreland, respectively, there are two big events on opposite ends of the state which began this morning. For more on Chambersburg and Southmoreland, read my previews about it from earlier in the week on this blog.
Most notably is the Powerade Tournament at Canon-McMillan, where a bevy of nationally-ranked wrestlers are in competition. Expected finals tomorrow night include a pair of 1 vs. 2 in the nation - Chance Marstellar and Cody Wiercioch at 170 pounds, and Kyle Snyder and Thomas Haines at 220.
Those two likely matchups, along with seeing several other studs in the building has me very tempted to make the drive to Canon-Mac. Only problem there is I don't have anyone to cover for what I get compensated for on here or in the Bedford Gazette.
The Bethlehem Holiday Classic at Liberty High School in the Lehigh Valley also started today and once again boasts a strong field that includes Central Dauphin in 2012. CD had gone to the Powerade in years past, but opted for an eastern trip this season. I've been to this event several times before, and it's been usually well-run and offered some of the nicest team and individual trophies I've seen in a high school tournament on top of its high caliber field.
Of course, I can only be at one place, but thanks for computers and smartphones, and websites like Flowrestling, TrackWrestling, and Twitter to be able to follow all the action.

Also, I'm potentially putting together a live chat for this coming Wednesday evening. I will post further details when I can. Last year, the live chats I held were a big hit and I hope it will be the same again. I wouldn't expect to hold any chats during tournament action later in the season. One issue is the Cover It Live chat platform has gone from a free service to an expensive pay service, so I was forced to find other outlets. The other is time. As much as I love chatting about the greatest sport and interacting with everyone, it's tough to chat, write, watch matches, interview wrestlers and coaches, etc. at the same time.

While I will be busy with the aforementioned, here's an upcoming "This date in local wrestling history" for the weekend.

On December 31, 1998...
Chestnut Ridge beat Tussey Mountain in a 31-30 barnburner that came down to the final minute of the final bout, where Lions' heavyweight Andy Miller scored an escape on Tussey's Ryan Kling for a 1-0 decision. The Titans' had a 24-3 lead at one point before Chestnut Ridge came storming back.

Holiday Tournament Action

Many of the local wrestling teams swing back into action over the next three days as we get closer to the beginning of 2013. Here's a closer look at what's on tap.

Note: Bedford will not be attending the Boiling Springs Tournament on Thursday. Due to the weather on Wednesday, the Bisons were forced to pull out of the event.

Friday and Saturday - Southmoreland Holiday Classic
In the field: Northern Bedford, Southmoreland, Riverview, Meyersdale, Jefferson-Morgan, West Greene, Corry, North Star, Blairsville, Forest Hills, Bentworth, Mount Pleasant, Ligonier Valley, Jeannette, Greenville, Baldwin, Valley, Knoch, Hickory, Freedom, Burgettstown, Gateway, Charleroi, Butler, Mars, Highlands, Marion Center, Hollidaysburg, South Side, Slippery Rock, Pine Richland, Grove City, Beth-Center.

Overview: This has become a solid event with schools ranging from District 5 to several WPIAL teams to a couple from District 10. Northern Bedford is the lone local. There will be several studs here, starting with defending champions Justin Patrick of Ligonier Valley, John Demaske of Jefferson-Morgan, Vince Vahaly of Bentworth, Noah Tarr of Blairsville, Cody Law of Forest Hills, and Dustin Conti of Jefferson-Morgan. The brothers of Patrick (Josh) and Law (Triston) should also be in the fold as well as Blairsville teammates Andrew Doak and Scott Thompson. Of course, there won't be a marquee bout such as Jason Nolf-Nick Roberts this year (Roberts graduated, Nolf and Kittanning at Powerade Tournament), but this event gives what can be a partial preview of the Southwest Regional in two months.

Saturday - Dale Bock Invitational at Chambersburg
In the field: Chestnut Ridge, Bermudian Springs, Chambersburg, Century, Fairfield, Southern Huntingdon, State College

Overview: James Buchanan was the 8th team originally scheduled here, but they appear to be a scratch. Some standout individuals here, including returning Class AAA state champion Garett Hammond, a Penn State recruit, of host Chambersburg. The Trojans also have state placewinner Tanner Shoap in the lower weights. Bermudian Springs is loaded with talent, notably state placewinner Tristan Sponseller and qualifiers Ted Marines and Austin Jackson. Chestnut Ridge brings its solid lineup in with a ton of confidence after a strong start that has included wins over rivals Bedford and Claysburg.

Elsewhere in dual meets, there are two on Thursday night. Claysburg hosts Mount Union, one of the better teams in District 6, while HOPE for Hyndman travels to Berlin.

This date in local wrestling history...

In a new feature to "Spring Into Sports," I'll be taking a look back at historical wrestling news from the pages of the Bedford Gazette. It will not be an everyday thing, but I hope to do so as often as possible throughout the wrestling season. Here's the first one:

On December 20, 1985...
Bedford opened its dual meet season with a 36-16 win at North Star, giving the program its 399th victory in history. The match was tied, 10-10, before a run of four straight wins by the Bisons that began with a pin from 126-pounder Robbie Ripple, who is currently Everett's head coach.

What's in a rivalry?

I enjoy my job every day. I get to go somewhere different, see something different, and then tell the story on a nightly basis. Rivalries in any sport are the most fun to cover in my opinion.
When I moved to Bedford County six and a half years ago, I of course didn't know where the rivalries were, but it didn't take me long to figure out where to find them. Bedford vs. Chestnut Ridge, Northern Bedford vs. Tussey Mountain, and just about any time that one of our local schools gets together with another one in any sport becomes one to circle on the schedule.
Last night's wrestling match between visiting Chestnut Ridge and host Bedford was the latest example. It's a match that's been anticipated ever since early February when the Bisons beat the Lions, 29-24, for the District 5 Dual Meet title to advance to Hershey for the PIAA team tournament.
Here's my basic ingredient list for a great rivalry, using the match, a 39-32 win for Chestnut Ridge, as the example.
- Talented individuals.
There wasn't any shortage of wrestling talent on the mat last night. I have no doubt that several of them from both sides will be in my coverage for the Gazette deep into the postseason.
- Outstanding play.
In this case, the 132-pound bout was an unbelievable highlight. Bedford's Garrett Thomas and Chestnut Ridge's Trent Crouse battled so hard for six-plus minutes (Thomas prevailed 5-3 in overtime) that it had to make anyone, no matter which side you were rooting for, be glad to have attended. Thomas twice was deep on a single, and twice Crouse got out of the jam, including the first with a funk. The Bedford wrestler didn't panic though as he scored a reversal for a lead. Crouse came back for a reversal of his own, but was nailed for stalling twice in the final 30 seconds to send it to the extra period.
- Passionate fans.
Each of these teams has a loud, boisterous group of fans which makes the atmosphere electric to say the least. Enough said.
- Intangibles.
By this, I'll give you two examples from last night. I'll start with the coaching. Both Bedford and Chestnut Ridge have great coaching staffs that allow their wrestlers to succeed at the highest level. They know how to work kids in the practice room, convert that work into the actual matches, and they are great motivators.
The other example of an intangible is the official, or officials in this case. Mike Eichelberger and Doug Fogel always do an outstanding job of what they are paid to do. They control the mat, protect the wrestlers, and keep things running smoothly. There's always going to be calls, no matter what sport, where fans and/or coaches don't agree with, and I know the Chestnut Ridge people didn't like Fogel's stalling calls, especially the second one, against Crouse. That said, I make my way to various matches/tournaments around the state this time of year, so I see a lot of different officials and styles of officiating. Personally, I regard both Doug and Mike as two of the best in Pennsylvania.
I saved quotes from Chestnut Ridge coach Greg Lazor and Bedford coach Brian Creps for this blog. In it, they summed up the overall theme of the night.
"Our pep speech was pretty much 'If you need motivation for this match, then you need to go home because you're on the wrong team'," said Lazor.
"Any time these two teams with the wrestling traditions they have get together, it's going to be a fun match," added Creps. "If you're a wrestling fan and you didn't come to the match tonight, you sure did miss it, because it was a lot of fun."
If you didn't catch the match, read my story about it, along with five action photos, in today's Bedford Gazette. It's worth the read.

Intermat NCAA rankings

Link to Penn State's story about latest national rankings.
http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/121812aaa.html

State Rankings

Here are where District 5 and 6 wrestlers are in the Class AA state rankings by PA Power Rankings, as of last week. Keep in mind that some of them haven't been at the weights they are ranked at yet, it is more of a preseason list. I apologize in not getting these out earlier, but there was so much to do with the weekend tournaments. New rankings are expected out later this week.

106 pounds
5. Jon Gabriel, Bedford
7. Colin Glorioso, Huntingdon
15. Ian Ostrowski, Central Cambria
16. David Wiles, Marion Center

113 pounds
13. Derrick Claar, Chestnut Ridge
14. Logan Blackburn, Westmont
15. Tristan Law, Forest Hills
19. Sage Moist, Mount Union

120 pounds
2. Justin Patrick, Ligonier Valley
3. Ryan Easter, Bedford
15. Josh Brown, Claysburg
21. Mason Replogle, Northern Bedford

126 pounds
3. Josh Patrick, Ligonier Valley
10. Collin Day, Meyersdale
15. Joe Davis, Cambria Heights
18. Garrett Thomas, Bedford

132 pounds
10. Toby Brett, Bedford
12. Brad Thomas, Cambria Heights
13. Tanner Hetrick, Meyersdale
19. Chase Fox, Portage

138 pounds
8. Brennon Shields, Southern Huntingdon
11. Damian Corle, Northern Bedford
13. JP Hayles, West Branch
16. Brandon Heberling, Marion Center
17. Nick Naglic, Richland

145 pounds
3. Sean Heggs, Juniata
9. Drew Gartland, Northern Bedford
17. Seth Deist, Meyersdale

152 pounds
5. Andrew Doak, Blairsville
15. Tanner Cahill, Conemaugh Township

160 pounds
1. Cody Law, Forest Hills
17. Channing Cavender, Blairsville
18. Richard Moskey, HOPE for Hyndman

170 pounds
7. Bradie Bollman, Chestnut Ridge
8. Mike Rogers, Penns Valley
20. Zack Pinkas, Forest Hills

182 pounds
5. Scott Thompson, Blairsville
8. Tyler Dibert, Chestnut Ridge
9. Jared Beckwith, Tyrone
14. Phil Kyle, Mount Union
15. Jacob Nickelson, Somerset

195 pounds
4. James Stodart, Moshannon Valley
9. Dan Albright, Chestnut Ridge
10. DJ Wunder, Tyrone
11. Michael Brett, Bedford

220 pounds
9. Jacob Ludwig, Moshannon Valley
14. Jake Bennett, HOPE for Hyndman
15. Seth McLendon, Penn Cambria
19. Don Shovestull, Westmont

285 pounds
7. Austin Buttry, Chestnut Ridge
10. Nik Smith, Mount Union
17. Ben Mountain, United

King of the Mountain wrapup

Four out of the five years that Bedford has had the King of the Mountain Tournament on its schedule, I've made the trip. As always, there's not a shortage of quality competition anywhere in the Central Mountain gymnasium.
I heard several people mention that the tournament seemed deeper than in years past and I agree. With Bethlehem Catholic, Cumberland Valley, Fort LeBoeuf and others getting involved this season, it was a significant upgrade for an event that is already known as one of the best in the nation, in the conversation with tournaments such as the Beast of the East and Reno Tourmanent of Champions.

