Thomas Subaru Tournament Outlook

    Ok, the seeds and brackets are out for the 26th annual Thomas Subaru Tournament that begins on Friday morning at Bedford High School. All seeded wrestlers with at least a .500 record are listed below with an outlook for each weight. Earlier this week, I posted the teams and the schedule and you can find that further down in my blog. Of course, be sure to get a copy of the Bedford Gazette all weekend long for full coverage of the tournament. 

106 - 1. Aaron Burkett, Chestnut Ridge, Soph., 22-2; 2. Sammy Hepler, Tri-Valley, Fr., 17-4; 3. Mason Madden-Edwards, North Schuylkill, Fr., 18-4; 4. Andrew John, South Fayette, Jr., 20-5; 5. Joey Couteret, West Branch, Soph., 17-3; 6. Nolan Link, Penn Cambria, Jr., 18-5; 7. Nathaniel Thomas, Conemaugh Township, Fr., 10-4; 8. Oaklee Brode, Tussey Mountain, Soph., 9-4; 9. Quinn Cole, Somerset, Fr., 10-5; 10. Devin Wilhelm, Northern Garrett, Fr., 15-7; 11. Jordan Musselman, Claysburg-Kimmel, Jr., 7-4; 12. Jordon Grey, Newport, Fr., 11-7; 13. Lenny Beeham, North Star, Sr., 11-9.

   Breakdown: Burkett has been wrestling well and I like his chances to do a lot this weekend. I don't know much about seeds 2, 3, and 4. Keep an eye on lower seeds Couteret and Link.

113 - 1. Brendan Howard, Jefferson-Morgan, Jr. 18-3; 2. Jonathan Gabriel, Bedford, Soph., 14-3; 3. Thomas DeArmitt, Berlin Brothersvalley, Sr., 20-3; 4. Brock Biddle, Central, Fr., 11-0; 5. Blake Dunlap, Chestnut Ridge, Soph. 12-5; 6. Wyatt Sankey, West Branch, Sr., 17-3; 7. Trey Childers, Northern Bedford, Jr. 10-6; 8. Jasper Wolfe, South Fayette, Soph. 14-7; 9. Ben Clay, Newport, Sr., 12-4; 10. Dalton Klotz, Everett, Soph., 8-6; 11. Aaron Griffith, Conemaugh Township, Soph., 12-4; 12. Kyle Stephen, Tri-Valley, Jr., 13-11; 13. Dakota Walter, Claysburg-Kimmel, Jr., 11-5; 14. Steven Yutzy, Nothern Garrett, Fr., 12-5; 15. Mason Craig, Mount Union, Jr. 7-4; 16. Mike Dautlick, Cambria Heights, Jr. 8-5; 17. Brent Leabhart, Tussey Mountain, Sr., 5-4; 18. Dilian Jeffery, Burrell, Fr., 9-9.

   Breakdown: Good weight here, though a Howard-Gabriel final is a solid bet. Those two split a pair of 106-pound encounters last season. Gabriel won the Thomas by pinning Howard after trailing in the bout. At the Southwest Regional, Howard got his revenge by knocking Gabriel out of the tournament in a brutal bracket.

120 - 1. Caleb Bordner, Tri-Valley, Jr., 21-2; 2. Joe Swank, Berlin Brothersvalley, Soph., 18-2; 3. Sage Moist, Mount Union, Sr., 18-1; 4. Stephen Rouser, Richland, Jr., 17-4; 5. Shane McGrath, North Schuykill, Soph., 20-4; 6. Pat O’Toole, Newport, Soph., 12-5; 7. Damian Jano, Somerset, Sr., 11-6; 8. Dylan Park, Tussey Mountain, Sr., 9-4; 9. Hunter Parks, West Branch, Fr., 11-9; 10. Kyle Mehle, Bedford, Jr., 6-2; 11. Ben Stover, Everett, Soph., 9-6; 12. Colton Gennett, North Star, Sr., 12-9; 13. Jon Raab, Northern Bedford, Soph., 5-3.

   Breakdown: Top seed Bordner is a returning state placewinner and a former Thomas Tournament champion. Swank is one of the rising young stars in District 5, while Moist is a proven senior at the third seed. If I had to pick a lower seed to do well, I'd go with McGrath based purely on record.

126 - 1. John Demaske, Jefferson-Morgan, Sr., 21-0; 2. Adam George, Richland, Jr., 16-2; 3. Joe Davis, Cambria Heights, Sr., 9-1; 4. Mike Novak, Mount Pleasant, Soph., 9-3; 5. Jake Boozel, Mount Union, Soph., 16-3; 6. Jason Opel, Northern Garrett, Jr., 20-1; 7. Kody Ofsanko, Conemaugh Township, Sr., 14-3; 8. Ethan Kennedy, Central, Fr., 11-3; 9. Jabel Warren, Bedford, Sr., 8-5; 10., Zachary Stevens, Penn Cambria, Soph., 17-7; 11. Morgan Deremer, Chestnut Ridge, Fr., 12-7; 12. Jake Brown, West Branch, Sr., 12-8; 13. Edward Custer, Berlin Brothersvalley, Sr., 11-5; 14. Jared Helsley, Northern Bedford, Jr., 13-6; 15. Jess Wetzel, North Schuylkill, Jr., 13-9; 16. Scott Rzepecki, South Fayette, Jr., 8-8.

   Breakdown: Demaske made the drop from 132 for this weekend. Hard to pick against the returning state medalist here, though George, Davis, Novak, Boozel, Opel and others could make it one of the more wide open races to be a finalist. Davis, back recently after feared lost for the season, is a former Thomas champion.