Raising the Bar

Bedford junior Ryan Easter is currently 78-14 in his career and he is a two-time state placewinner, a sixth place medal last season after taking fifth as a freshman.
But Easter isn't resting on those laurels, and he has much bigger aspirations.
"I want to be a state champion," he said. If that happens, he would be Bedford's first since the mid-1960's and only the school's third ever.
Here's what he told me next, about an hour after he lost in the King of the Mountain 126-pound final to Lansing, N.Y. standout William Koll.
"I want to go undefeated the rest of the year after this."
With Bedford's schedule and the possibility that the Bisons could advance to Hershey again for the Class AA state duals, that is a lofty goal. But don't mistake that for any type of arrogance or bravado. As much as I know Ryan, he's a very confident wrestler who believes highly in himself.

Bedford's Ryan Easter against Lansing's William Koll on Saturday.

Freshmen Phenoms

Not only did seeing the debut of Bedford's Jonathan Gabriel give me a taste of some of the immense talent pouring into the varsity wrestling ranks, but others from the region and even out of state raised my eye. For more on Gabriel, pick up Monday's Bedford Gazette as I chronicalled his first two days of varsity competition.

One of these is Mifflin County's Hayden Hidlay, who I had heard about but had never seen of course. Boy, did Hidlay impress. He was the 10th seed in the 113-pound bracket and came within an overtime score of knocking off top seed, defending KoM champion, and defending Class AAA state champ Ethan Lizak of Parkland, a junior. Losing 4-3 in the finals does nothing to deflate anything this ninth grader will do later this season or in the future.

Another heralded freshman is Phillipsburg, NJ's Brandon Paetzell. Now, some of you know that Phillipsburg, NJ is my hometown and where I went to school. So naturally, I'm going to have a rooting interest in my Stateliners.

So I also keep up on what is going on with P'burg, as it is affectionately known, as well as high school wrestling in that state. Heck, I even watched an hour-long video preview about the New Jersey season last week. Call me crazy, as my wife often does this time of year.

Now back to the topic. What I didn't know until Saturday morning was that Paetzell had a connection to Gabriel, not just after the two wrestled on Friday night in the second round where Gabriel won in overtime.
From what I was told, Gabriel had never beaten Paetzell before in any competition. I checked with young Gabriel after the tournament and he recalled a bout with Paetzell at a tournament in Indianapolis.

"Yeah, I think he beat me pretty bad," he said.
After finally winning against his old foe on Friday, Gabriel acknowledged that nobody told him who it was until the final whistle blew.

The Week Ahead

The big match coming up this week is Bedford hosting Chestnut Ridge. Likely the two best teams in District 5, it should be a good one and a possible preview of the two getting together again in the district duals come early February.
Also on the card on Tuesday is Northern Bedford against Tussey Mountain, while the Panthers wrestle Everett later in the week for any county fans.

Other Weekend Wrestling Action

All of my coverage area teams are involved somewhere around the state as it is a busy weekend in local wrestling. Aside from Bedford's appearance at the King of the Mountain, which I have already previewed in this blog, Chestnut Ridge will be at the Mount Carmel Tournament, and Claysburg and HOPE for Hyndman will be at the Sheetz Holiday Classic at Penn Cambria. Also, Everett, Northern Bedford, and Tussey Mountain trek to Moshannon Valley for the ICC Duals. Here are short briefs on them.

Sheetz Holiday Classic - Today and Saturday
Teams: Altoona, Berlin, Cambria Heights, Canandaigua, NY, Central Cambria, Claysburg, Conemaugh Township, Corry, Forest Hills, Johnstown, Hollidaysburg, HOPE for Hyndman, Huntingdon, Ligonier Valley, Mercer, Mount Pleasant, Northern Cambria, Penn Cambria, Portage, Richland, St. Mary's.

Headline individuals here should include Altoona's T.J. Brandt and D.J. Hollingshead, Ligonier Valley's Justin and Josh Patrick, and Forest Hills' Cody Law. Wrestling is set to begin at 5 p.m. today at Penn Cambria.

Mount Carmel Tournament - Saturday
Teams: Chestnut Ridge, Mount Carmel, North Penn, Pottsville, Tamaqua, Wellsboro.

This is a round-robin style event. Chestnut Ridge is the headliner here, with standout upperweight Tyler Dibert needing two wins to get 100 for his career.

ICC Duals - Saturday
Teams: Everett, Northern Bedford, Tussey Mountain, Glendale, Moshannon Valley, West Branch.

Moshannon Valley hosts this year. Everett, NBC, and Tussey will each wrestle the three northern foes in dual meets.

King of the Mountain Part 2

Got back from North Star a while ago. Chestnut Ridge opened the season with a 60-11 win over the Cougars. Highlight of the night was Dustin Bence's pin of Luke Lepley. Bence won 5 bouts last year while Lepley won 21 and almost got to regionals.

But I won't give everything away. Read my story about it in Friday's Bedford Gazette, and also stay near this blog as I will have a short feature on Ridge's Tyler Dibert as he nears 100 wins and looks forward to his senior season.

Now, for the King of the Mountain. The top seedings in each weight have been released. Wrestling kicks off at Central Mountain at 11 a.m. Friday. Yours truly is making the trip on Saturday for all the action from the second day.

106 pounds - General McLane's Joe Wheeling is the top seed here, with Bedford's Jon Gabriel at #2. The big news here is that Latrobe's Luke Pletcher, ranked nationally as high as second, is at 113 this weekend. Wheeling was 27-5 last season as a sophomore. He finished second in District 10-AAA.

Finals prediction - Gabriel vs. Bethlehem Catholic's Luke Karam, seeded fifth.

113 - This weight class seems to have all kinds of possibilities. Parkland's Ethan Lizak, a defending Class AAA state champion and finalist two years ago, is seeded first, with defending AA runner-up Korbin Myers of Boiling Springs seeded second. Pletcher, again rated so highly on a national scale, drew only the #4 seed. Redbank Valley's Willie Gruver, seeded fifth, is a proven commodity as is sixth seed Zach Fisher of Phillipsburg, NJ (my alma mater).  Another top freshman I have heard about is Mifflin County's Hunter Hidlay, seeded 10th.

Finals prediction - Pletcher vs. Myers.

120 - Cuyahoga Valley Christian's Nathan Tomasello, ranked first in the nation, is not listed and apparently not wrestling, though teammates of his are seeded. Still not a bad weight here, with Bethlehem Catholic's Darian Cruz at the top. Cruz is the defending AA state champ at 106 and ranked nationally in the top five by most services. Ryan Pomrinca of North Hunterdon drew the second seed, with Council Rock South's Dan Martoccio third. Martoccio beat Bedford's Ryan Easter in the KoM finals two years ago at 103. Erie McDowell's Paul Deitz and Fort LeBoeuf's Tyler Kuzma aren't bad, either.

Finals prediction - Cruz vs. Martoccio.

126 - The top seed here is Lansing, N.Y. product William Koll, the son of Cornell coach Rob Koll. Koll is a returning New York state champion. Drawing the second seed is Bedford's Easter. The intriguing part of this bracket, at least from my angle, is a potential semifinal between Easter and third seed Matt Williams of Pen Argyl. Easter beat Williams on an overtime takedown in the first round at states last March, while at the state duals a month earlier, Williams dearly cost the Green Knights a team point in their 30-29 quarterfinal loss to the Bisons by throwing his headgear, upset that he didn't get the chance to wrestle Easter or anybody else for that matter.

Finals prediction - Koll vs. Easter.

132 - Kittanning's Jason Nolf, last year's KoM Outstanding Wrestler and a 2011 PIAA Class AA champion is the favorite here. He is followed in the seedings by Cole Walter of Mifflinburg, Josh Decatur of Cuyahoga Valley Christian, and Nick Gibson of Erie McDowell. Bedford's Garrett Thomas is seeded ninth.

Finals prediction - Nolf vs. Walter.

138 - Lansing's Conner Lepresi is a defending New York placewinner and is tops here. Cumberland Valley's Patrick Duggan is the second seed and is very highly regarded. Juniata's Sean Heggs surprised some at states last season and is the third seed. Bedford's Toby Brett is eighth.

Finals prediction - Erie McDowell's Shawn Spearman, seeded fourth, vs. Duggan.

145 - Pen Argyl stud and two-time state champion Michael Racciato is seeded first. Despite winning those two state titles, Racciato hasn't won this tournament in three previous tries. That says something about the quality at the King of the Mountain, though in fairness, Racciato and his Pen Argyl football team have done well the past two years, leaving him a smaller window for wrestling practice. It could be an all District 11 final as Bethlehem Catholic's Ryan Todora is the second seed. Line Mountain's Seth Lansberry is a solid wrestler and is #3.

Finals prediction - Racciato vs. Todora.

152 - Reynolds ace Austin Matthews, who lost in the state finals last winter to Racciato, is the top seed at 152, with John Vaughn of Boiling Springs second and Jimmy Schuitema of Phillipsburg, NJ third. Bedford's Tanner Williams, who placed here last year, is seeded seventh.

Finals prediction - Matthews vs. Schuitema (hey, gotta give my school some love).

160 - Cumberland Valley's T.C. Warner and Latrobe's Zack Zavatsky, both nationally ranked and both returning state AAA placewinners, highlight this bracket as the top two seeds, respectively. Sleeper here could be Bethlehem Catholic's Connor Hedash, the #7 seed. Hedash transferred to Becahi from Northern Lehigh before last season, but was ruled ineligible.

Finals prediction - Warner vs. Zavatsky.

170 - I don't much about this group other than top seed Ty Walter of Mifflinburg, so it will be short.

Finals prediction - Walter vs. Penn Trafford's Will Palorino, seeded sixth.

182 - Bellefonte's Nick Shawley drew the top post here with the second spot occupied by New Jersey's Liam Korbul of North Hunterdon. Bethlehem Catholic's Jose Ortiz is third.

Finals prediction - Shawley vs. Ortiz.

195 - Council Rock South's P.J. Steinmetz drew the top seed and DuBois' Landon Hanna is #2. The host school, Central Mountain, appears to have its best shot at a high placer on paper here with third seed Blaze Buckwalter. Bedford's Michael Brett, who has made a lot of noise at this tournament before, has the eighth seed.

Finals prediction - Steinmetz vs. Buckwalter.

220 - Like 170, I don't know a lot about this bracket besides top seed Evan Daley of Fort LeBoeuf.

Finals prediction - Daley vs. Boyertown's Jordan Wood, the third seed.

285 - Could be a rematch of last year's final here, with top seed and defending AA state champion Nazar Mironenko of Mifflinburg, and second seed Garrett Poorman of Bellefonte. Mironenko won the KoM title a year ago but still seemed to go unnoticed into Hershey only to come out with the big prize.

Finals prediction - Mironenko vs. Poorman.

King of the Mountain Part 1

Teams at the 2012 King of the Mountain: Bedford, Bellefonte, Bethlehem Catholic, Biglerville, Boiling Springs, Boyertown, Brooks School (MA), Bucktail, Central Mountain, Colonial Forge (VA), Council Rock South, Cumberland Valley, Cuyahoga Valley Christian (OH), Dieruff, DuBois, Erie McDowell, Fort LeBoeuf, General McLane, Greater Latrobe, Jersey Shore, Juniata, Kittanning, Lansing (NY), Line Mountain, Mifflinburg, Mifflin County, North Hunterdon (NJ), Parkland, Pen Argyl, Penn Trafford, Phillipsburg (NJ), Redbank Valley, Reynolds, South Western, Stroudsburg.

New teams for this year: Bethlehem Catholic, Boyertown, Brooks School, Bucktail, Colonial Forge, Cumberland Valley, Cuyahoga Valley Christian, Fort LeBoeuf, General McLane, Lansing, North Hunterdon, Redbank Valley.

Defending champion: Erie McDowell.

Nationally ranked wrestlers expected at this tournament (rankings by Intermat and Flowrestling)
106 - Luke Pletcher, Greater Latrobe freshman, #2 Intermat, #3 Flo
113 - Ethan Lizak, Parkland junior, #6 Intermat, #11 Flo
120 - Nathan Tomasello, Cuyahoga Valley Christian senior, #1 Intermat, #1 Flo
120 - Darian Cruz, Bethlehem Catholic senior, #5 Intermat, #4 Flo
126 - Zeke Moisey, Bethlehem Catholic junior, #8 Intermat, #5 Flo
132 - Jason Nolf, Kittanning junior, #6 Intermat, #5 Flo
145 - Michael Racciato, Pen Argyl senior, #7 Intermat, #2 Flo
152 - Austin Matthews, Reynolds senior, #7 Intermat, #8 Flo
160 - Zack Zavatsky, Greater Latrobe junior, #11 Intermat
160 - T.C. Warner, Cumberland Valley junior, #17 Intermat, #12 Flo at 152
170 - Ty Walter, Mifflinburg senior, #19 Flo

Bedford returnees with KoM records and placings from 2011
Jake Warren, junior, 0-2 DNP at 106
Ryan Easter, junior, 4-1 2nd at 113
Garrett Thomas, junior, 3-2 DNP at 120
Toby Brett, junior, 3-2 DNP at 126
Caleb Grimes, senior, 0-2 DNP at 132
Tanner Williams, senior, 3-3 8th at 152
Michael Brett, senior, 4-3 8th at 195
Justin Easter, senior, 0-2 DNP at 285

Seedings are expected to be released on Thursday. I will have more on that once I have them.

Penn State very prominent in NCAA rankings

Eight Nittany Lions in Intermat Top 20.

http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/121112aaa.html

Williams glad to be back

Bedford's Tanner Williams pins Somerset's Daniel Talley on Tuesday night.

   
Tanner Williams could not have dreamed up a better day.
   Chomping at the bit to wrestle in high school competition since early February, the Bedford senior went out in front of his home crowd and set the tone for the match with a pin, one of several in the Bisons' 62-15 rout of Laurel Highland Athletic Conference rival Somerset.

   In a fitting twist, it was Williams who got the chance to wrestle first, as the 152-pound weight class was drawn to begin the match. He could hardly keep his emotions in check leading up to the time he and his teammates took the mat, but once he stood on the starting line, it was back to business for Williams.

  "It feels amazing to be back," he said. "It was the greatest welcome I could have back, starting my team off with a pin. Being a leader and all, it was great to get my team off on a good note.

  "The whole day, I was so pumped up. At weigh-in's, I felt like I was freaking out, just saying 'Let's go, let's go.' When they pulled my number for the start, I was like 'Alright, this is what I'm talking about.'"

  "He was so excited all day long," added Bedford coach Brian Creps. "Today was like Christmas for him."

  Williams was enjoying a solid junior season when it came to a halt in the PIAA Class AA State Duals, where he suffered a broken hand. That relegated him to a role of cheerleader after he had posted a 23-7 record.

  Now healed up and coming off a strong cross country season, Williams appears primed to make a run at the regional and state tournaments to close his high school career.

  "My goal individually is to qualify for states, and maybe even place," he said. "For the team, we definitely want to go back to state duals."

Scores - December 11

Tuesday's Wrestling Scores involving local teams
Bedford 62, Somerset 15
Claysburg 65, Juniata Valley 15
Mount Union 69, Everett 9
Northern Bedford 46, Southern Huntingdon 21

Other score from District 5
Meyersdale 56, Portage 18

Check out Wednesday's Bedford Gazette for my wrapup of Bedford's big win over Somerset. Also in the coming days, I'll have a feature on here about Bedford senior Tanner Williams, and will further preview the King of the Mountain Tournament which is this weekend.

The Week Ahead in Wrestling

Here's what's on tap for this week, the first full week of local high school wrestling action.

Tuesday
Somerset at Bedford
Mount Union at Everett
Claysburg at Juniata Valley
Northern Bedford at Southern Huntingdon

Bedford opens defense of its Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference championship against Somerset, who took the Bisons to the wire last year in its home gym in the regular season. The news going into this match is more of who's not on each roster this year, notably Josiah Koontz for Bedford (not wrestling) and Michael Sutton for Somerset (moved). The Golden Eagles finished fifth in the Philipsburg Tournament over the past weekend. Notable there was Jacob Nickelson's title at 195, where he beat Moshannon Valley's James Stodart in a marquee finals matchup.

Thursday
Chestnut Ridge at North Star
Southern Huntingdon at Claysburg
Juniata Valley at Everett
Northern Bedford at Central
Mount Union at Tussey Mountain

Chestnut Ridge opens its season at North Star. The Lions took two from the Cougars last year. Elsewhere, Northern Bedford at Central provides intrigue from a coaching standpoint as Central's new head coach is Mike Shippy, who guided Northern's junior high team for years with plenty of success. Shippy is assisted this year by the great Jan Clark, who formerly was the head coach at Central, Northern Bedford, and Tussey Mountain. Central had a nice third-place showing at the Claysburg Pizza Tournament.

Friday and/or Saturday
King of the Mountain at Central Mountain
ICC North/South Duals at Moshannon Valley
Sheetz Holiday Classic at Penn Cambria
Mount Carmel Tournament

The highlight here is the King of the Mountain, where Bedford makes another trip to. This has become one of the premier tournaments in the country, and this year, Bethlehem Catholic, Cumberland Valley, and Fort LeBoeuf join an already star-studded field. Also, Cuyahoga Valley Christian of Ohio is entered which means a chance to see the #1 wrestler in the country at 120 pounds, Nathan Tomasello. Tomasello is an Ohio State recruit.

Chestnut Ridge visits the Mount Carmel Tournament, Claysburg and HOPE for Hyndman are in the Sheetz Classic, and Everett, Northern Bedford, and Tussey Mountain take part in the ICC Duals.

I am expecting to have more on the King of the Mountain, including some predictions, later in the week.

Opening Weekend of Wrestling

Locally, there are two tournaments that will open the High School wrestling season. Here are short previews.

Claysburg Pizza Tournament
The Field: Claysburg, Central, Mapletown, Parkersburg WV, Penn Cambria, Portage, Tussey Mountain, Tyrone.

This tournament has switched from an individual tournament to a dual-meet format. The standout team on paper is Parkersburg, which has four returning West Virginia state placewinners, led by upperweight Jared Haught, a defending state champion and Virginia Tech recruit. Claysburg's Josh Brown is the only PIAA state qualifier returning of the teams involved.

Conemaugh Township Tournament
The Field: Conemaugh Township, Bellwood, Johnstown, Ligonier Valley, Mount Union, Richland, Southern Huntingdon, Westmont, Williamson, West Greene.

Standout individuals here include Ligonier Valley's Justin and Josh Patrick, both returning top five state placewinners. Josh Patrick recently signed to wrestle at Rutgers. West Greene's Cody Jacobs is solid, and Williamson's Logan Everett was a fifth-place state medalist at 120 last March. 

UPJ to honor Pecora

Legendary UPJ wrestling coach Pat Pecora will be honored for his recent 500th career coaching victory this Saturday, December 8, before the Mountain Cats home dual with Ohio Valley. A link to details about the event is below.
http://www.pitt-johnstown.pitt.edu/31866/

Nittany Lions back on top

Penn State has regained the #1 position in the latest Division I rankings by USA Today/NWCA/AWN. Oklahoma State, previously #3, defeated former #2 Minnesota and the Cowboys are now at #2. Penn State received 9 of the 10 first place votes while #4 Ohio State got the other first place vote.

USA Today/NWCA/AWN Poll
1. Penn State
2. Oklahoma State
3. Minnesota
4. Ohio State
5. Iowa

Other Pennsylvania teams
16. Pittsburgh
19. Edinboro
22. Penn
23. Lehigh
25. Bloomsburg

Career Wrestling Win Leaders

   Here's the Top 20 in career victories in the Bedford Gazette coverage area heading into the 2012-13 season (graduating class in parenthesis), followed below by the current active win list.

Career Win Leaders
1. Ty Dively, Claysburg (2012), 146
2. James Dodson, Claysburg (2012), 141
3. Jarrett Musselman, Claysburg (2002), 141
4. Adam Whetstone, Claysburg (2005), 139
5. Corey Aungst, Claysburg (2011), 135
6. Ryan McIntyre, Claysburg (2005), 135
7. Derek Tipton, Claysburg (2000), 135
8. Thad Benton, Claysburg (2001), 132
9. Cole Claar, Claysburg (2011), 132
10. Josh Snyder, Hyndman (2006), 132
11. Brian Gibbons, Bedford (2011), 129
12. Cory Thomas, Bedford (2010), 128
13. Brandon Reasy, Northern Bedford (2003), 126
14. Eric Gibbons, Bedford (2002), 122
15. Jake Snyder, Hyndman (2006), 121
16. Logan Sheldon, Hyndman (2009), 120
17. Tyler Chesney, Northern Bedford (2009), 119
18. Josh McDannell, Chestnut Ridge (2009), 119
19. Shawn Husick, Tussey Mountain (1991), 116
20. Jeff Musselman, Bedford (1997), 116

Active Win Leaders (Top 10)
1. Tyler Dibert, Chestnut Ridge (2013), 97
2. Brady Logsdon, Hyndman (2013), 77
3. Ryan Easter, Bedford (2014), 73
4. Drew Gartland, Northern Bedford (2013), 73
5. Mason Replogle, Northern Bedford (2013), 73
6. Josh Brown, Claysburg (2013), 66
7. Garrett Thomas, Bedford (2014), 60
8. Michael Brett, Bedford (2013), 57
9. Jake Bennett, Hyndman (2014), 56
10. Austin Buttry, Chestnut Ridge (2014), 46

Local teams helping to fight hunger

Claysburg and Chestnut Ridge are teaming up to fight hunger. At the match between the two on Saturday, December 22, non-perishable donations will be accepted. If you can't make it to the match, you can still arrange to make a donation by contacting a member of either team.

All donations will be given to the Claysburg Food Bank.

The junior high match is at 4 pm with the varsity to follow around 5:30 pm. Great effort by these two programs to give back to a greater cause!

State's Top Wrestlers

PA Power Rankings preseason #1 wrestlers in each weight class for the Southwest Region in Class AA.

106 - Austin Griffiths, Southmoreland
113 - Justin Patrick, Ligonier Valley
120 - Josh Patrick, Ligonier Valley
126 - Jason Nolf, Kittanning
132 - Nick Zanetta, Keystone Oaks
138 - Shane Gentry, South Side Beaver
145 - Sean Heggs, Juniata
152 - Tanner Sutton, Chartiers-Houston
160 - Cody Law, Forest Hills
170 - Michael Fetchet, South Fayette
182 - Dakota DesLauriers, Burrell
195 - Scott Thompson, Blairsville
220 - Cody Jacobs, West Greene
285 - Kenyatta McCloud, Chartiers-Houston

PA Power Rankings preseason #1 wrestlers in each weight class statewide for Class AA and Class AAA. Here they are.

Class AA
106 - Austin Griffiths, Southmoreland
113 - Korbin Myers, Boiling Springs
120 - Darian Cruz, Bethlehem Catholic
126 - Ryan Diehl, Trinity
132 - Nick Zanetta, Keystone Oaks
138 - Zain Retherford, Benton
145 - Mike Racciato, Pen Argyl
152 - Kyle Barnes, Hughesville
160 - Austin Matthews, Reynolds
170 - Pete Renda, Brandywine Heights
182 - Dakota DesLauriers, Burrell
195 - Ryan Solomon, Milton
220 - Evan Daley, Fort LeBoeuf
285 - Nazar Mironenko, Mifflinburg

Class AAA
106 - Luke Pletcher, Latrobe
113 - Ethan Lizak, Parkland
120 - Sam Krivus, Hempfield
126 - Connor Schram, Canon-McMillan
132 - Josh Maruca, Franklin Regional
138 - Tyson Dippery, Central Dauphin
145 - Solomon Chishko, Canon-McMillan
152 - Garrett Hammond, Chambersburg
160 - Garrett Peppelman, Central Dauphin
170 - Chance Marstellar, Kennard-Dale
182 - Jacob Taylor, Bald Eagle Area
195 - Matt McCutcheon, Kiski Area
220 - Thomas Haines, Solanco
285 - Shane Kuhn, Kiski Area

Preseason Team Rankings

Here's a link to recently released preseason team wrestling rankings by PA Power Rankings.
http://papowerwrestling.com/pre-season-state-dual-team-rankings/

Analysis: Locally in the Class AA rankings, Bedford is #2 and Chestnut Ridge is #20. These rankings are mostly based on 2011-12 results. In my opinion, I would have Boiling Springs and Bermudian Springs higher than they are, probably ahead of Bedford right now, and I would have Chestnut Ridge higher than #20.

Top 10 Returning Wrestlers

I've been MIA from this blog for awhile and I apologize, but there's only so much time in the day. But with wrestling season quickly approaching, expect things to pick up here at Spring Into Sports.

To give you a taste, I've made up my list of the top 10 returning wrestlers, regardless of weight class. These are just my opinion and I've added some comments to back my picks up. I have not included any incoming freshman, it wouldn't be fair to do so just yet. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if Bedford ninth-grader Jon Gabriel cracks the list early in the season. Schools included for consideration are Bedford, Chestnut Ridge, Claysburg, Everett, HOPE for Hyndman, Northern Bedford, and Tussey Mountain.

Top 10 Wrestlers

1. Ryan Easter, Bedford - Easily at the top of the list is Easter, who is already a two-time state placewinner with 73 career wins. He is the lone returning state placewinner from this group of schools and the junior lightweight is a solid bet to place again which would make him just the third Bedford wrestler ever to own three state medals. His dad Joel is one of the two so far.

2. Tyler Dibert, Chestnut Ridge - Dibert is closing in on the 100-win mark and should get it in the first two weeks of the season. The Lions senior has won three straight District 5 titles and is a two-time state qualifier.

3. Josh Brown, Claysburg - Brown is the big returnee for Claysburg after the Bulldogs were hit hard by graduation. The CK senior finished second at districts and followed that up by qualifying for his second straight state tournament.

4. Trent Crouse, Chestnut Ridge - Crouse quickly became one of the rising stars with a run in late January and early February that included a pair of wins over Easter and a rout of Beth-Center's Zach Swarrow. Three straight losses (including one to Easter in the district finals) to end the season put a damper on what he accomplished in 2011-12. Now a sophomore, Crouse belongs near the top of this list and I could make the argument that he could be higher than #4 right now.

5. Michael Brett, Bedford - Find yourself in one of his textbook cradles and it's pretty much lights out for you against Brett. He clinched the Bisons' fifth straight District 5 Duals title and also won the Thomas Tournament. Unfortunately, some late season injuries hampered his district and regional tournament outings and he fell short of the state tournament.

6. Garrett Thomas, Bedford - Thomas scored 33 wins last season and should do that much if not more as a junior. A hard-nosed wrestler, he had bad luck last year by being in the same weight class as North Star great Nick Roberts. I expect Thomas to get to the PIAA Tournament this winter, he's too good not to be there.

7. Derrick Claar, Chestnut Ridge - Like Crouse, Claar was one of a handful of Chestnut Ridge youngsters that helped propel the Lions to a Richland Duals title and their first district tournament team championship since 1983. Claar won the 106-pound D5 crown but an 0-2 mark at regionals should have him motivated.

8. Austin Buttry, Chestnut Ridge - Undersized at heavyweight, Buttry made up for it with intangibles and is one of the more mat-savvy wrestlers you will find around. His pin of Somerset's Jake Hayman in the finals of the Richland Duals was the highlight of the season. Buttry gave Chartiers-Houston's Nate Grandelis, who went on to place second at states, a hard battle in a one-point loss at regionals. If Buttry wins that bout, he likely would have made it to Hershey. I see Buttry getting there this year.

9. Drew Gartland, Northern Bedford - If his headlock tackle of North Star's Thomas Miller during the District 5-A football playoffs is any indication, it should be a great season for Gartland, who has shown many flashes of what he can do in the past. The Northern Bedford senior should go over 100 career wins this year and I like his chances to go deep into the postseason.

10. Mason Replogle, Northern Bedford - Tall and lanky, Replogle can be a dangerous opponent in the lighter weights. Like his teammate Gartland, he's shown flashes of being brilliant (remember his major decision of Swarrow two years ago at regionals) and a little more consistency could pay off in a big season for the NB senior.

No doubt, there are some good wrestlers not on the list, and it was a tough call on many of them so let that debate begin.

Gibbons wins at W&J Open

Bedford grad and redshirt freshman Brian Gibbons gave UPJ one of its four individual championships in Saturday's Washington and Jefferson Open that kicked off the Mountain Cats' 2012-13 season.

Gibbons, a three-time PIAA state qualifier with Bedford, had two pins, a major decision, and a win by injury default (over UPJ teammate Gary Lantz) before beating Thiel College's Jerrold Roosa by a 5-4 decision for the 174-pound title.

Updated PIAA Football brackets

Here is a link to updated PIAA Football Brackets for all classes.

http://www.easternpafootball.com/2012playoffs.html

Collegiate Wrestling Update 11-5-12

Clarion junior Devin Cook went 2-2 at the Knight Point Open, wrestling at 149 pounds.

Cook was a two-time state placewinner at Bedford, finishing 8th in both 2008 and 2009.

Ohio State freshman Nick Roberts finished fifth at the Buffalo Open, wrestling unattached at 125 pounds for the Buckeyes. The North Star grad and three-time PIAA Class AA champion is redshirting for OSU this season.

Penn State opens wrestling season

Two-time defending national champion Penn State held its annual public wrestleoffs on Thursday night. I have provided a link to a writeup and video interviews from a few of the wrestlers. Nico Megaludis, Dylan Alton, David Taylor, and Quentin Wright are in this weekend's NWCA All-Star Classic and did not compete last night.
 http://www.gopsusports.com/blog/2012/11/wrestling-kicks-off-season-with-intrasquad-dual.html

In related collegiate wrestling news, Ohio State also held concluded its wrestleoffs. North Star's Nick Roberts, who will redshirt this season, did not take part in Thursday's bouts. One result of interest was Ian Paddock's 7-2 decision over Hunter Stieber, a returning All-American who is ranked No. 3 at 141 pounds by Amateur Wrestling News.

I bring this up to locals because Paddock might be a name Bedford County fans remember. A four-time New York high school champion, Paddock defeated Hyndman's Logan Sheldon in the finals of the Sheetz Holiday Classic at Penn Cambria. Sheldon was a three-time PIAA qualifier and finished second in the state at 130 pounds in 2009.

Weather forces a busy weekend

With everything backed up in the District 5 playoffs from the effects of Superstorm Sandy, it has become a busy end to the week for the local teams. Here's what's on tap.

Today
District 5-A Boys Soccer Semifinals - both at Somerset
HOPE for Hyndman vs Windber, 4 pm
Conemaugh Township vs Fannett-Metal, 6 pm

District 5-AA Boys Soccer Championship
Bedford at Somerset, 8 pm or after 5-A semifinals

District 5-AA Volleyball Championship
Bedford at Somerset, 5 pm

District 5-A Volleyball Semifinals at Somerset
Chestnut Ridge vs Everett and Berlin vs North Star, after 5-AA final

Saturday
District 5-A Volleyball Championship, 2 pm at TBA

District 5-A Girls Soccer Championship at Somerset
Conemaugh Township vs North Star, 4 pm

District 5-A Boys Soccer Championship
If Conemaugh Township wins semifinal, final is at Somerset at 6 pm
If Fannett-Metal wins semifinal, final is at Northern Bedford at 5 pm

PIAA Boys Soccer Subregional
Bedford/Somerset winner vs 9-1 Bradford at Northern Bedford, 7 pm

Another round of postponements

Tuesday's local slate wiped out. Here is what's on tap for Wednesday.

District 5-A Volleyball
Play-In - Conemaugh Township vs Shanksville at Chestnut Ridge, 5 pm
First Round - HOPE for Hyndman vs Everett at Chestnut Ridge, 6 pm, followed by Chestnut Ridge vs Play-In winner
First Round - Berlin vs Shade at North Star, 6 pm, followed by North Star vs Northern Bedford

District 6-A Volleyball
First Round - Ferndale vs Northern Cambria at Bishop Carroll, 6 pm, followed by Bishop Carroll vs Claysburg
First Round - Juniata Valley vs United at Conemaugh Valley, 6 pm, followed by Conemaugh Valley vs Purchase Line

District 5-A Girls Soccer
Semifinal - Berlin vs North Star at Somerset, 4 pm
Semifinal - Conemaugh Township vs McConnellsburg at Somerset, 6 pm

Dake-Taylor to highlight NWCA All-Star Classic

Cornell senior Kyle Dake and Penn State junior David Taylor, unbeaten NCAA champs last year, to wrestle in NWCA All-Star Classic on Saturday.

Here's a link to a story about it. The Classic will be streamed on Flowrestling.org.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/2012/10/29/wrestling-kyle-dake-david-taylor-cornell-penn-state/1666963/

Sandy wrecks playoff schedule

All of Monday's local playoff soccer and volleyball action was wiped out due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy felt in and around Bedford County. Here is the new slate for tomorrow, as of 7:30 p.m. on Monday. There will likely be more changes, as the bad weather will continue and many schools have already called off for Tuesday. For a further breakdown, see Tuesday's sports section in the Bedford Gazette.

Tuesday, October 30
District 5-A Boys Soccer Semifinals - BOTH TO BE PLAYED AT SOMERSET
(7) HOPE for Hyndman vs. (3) Windber, 4 pm
(1) Conemaugh Township vs. (5) Fannett-Metal, 6 pm

District 5-AA Boys Soccer Championship
(2) Somerset at (1) Bedford, 7 pm
NOTE - This game is still on at Bedford very tentatively, likely to be moved to Wednesday at Somerset at 8 pm

District 6-A Volleyball First Round
(8) Ferndale vs. (9) Northern Cambria at Bishop Carroll, 6 pm
(12) Claysburg at (5) Bishop Carroll, 7:30 pm
(7) Juniata Valley vs. (10) United at Conemaugh Valley, 6 pm
(11) Purchase Line at (6) Conemaugh Valley, 7:30 pm

District 5-A Boys Soccer preview

Saturday's Quarterfinals
(8) Rockwood at (1) Conemaugh Township
(5) Fannett-Metal at (4) North Star
(6) McConnellsburg at (3) Windber
(7) HOPE for Hyndman at (2) Northern Bedford

Breakdown: To me, this is a wide-open tournament. And traditionally, lower seeds have done well, including last year's final where it was third-seeded Fannett-Metal and fourth-seeded Chestnut Ridge squaring off. FM won last year, while they will first face the winner two years ago in North Star. Northern Bedford and HOPE for Hyndman have split their matchups this year.

The championship pick: Northern Bedford.

District 5-A Girls Soccer Preview

Saturday's Quarterfinals
(8) Johnstown Christian at (1) Conemaugh Township
(5) Chestnut Ridge at (4) McConnellsburg
(6) Tussey Mountain at (3) North Star
(7) Rockwood at (2) Berlin

Breakdown: The top four seeds all have at least 13 wins. Conemaugh Township has 16, Berlin 15, and North Star and McConnellsburg each at 13. Chestnut Ridge is the fifth seed based on tiebreaker criteria over Tussey Mountain. I see the top part of the bracket as Conemaugh Township's to lose, while the bottom half is up for grabs, and I'll take Berlin for a 1 vs. 2 final next week.

The championship pick: Conemaugh Township.

Updated Soccer Goal Leaders

Soccer Goal Leaders in the Bedford Gazette coverage area through October 24

Boys Soccer (Top 5)
1. Sam Felix, Bedford  28
2. Tanner Russell, Northern Bedford  22
3. Brad Torbet, HOPE for Hyndman  20
4 (tie). Trenton Barnes, Northern Bedford; Coltin Ebersole, Northern Bedford; and Garrett Thomas, Bedford  14

Girls Soccer (Top 5)
1. Olivia Claycomb, Tussey Mountain 27
2. Taylor Easter, Bedford  20
3 .Hannah Grimes, Bedford  18
4 (tie). Mylee Dull, Chestnut Ridge; and Kasi Payne, Everett  14

District 5/6-AA Girls Soccer Playoff Preview

Tuesday's Play-In Result
(9) Huntingdon 2, (8) Tyrone 1

Thursday's Quarterfinals
9 Huntingdon (10-7) at 1 Forest Hills (16-0-1)
5 Bedford (13-4-1) at 4 Westmont-Hilltop (12-3-2)
6 Somerset (11-6-1) at 3 Ligonier Valley (13-3-1)
7 Juniata (11-5-1) at 2 Bellefonte (13-3)

Breakdown: The Class AA field features a lot of talent that shows with each team having at least 10 wins in the season. Top seed Forest Hills is the prohibitive favorite and rides the offensive firepower from seniors Casey Gallaher and Briana Kostan, who have both topped the 100-goal mark for their respective careers. The 4-5 matchup between Westmont and Bedford is a rematch from last year's quarterfinals, won in a penalty kick shootout by Westmont. This contest will take place at Richland High School, same as last year. These two played twice already this year. Westmont won 2-1 in the first one, and the teams played to a 2-2 tie last week.

The championship pick: Forest Hills.

Football Week 8 wrap

Spring Into Sports Player of the Week - Devin Weyandt, Claysburg
Second time this season for Weyandt to win the weekly award. Weyandt collected nine catches for 176 yards and one touchdown in Claysburg's 33-27 victory over Tussey Mountain on Friday night.

2012-13 PA Wrestler College Committments

Here are where some of this year's top Pennsylvania Wrestling seniors will be headed next year.

Nick Zanetta-Pittsburgh
Ryan Diehl-Maryland
Matt McCutcheon-Penn State
Josh Patrick-Rutgers
Jake Hart-Edinboro
Colt Cotton-Bloomsburg
Darian Cruz-Lehigh
Zain Retherford-Penn State
Grimaldi Gonzalez-Bucknell
Tyler Greene-Bucknell
Ryan Soloman-Pittsburgh
Brett Harner-Princeton
Austin Matthews-Clarion
Evan Daley-Clarion
Tyson Dippery-Rutgers
Peter Renda-North Carolina State
Cam Cyphert-Clarion
Colt Peppelman-Harvard
Cody Wiercioch-Pittsburgh
John Dutrow-Drexel
Connor Schram-Stanford

Week 7 Football Recap

Sorry, a little late on the posting this week.

Spring Into Sports Player of the Week - Zach Helsel, Claysburg. Helsel gained 283 yards and scored four touchdowns as the Bulldogs rolled past Williamsburg in a 34-6 win.

Week 6 Football Wrap

Local Standings
Northern Bedford, 6-0
Chestnut Ridge, 3-3
Tussey Mountain, 3-3
Everett, 2-4
Bedford, 1-5
Claysburg, 1-5

Spring Into Sports Player of the Week: Beau Bosch, Chestnut Ridge - Bosch accounted for four touchdowns in the Lions' big win at Mountain Ridge on Friday night.

Week 5 Football Wrap

Local Standings
Northern Bedford, 5-0
Tussey Mountain, 3-2
Chestnut Ridge, 2-3
Everett, 2-3
Bedford, 1-4
Claysburg, 1-4

Spring Into Sports Player of the Week - Luke Campbell, Bedford. Campbell made all five of Bedford's receptions for 131 yards in a 26-21 win over Westmont, the first victory for the Bisons this season. Campbell, the leading receiver in the county last fall, came out two weeks ago and has made an immediate impact.

Week 5 Short Passes - Northern Bedford is now listed as a Class A honorable mention in the latest state rankings by the Harrisburg Patriot-News.

Week 6 Picks (winners in bold)
Bedford at Johnstown
Chestnut Ridge at Mountain Ridge (Md.)
Claysburg at Moshannon Valley
Everett at Bellwood
Northern Bedford at Mount Union
Glendale at Tussey Mountain

Natalie Dell Day recap

 Highly competitive, but highly classy. Incredibly dedicated, yet incredibly gracious.
 That's Natalie Dell in a nutshell. Bedford County, specifically Everett, celebrated her as the area's first-ever Olympic medalist this past Friday.
And what a day it was.
  I had the privilege of following Natalie around for many of the events, and I want to thank the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce and the Everett Area School District for allowing me to do so outside of the allotted time for media interviews with her.
  To begin, I have to take you back to August 1, hours after Natalie and her teammates Megan Kalmoe, Kara Kohler, and Adrienne Martelli gave the United States the bronze medal in Women's Quadruple Sculls rowing at the 2012 London Olympics.
  After watching the medal final and ceremony online early that morning, I knew I had to get in touch with Natalie, for this was such a fantastic moment in Bedford County sports history.
  I spent the next few minutes calling and leaving a message on her cell phone, sending an email to her, and also trying to contact her via Facebook, hoping she would see or hear this somewhere in all the craziness and with the five-hour time difference.
  After lunchtime here at home, I reached her. She answered on the first ring on my end and responded with a simple, down to earth "Hi." I was caught a little off-guard, but I guess she probably recognized the 814 area code on my phone and/or didn't figure to field many calls from the United States just yet.
  We had such a great conversation about her experience that day and what led into that day. So when Everett put plans together to honor her, I knew it was something I had to knock out of the park in terms of coverage for the Gazette. Of course, I also wanted an autograph or two and a picture with her and the medal for my personal collection. (Photo is on my Facebook page)
  Fast forward to Friday, where I walked into the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce's breakfast and had the awesome opportunity to meet Natalie Dell, 2012 Olympic Medalist. We both stated, nearly simultaneously, how nice it was to put a face to the name after emailing back and forth for a couple of stories since the Olympics ended.
  Through my career and my overall love of sports, I've had the chance to meet and see some great athletes (professional, collegiate, high school) up close and personal, but I have not met one who is more genuine, more down to earth, and more generous with her time than Natalie Dell.
  I said in a column piece in the August 2 edition of the Gazette that I knew next to nothing about rowing before I had heard that Natalie would be part of the Olympics. After all of this and even though Natalie won't be involved (she said she is officially retired), I will make it a point to watch some rowing from the 2016 Rio De Janiero Olympics and probably beyond.
  There were some wonderful parts of Friday's events. The elementary kids chanting "USA, USA, USA" was one of my favorites. At the end of the elementary assembly, Natalie allowed all the kids to see and touch the medal up close, and she also hung out with some high schoolers showing off the hardware. Kellie Goodman Shaffer, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce and the former Sports Director at WTAJ-TV in Altoona, choked up when presenting Natalie with a check from local businesses to help cover her expenses for the homecoming. And during the breakfast, Natalie stated that she was carrying Bedford County with her in those Olympic races. Quite amazing, and quite humbling that she made it a point to let all of us know that. She was racing for herself, her teammates, her country, her family, and her native home of Clearville, the Everett Area School District, and the entire county.
  She discussed how underfunded their club team at Penn State was compared to the top level NCAA rowing programs. Lack of a close place near campus to row, lesser boats and uniforms, and something such as knowing another team had two massage therapists compared to one for them all gave her the desire to beat her opponents' that much more, which brought some laughs from the crowd at the breakfast.
  That desire to win and be the best carried over when she gave it everything she had for three years to make the national team. Many of the top rowers often go directly into the U.S. team program, this was not the case for Natalie. Her lack of height (5-8) was one factor that worked against her in trying to get noticed.
  She lost much more than she won, but she carried on and finally made it, attending a pair of World Championships before getting the ultimate honor to be an Olympian this summer.
  It is such a moment to be proud to be an American, despite the everyday issues that many of us face. Bedford County Commissioner Kirt Morris called Natalie: "An awesome role model."
  I can't thank Natalie enough for her time during the past two months and her graciousness on Friday. At one point during the late afternoon, she asked me if I was tired of hearing her speak, as she had already made three speeches with one more coming before the football game with West Branch. "Not one bit," I said. It's not everyday you get to experience something like this and feel like you're a little part of history in this way.
  I'm a little sad knowing Natalie is not going to row anymore competitively, but I completely understand her decision. She gave up eight years of her life to pursue rowing greatness, putting aside other personal and professional aspirations to do so. She's going to take a long vacation after moving to San Francisco, and she deserves it for sure.
  I hope that Natalie's achievements inspire any of our young athletes to chase after their dreams, whatever they may be. Remember, Bedford County has now had someone in two straight Summer Olympics. Let's continue that trend!
 
A couple extra tidbits:
  - After her competition was finished, Natalie took in the rest of the Olympics and says she enjoyed synchronized swimming and women's wrestling the best out of what she got to attend.
  - For anyone who has not seen it, please visit further down in this blog for two videos that feature Natalie and her experiences this summer. You can also view them on her Facebook Athlete page at www.facebook.com/natalierows, where there is also a huge collection of photos from the Olympics.
 - Also, Saturday's Bedford Gazette has my story chronically Natalie's journey on Friday as well as a feature piece on reaction around Everett which was written by Gazette newswriter Cara Beemiller. See Page 6 of the Weekend Edition for several photos.

Natalie Dell Day - Part 1

 Above - Bedford County Commissioner Kirt Morris hands Natalie Dell a proclamation naming September 28 as Natalie Dell Day in the county.



Natalie was honored first at a breakfast this morning at UPMC Bedford Memorial, hosted by the Bedford County Chamber of Commerce. She discussed all her training leading up to making the Olympic team, showed a television replay of the Olympic Final, and displayed her medal and signed autographs for those in attendance.

Natalie Dell Day is nearly here!

Olympic Medalist Natalie Dell is back in Pennsylvania (She was so excited to walk into a Sheetz again) and will be in Bedford County tomorrow.

The Women's Quadruple Sculls rowing bronze medalist and Everett Area High School graduate is being honored by her native area in an all-day celebration. Open to the general public is a meet and greet session at the high school gymnasium around 3:40 p.m. Natalie will also be on hand at Friday night's home football game, where she will take part in a ceremonial coin toss.

Pick up Saturday's Bedford Gazette for my complete coverage of Natalie Dell Day as well as the football game between Everett and West Branch, or subscribe online at www.bedfordgazette.com. I also expect to add more about Natalie's day on this blog over the weekend.

And for football talk, I will be on Prep Nation Radio's 12th Man Show live late tomorrow night, breaking down action in District 5 and 6 that will include the big showdown between Berlin and North Star. To listen to it, check out prepnationradio.com. The show is also available whenever you like at the website.

Football Week 4 Wrap

Northern Bedford stayed unbeaten at 4-0 with another impressive performance in a 28-7 win over Claysburg. Everett picked up its first win in a big way, 46-12, for first-year coach Mark Kirk, and Tussey Mountain regrouped to defeat Southern Huntingdon, 26-6.

Local Standings
Northern Bedford, 4-0
Tussey Mountain, 2-2
Chestnut Ridge, 1-3
Claysburg, 1-3
Everett, 1-3
Bedford, 0-4

Spring Into Sports Player of the Week - Darrin Sipes, Tussey Mountain.
Sipes scored on two long runs and totalled 150 yards in rushing during the Titans' rout of the Rockets.

This Week's Games (Winners selected in bold)
Westmont at Bedford
Philipsburg at Chestnut Ridge
Claysburg at Glendale
West Branch at Everett
Northern Bedford at Southern Huntingdon
Tussey Mountain at Williamsburg

By the way, I didn't get on the air this week on Prep Nation Radio due to car trouble on the way to Wingate on Friday night for the Chestnut Ridge at Bald Eagle Area game.

On the Air

I will be a featured guest on this week's 12th Man Show on Prep Nation Radio, discussing District 5 football. The show runs from 10:30 pm - 1am every Friday night. Listen for my segment during the final hour. The link to www.prepnationradio.com is below.

12th Man Show

Week 3 Football Wrap

Local Standings
Northern Bedford, 3-0
Chestnut Ridge, 1-2
Claysburg, 1-2
Tussey Mountain, 1-2
Bedford, 0-3
Everett, 0-3

Commentary: Northern Bedford has firmly established itself as the best team in the county and one of the top two or three in District 5-A. Having seen the Black Panthers in person for the first time this past Friday, I came away very impressed with their offensive balance and their overall defense.

Everett went to a four-man line on defense to try and shut down the Northern Bedford passing game, and the Panthers countered with a very solid running attack that featured a pair of touchdown rushes for Caleb Ebersole in the 21-8 victory.

"It was a chess match," said Northern Bedford coach Jeff Batzel. "We took what they were giving to us."

Spring Into Sports Player of the Week - Zach Helsel, Claysburg RB/LB. This one was pretty much a no-brainer. Helsel scored six touchdowns and had 165 yards rushing in the Bulldogs' heartbreaking 51-44 loss to Juniata Valley.

Helsel scored four touchdowns on the ground, caught another, and also had a pick six interception.

Week 4 Picks (winner in bold)
Bedford at Bishop McCort
Chestnut Ridge at Bald Eagle Area
Claysburg at Northern Bedford
Everett at Williamsburg
Southern Huntingdon at Tussey Mountain

Sam Felix works his magic

If you read my story from Bedford's 5-1 boys soccer victory over Richland on Thursday night, you read a lot about Bedford senior Sam Felix, who scored three goals and added an assist as the Bisons stayed undefeated in the early part of this 2012 season.

Felix possesses some of the best footwork any soccer fan might see at the high school level. Honestly, I found myself at times watching him with or without the ball, both on Thursday and in Tuesday's win over Chestnut Ridge. And his movement is so fluid that my lede of the story about him doing the tango may not have given Sam enough justice.

Former Bedford head coach Tom Otis, who coached a collection of great players in his day, told me two years ago that Sam Felix had as good of footwork and first touch on the ball as anyone he had ever coached. Can't remember the time exactly, but I believe it was a night where Sam came off the bench to score and/or assist on a goal or two. Either way, that was high praise for someone who was a sophomore at the time.

Sam has been playing for seven or eight years, he wasn't sure exactly. He says he was probably born with the talent.

"I think it's just natural," Felix said after Thursday's win. "I've worked a lot at home and in the offseason too."

Last year as a junior, Felix scored nine goals from his wing/striker position. Through five contests this fall, he has already matched that number and leads the Gazette coverage area so far.

Felix is just one piece of a very strong Bedford team that returned so much from last year's District 5/6-AA championship squad. The Bisons were 18-2-2 a season ago. Can they or any other of the local teams get an elusive state playoff win?

Bedford has come close a couple of times recently, including a heartbreaker two years ago after leading District 3's Palmyra late in the second half only to give up two goals in what became Otis' final head coaching effort with the Bisons.

And back in 2008, an upstart Northern Bedford side played very well in a first round PIAA loss in the Class A playoffs.

Felix believes the time can be now.

"We have a great team," he said. "I definitely think we can win multiple state playoff games and get all the way to Hershey (for the championship)."

Soccer Goal Leaders

Bedford Gazette Goal Scoring Leaders through Wednesday, September 12

Boys Soccer
Sam Felix, Bedford, 6
Tanner Russell, Northern Bedford, 6
Trenton Barnes, Northern Bedford, 4
Coltin Ebersole, Northern Bedford, 4
Blake Baer, Bedford, 3
Stephen Calhoun, Bedford, 3
Steven Stroup, Bedford, 3
Garrett Thomas, Bedford, 3

8 players have 2 goals

Girls Soccer
Paige Diehl, Bedford, 6
Taylor Easter, Bedford, 5
Olivia Claycomb, Tussey Mountain, 4
Hannah Grimes, Bedford, 4
Bethany Cronrath, Northern Bedford, 3
Mylee Dull, Chestnut Ridge, 3
Jarica Seese, Chestnut Ridge, 3

4 players have 2 goals

Week 3 Picks

Northern Bedford over Everett
Tussey Mountain over Moshannon Valley
Richland over Bedford
Berks Catholic over Chestnut Ridge
Juniata Valley over Claysburg

Week 2 Football Wrap

Local Standings
Northern Bedford, 2-0
Chestnut Ridge, 1-1
Claysburg, 1-1
Tussey Mountain, 1-1
Bedford, 0-2
Everett, 0-2

Spring Into Sports Player of the Week - It's been the year of the receiver through the first two weeks. This week's top player award is a tie between Claysburg's Devin Weyandt and Northern Bedford's Tayler Pressel. Weyandt caught 9 passes for 180 yards and a touchdown, while Pressel nabbed six passes for 167 yards and a score.

Players of the Week
Week 1 - Kyler Diehl, Northern Bedford
Week 2 - Devin Weyandt, Claysburg and Tayler Pressel, Northern Bedford

Local Wrapup - Wednesday, September 5

In Thursday's Gazette, I'll have the game story from Chestnut Ridge's boys soccer battle with McConnellsburg, while Codi Weyant recaps Windber and Chestnut Ridge in girls tennis.

Stat Stars - Trenton Barnes, Northern Bedford and Olivia Claycomb, Tussey Mountain. Each scored three goals in soccer action on Wednesday, Barnes against Southern Fulton, and Claycomb against Hancock (Md.).

Local Wrapup - Tuesday, September 4

Tuesday's Stat Star - Bedford's Hannah Grimes, pictured below, scored three goals to lead the Lady Bison soccer team to a 9-1 rout of Cambria Heights in the season opener.

I have the full report on the LHAC matchup in Wednesday's Bedford Gazette. Also look for Codi Weyant's story on Chestnut Ridge vs. Johnstown Christian in girls soccer and Sam Shuss' report from Everett at Claysburg in volleyball. Plus, we round up all the other local action.

Pick up a copy or subscribe online at www.bedfordgazette.com

Photo credit/Ryan Spring - Bedford Gazette

A full week of events

Now that the Labor Day holiday has come and gone, the other fall sports get underway in earnest.

In Wednesday's Bedford Gazette: a look at high school girls soccer contests at Bedford and at Chestnut Ridge, plus volleyball action from Claysburg.

Week 1 High School wrap

Opening with a win - Claysburg, Northern Bedford, Tussey Mountain
Still looking for a win - Bedford, Chestnut Ridge, Everett

Spring Into Sports Player of the Week - Kyler Diehl, Northern Bedford: Diehl made eight catches for 183 yards as the Black Panthers beat Glendale, 20-13.

Looking Ahead - The big game this week is Tussey Mountain at Northern Bedford in the county's "Backyard Brawl."

Other games
Penn Cambria at Bedford
Carrick at Chestnut Ridge
West Branch at Claysburg
Glendale at Everett

Penn State-Ohio wrap

Photo credit/Ryan Spring - Bedford Gazette
Key play of the game - With Penn State leading 14-3 in the third quarter, this underthrown pass was nearly intercepted by two Nittany Lions, left, but the ball was eventually caught and taken the rest of the way for an Ohio touchdown. That really shifted momentum to the Bobcats, who shut Penn State down on offense from there and scored twice more to score the 24-14 victory and spoil Bill O'Brien's head coaching debut.

All credit to Ohio. Quarterback Tyler Tettleton was sensational. And the Bobcats were 11-for-12 on third downs in the second half. Penn State's defense could not get off the field and wore down.

Football - Week 1 thoughts

Here is my take, very unscientific, on this week's games in the Bedford Gazette coverage area.

Everett at Tussey Mountain 

A very interesting rivalry game right out of the box. In fact, Tussey has two of them back-to-back with a trip to Northern Bedford next week. Back to this week, where the Titans welcome back quite a bit of skill and experience on both sides of the ball. Tussey Mountain possesses some big speed guys such as Darrin Sipes and Mitchell Corbin out of the backfield.

Meanwhile, Everett has a lot back too, and a new coach. Mark Kirk has travelled the country but says this will be his final stop. Can he turn the Warriors around after a rough couple of seasons? Though Kyle Droz had a decent year throwing the ball last fall, Kirk will go with at least a tandem operation with Droz and Spencer McInroy. Everett has some nice complimentary players to those two, including Barkley Rhoat and Drew Ritchey.

I do think Everett will win more than one game this year, but I don't think the first one will come this week. The Pick - Tussey Mountain.

Northern Bedford at Glendale

What a game this shapes up to be. Though Northern Bedford welcomes a new starting QB in Blake Over, the Panthers have talent returning in the backfield and in the passing game with depth and height overload at receiver. Biggest question for NB appears to be offensive line. If they can hold up and block for Over and lead runner Conner Kagarise, there is no doubt that Northern will score points. The Panthers should be solid on defense with a lot back in the starting lineup from 2011.

The talk at Glendale is that this might be the best Viking team ever, at least on paper. The favorites in the ICC Silver Division, Glendale has top runner Damon Braniff and quarterback Gary Witherow retuning in its arsenal. Braniff is likely the best back in the ICC and can play an option style QB if need be to show different and sometimes confusing looks.

This is a tough game to call. Northern Bedford coach Jeff Batzel always has his team ready. Glendale has a 23-year old new coach. Nothing against him, but coaching could come into play here. Whoever has the ball last might determine the winner. The Pick - Glendale in a close one.

Martinsburg Central at Chestnut Ridge

Central comes to Ridge with a lot of talent and big play type guys back. Ridge lost nearly 3,700 yards of offensive players to graduation. The Lions do have a nice group on the offensive and defensive lines.

I don't think Ridge will start 0-3 like last year, but they will be 0-1. The Pick - Central.

Claysburg at Williamsburg

These two have been on the lower end of District 6-A in recent years, but Claysburg made the playoffs last season for the first time since 2008 and has a lot back as well as size, which is not always one of its strong suits. Zach Helsel's season will play prominently in how well the Bulldogs do.

Williamsburg is on the upswing and has several starters returning on offense and defense. Look for a good one here. Remember, a second game between the squads comes up in mid-October at Claysburg, who gets the first one. The Pick - Claysburg.

Saturday

Bedford at Bishop Guilfoyle

Bedford was hit with a blow last week when starting QB/LB Aaron Henry was injured. He is not likely to play the first game or two. The Bisons also have to rebuild their lines while leading receiver Luke Campbell did not come back out for the team.

Guilfoyle suffered a miserable season in 2011 and things can only go up. The Pick - Bishop Guilfoyle.

Remember to check out Friday's Gazette for previews, photos, stats and much more about the six local teams.

A little wrestling for you

While we're beginning the football season later this week, I have a few tidbits about wrestling.

- Bethlehem Catholic will be attending the King of the Mountain this year. Speaking of the Golden Hawks, senior Darian Cruz has announced his intentions to wrestle next year at Lehigh University. Cruz's older brother Randy, and fellow Becahi state champ Elliott Riddick, are at Lehigh this season as freshmen.

- Central Dauphin is switching holiday tournaments and will be at the Bethlehem Holiday Classic. This is a major coup for host coach Jody Karam of Bethlehem Liberty, who already has a fine field year in and year out there.

- Longtime Blair Academy (NJ) coach Jeff Buxton has unexpectedly resigned. Sources that are working this story have not been able to get many details as of yet.

Getting closer to kickoff

We're now less than a week away from the start of local high school football. Be sure to check out the Bedford Gazette's annual season preview which comes out on Friday. Also stay tuned to this blog for extra commentary and features that you won't find in the print edition throughout the high school sports season.

Local sports get underway

After Monday's events were either postponed (Bedford-Chestnut Ridge tennis) or called in the middle of it (Bedford County Cup golf), the first official result of the 2012-13 high school season is now in the books with Bedford winning all three singles matchups on the way to a 3-2 home victory over Bishop McCort earlier today.

Check out Wednesday's Bedford Gazette for Codi Weyant's match report. Bedford and Chestnut Ridge have rescheduled their match for this afternoon at the Bedford courts.

More from Olympic medalist Natalie Dell

A homemade video with more photos and Olympic experiences with Natalie Dell. Click on the link that is below. (The Olympic Life: A Rower's Perspective)

The Olympic Life: A Rower's Perspective

Natalie Dell on camera

Everett grad Natalie Dell, a member of the U.S. Women's Quadruple Sculls team that won the bronze medal on August 1 at the London Olympics, is prominently featured with teammate Adrienne Martelli in this short video from the UK. Click on the link below (US Rowers describe Olympic experience)

US Rowers describe Olympic experience

Favorite Quote from London

There were a bevy of great comments from the Olympics, but this is a particular favorite.

From Jordan Burroughs, the 74-kilogram Freestyle Wrestling Gold Medalist: "If the Queen of England stepped out on the mat, I'd probably double-leg her."

Burroughs, noted for that double-leg takedown, was a standout wrestler at Winslow Township High School in southern New Jersey, winning one state championship before becoming a two-time NCAA champ at Nebraska.

The day is here

This is one of my favorite days of the year, from a job perspective, as high school practices for the fall sports season are now officially underway.

It's been a quick summer for me. Between covering two successful American Legion baseball teams, the success of the Pirates and the upcoming NFL and college football seasons, we've stayed busy for sure. Of course, Natalie Dell's bronze medal at the Olympics made things so much better. Throw in a little vacation with my wife and other family, and mid-August rolled around the corner easily.

Look for a couple of first day practice snapshots in Tuesday's Bedford Gazette, and remember to check out our annual Football Preview on August 31 and our capsule previews of the other fall sports in the coverage area around the end of the month.

For a refresher, here's a look back at our local fall sports champions in 2011:

Football
Northern Bedford - ICC South Champions (5-0 in divisional play)

Boys Soccer
Bedford - LHAC Co-Champions with Somerset (12-1-2 in league play), defeated the Golden Eagles in the District 5-6AA championship game

Chestnut Ridge - Regular Season SHL Co-Champions with Fannett-Metal (9-1-2), but the Tigers defeated the Lions in the District 5-A title game, winning the league as well because SHL bylaws state that if co-champs meet in the postseason, the winner gets the league crown

Volleyball
Chestnut Ridge - SHL Champions at 11-1

Girls Tennis
Bedford - LHAC Champions, was 12-0 in league matches

ICC Media Day

On hand at Bellwood for ICC's Football Media Day today.

Can Northern Bedford reload and continue its winning ways? Can Claysburg return to the playoffs for a rare second straight season? Is Tussey Mountain ready to turn it around from last year? And how will Everett react to a new coach with a new philosophy?

Those questions will begin to be answered soon. For now, check out Wednesday's Bedford Gazette for my two stories from Media Day, as well as a capsule description of the ICC's new divisional alignment for 2012.

Pick up a copy or subscribe online at www.bedfordgazette.com

Natalie Dell follow-up

Natalie says she woke up today at 5:25 am like normal. Except this morning, she wore her bronze medal to breakfast. And why not?

Gazette newswriter Cara Beemiller caught up with one of Natalie's high school coaches at Everett, as well as two residents of her hometown in Clearville for reaction to her historic performance at the 2012 London Olympics. Cara's piece will be in Friday's edition of the paper.

Dell became the first Olympic medalist ever from Bedford County with a bronze in the Women's Quadruple Sculls rowing competition on Wednesday. To relive that moment, catch my story and column in the Thursday edition, plus a tremendous collection of photos we used from the Associated Press. As I stated in my column yesterday, it was an absolute honor and one of the highlights of my career to talk to Bedford County's first Olympic medalist just a few hours after she and her teammates received those medals.

Football Media Days begin

Local football and the rest of the fall sports are about to get underway in the Gazette coverage area and across Pennsylvania.

First up today was the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference's football Media Day at Johnstown's Trojan Stadium. A lot of intrigue surrounding Bedford this year: New faces and some familiar ones in different positions.

Look for my report about the Bisons in Friday's edition of the Bedford Gazette.

A Bronze Medalist!

Clearville native Natalie Dell and her American teammates won the bronze medal on Wednesday in the Quadruple Sculls competition at the 2012 London Olympics. Ukraine won the gold, Germany took the silver.

I interviewed Natalie via phone, and my story will be featured out front in Thursday's Bedford Gazette, plus my column and a photo feature of the historic moment in the regular sports section. Pick up a copy, or subscribe online at www.bedfordgazette.com.

Natalie is just the second Summer Olympian from Bedford County (Northern Bedford's Brian Sell was the other in 2008 Men's Marathon) and is the first-ever county medalist. The United States had not won a medal in the Women's Quad Sculls since 1984, a silver in Los Angeles.

Dell, Americans reach final

Everett and Penn State graduate Natalie Dell advanced with her United States' teammates to the medal final in the Women's Rowing Quadruple Sculls competition. After a second place in Saturday's heat, the Americans finished second again in Monday's repechage race to make it into the final on Wednesday.

A report on Monday's action will be in Tuesday's edition of the Bedford Gazette.

Natalie Dell Olympic Update

Natalie Dell and her United States teammates finished second in their heat race on Saturday in the Olympic Women's Quadruple Sculls competition at Eton Dorney outside of London. Germany beat the Americans by about two seconds to secure a berth in Wednesday's final along with Heat 2 winner Ukraine.

Team USA posted the third fastest time, behind the two heat winners. Along with five other countries, the United States takes part in the repechage (semifinal) race on Monday. It can be seen live on nbcolympics.com at 4:40 a.m. Eastern Time (9:40 in London), while NBC is expected to show the rowing coverage at some point on Monday afternoon.

Dell is a 2003 graduate of Everett Area High School.

See Monday's Bedford Gazette for a report on Saturday's rowing action. Pick up a copy or subscribe online at www.bedfordgazette.com. Also, a special Olympics roundup page is added to the regular sports section for the remainder of the London Games.

Tuesday's Region 7 update

Bedford was eliminated with an 8-0 loss to Marion Center. The game was plagued by a rain delay that lasted well over three hours. The bad weather forced Somerset's game with Hempfield East to be postponed until Wednesday.

Bedford finishes the season at 21-11. Check out Codi Weyant's recap in Wednesday's print edition of the Bedford Gazette or online at www.bedfordgazette.com.

Well-deserved extension for Tomlin

As usual, the Pittsburgh Steelers got it right again.

Reports this afternoon have Mike Tomlin agreeing to a contract extension that will take him through the 2016 season. Well done as players are set to report to Latrobe for training camp on Wednesday.

Tomlin only had one year left on his current deal, and with this being perhaps the busiest offseason in recent Steelers history, this was one move they had to make.

The 40-year old Steelers boss deserves it. He's 55-25 in the regular season, including a record of 12-4 three times (2008, 2010, and 2011). Under Tomlin, Pittsburgh has made the playoffs in four of his five seasons, with two trips to the Super Bowl.

Region 7 Legion Tourney

Heading into Day 4 on Tuesday, Somerset has clinched a spot in Wednesday's final afternoon of action by beating Bedford, 12-8, to improve to 3-0 in the tournament.

Tuesday's Schedule
1 pm - Bedford vs Marion Center (loser eliminated)
4 pm - Somerset vs Hempfield East (Hempfield East must win to stay alive)

The NCAA is wrong

The NCAA is wrong. They overstepped on the Penn State scandal.

I think there is and has been a perception in the mainstream media and other areas that those who feel this is not a matter for the NCAA to deeply involve themselves in is somehow also saying that we are defending Jerry Sandusky, Joe Paterno or the rest of the Penn State hierarchy that was in place at the time of these crimes.

That could not be further from the truth!

 Jerry Sandusky was convicted on 45 counts and deserves to be where he is right now. Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, the athletic director and vice president, are awaiting trial and should be convicted. Former school president Graham Spanier has not been charged yet, but could be. Paterno died in January. Per the results of the Freeh report, Curley, Schultz, and Spanier deserve to be punished severely for their actions, or non-actions if you will.

All of the above is being handled in the criminal and eventually the civil courts, as it should be. While Sandusky victims and their families will sadly never be the same in their lives, they deserve some sort of monetary compensation. But the NCAA should have stayed out of this. When Sandusky was arrested last November, Paterno was fired, and since, a new coaching staff with the exception of two assistants who remain was implemented to move the football program forward.

So now, with a four-year postseason ban and loss of numerous scholarships, more people are being punished than need to be. I fully understand when Bill O'Brien agreed to be the new coach that he knew that it was going to be a tough road and the NCAA could act. But did he deserve this?

In terms of the loss of all wins from 1998-2011, it doesn't really matter. The new record books might state that Paterno has 298 victories instead of 409, but will that erase memories from anybody that may have attended or watched the 300th, 400th, or 409th win? No. Everyone still remembers Memphis or Michigan playing for national basketball titles even though the history books don't show that anymore because of NCAA violations. Taking Paterno's name off the top of the college football career wins' list is something I really don't understand.

Players are allowed to freely transfer, and some will, which is indeed their right to do so. But it's not as easy as you might believe, sitting here on July 23. That's just weeks away from preseason camp and the start of the 2012 season. Any transfer now will have a tough time to adjust to a new school and football team for this year.

With future scholarships going ahead, the loss of double-digit ones per year for the next four years is unfair.

People are saying that because Penn State didn't receive the "Death Penalty", that now players have a choice. They can leave, or stay at Penn State and still play football. Yes they do have a choice, but if someone who always wanted to play there still wants to, why should they have to suffer any consequences of not playing in a bowl game or playing on a team that can't be as strong because a major amount of scholarships are taken away from potential players that have nothing to do with any of this?

This isn't the SMU case where the "Death Penalty" was imposed. That was pay for play, and after being caught, the Texas school continued its wrongful practices and was caught again. That was a violation of NCAA bylaws, where what SMU did was with clear intent to change competitive balance.

This isn't the USC case where improper benefits were handed out, notably to Reggie Bush. That changed competitive balance in college football. And there are countless other examples.

Many members of the media are saying these sanctions are just, or didn't go far enough. I heard one say that a multiple-year "Death Penalty" would suffice. I say to them, how do you justify then how people in the State College area that benefit from Penn State football and all athletics live then? Many rely on it for primary or supplemental income. That would include hotels, restaurants, and any stores that receive a huge influx of business on fall weekends. What about people that work at Beaver Stadium? The NCAA didn't impose this, but I feel those that believe this would have been appropriate are short-sighted, especially in these economic times.

While the actions of Penn State's upper administration, including Spanier, Curley, Schultz, and Paterno were appalling, did it change competitive balance on the football field?

Yes, this most definitely goes beyond the confines of the football program, but that is what our judicial system is for. So far, they've done their job.

The NCAA is wrong.

My thoughts and prayers continue to be and always will be with the victims of Sandusky, and all those who have suffered from sexual abuse.