132 - 1. Ryan Easter, Bedford, Sr., 14-2; 2. Mike Carr, South Fayette, Soph., 19-0; 3. J.R. Andrejcik, Burrell, Sr., 11-6; 4. Tanner Hetrick, Meyersdale, Sr., 25-4; 5. Sam Shank, Chestnut Ridge, Sr., 12-10; 6. Austin Hemminger, Somerset, Fr., 9-6; 7. Carter Replogle, Northern Bedford, 11-5; 8. Kane McKenzie, Berlin Brothersvalley, Jr., 16-9; 9. Aleic Hunter, Tyrone, Jr., 9-6; 10. Michael Baker, North Star, Jr., 12-10.

   Breakdown: Could be a repeat of last year's 120-pound final, when Easter pinned Carr in the third period to secure his first Thomas championship. Andrejcik should have something to say about it from Carr's half of the bracket. Easter beat the Burrell wrestler earlier this season at the King of the Mountain. 

138 - 1. Derrick Claar, Chestnut Ridge, Jr., 20-4; 2. Chase Schaeffer, Tri-Valley, Soph., 17-5; 3. Garrett Thomas, Bedford, Sr., 12-3; 4. Nick Hoenstine, Central, Jr., 10-1; 5. Dalton Klinger, Newport, Soph., 14-2; 6. Jason Schopp, Tyrone, Sr., 14-4; 7. Brady McKenzie, Meyersdale, Jr., 26-5; 8. Jon Fabian, Somerset, Jr., 10-4; 9. Kody Osselburn, Northern Garrett, Sr., 20-0; 10. Shane Ging, South Fayette, Soph., 19-7; 11. Ridge Hershberger, Northern Bedford, Soph., 10-6; 12. Storm McDonald, Berlin Brothersvalley, Soph., 14-10; 13. Kaleb Quick, West Branch, Sr., 11-9; 14. Raymond Niebauer, Cambria Heights, Sr., 5-5.

   Breakdown: Here's where it starts to get really interesting. Claar is the top seed, and seeded above two returning champs in Schaeffer and Thomas. I think the two finalists will come from those three, but don't sleep on fourth seed Hoenstine.

145 - 1. Hunter Harner, Tri-Valley, Jr., 16-6; 2. Corey Falleroni, Burrell, Sr., 18-6; 3. Austin Mears, Mount Pleasant, Jr., 19-4; 4. Braden Fochtman, Berlin Brothersvalley, Soph., 25-2; 5. Nick Naglic, Richland, Sr., 17-3; 6. Trent Crouse, Chestnut Ridge, Jr. 17-6; 7. Anthony Welsh, Beth-Center, Soph., 19-2; 8. Parker Bumbarger, West Branch, Sr., 20-0; 9. Toby Brett, Bedford, Sr., 6-5; 10. Seth Deist, Meyersdale, Sr., 18-5; 11. Brett Beltz, South Fayette, Jr., 17-3; 12. Sheldon Wagner, Somerset, Jr., 11-4; 13. Tevin Mostoller, North Star, Jr., 19-8; 14. Colby Stroup, Newport, Soph., 15-2; 15. Chris McCann, Northern Garrett, Sr., 16-6; 16. Mike Eckenrode, Penn Cambria, Jr., 14-7; 17. Quinn Barnett, Tussey Mountain, Jr., 11-3; 18. Joe Alexander, North Schuylkill, Fr., 12-10; 19. Casey Berchick, Conemaugh Township, Jr., 12-10; 20. Trae Shirey, Central, Sr., 7-5; 21. Trevor Kniha, Jefferson-Morgan, Soph., 18-12; 22. Tyler Long, Mount Union, Sr., 6-6.

   Breakdown: In short, what a weight! 22 kids have at least a .500 record. The top four are very caliber wrestlers, though I'll focus here on some of the others. Naglic is the fifth seed but a returning champion. Crouse, the sixth seed, is a former champion and a two-time finalist. I've heard good things about seventh seed Welsh, while eighth seed Bumbarger is unbeaten at 20-0. Even Brett at 9 and Deist at 10 can't be counted out for a high placement.

152 - 1. Steve Edwards, Burrell, Sr., 20-3; 2. Taylor Cahill, Berlin Brothersvalley, Jr., 23-1; 3. Ethan Charlesworth, Mount Pleasant, Jr., 19-6; 4. Jason Stay, Beth-Center, Jr., 15-6; 5. Luke Slippey, West Branch, Jr., 19-1; 6. Grant Fetchet, South Fayette, Sr., 19-1; 7. Corey Fritch, North Star, Sr., 19-7; 8. Anthony Snyder, Tri-Valley, Jr., 18-6; 9. Mike Mock, Central, Jr., 10-1; 10. Colby Hillegass, Chestnut Ridge, Jr., 13-8; 11. Mike Laue, Somerset, Sr., 10-4; 12. Ryan Miller, Northern Garrett, Sr., 19-3; 13. Dominic Farabaugh, Penn Cambria, Jr., 17-6; 14. Chris Eichelberger, Northern Bedford, Sr., 11-4.

   Breakdown: This weight also very good and fronted by returning state placer Edwards and state qualifier Cahill. Slippey and Fetchet could be the sleepers here.

160 - 1. J.J. Walker, South Fayette, Jr., 20-1; 2. Bryce Fochtman, Berlin, Jr., 21-3; 3. Ryan Zalar, Jefferson-Morgan, Sr., 17-1; 4. Levi Niebauer, Cambria Heights, Jr., 15-1; 5. Nico Brown, Beth-Center, Jr., 17-8; 6. Dylan Smith, Mount Union, Sr., 17-2; 7. Garet Grove, North Schuylkill, Sr., 20-1; 8. Jacob Driskel, Penn Cambria, Soph., 17-6; 9. Gus Strasiser, North Star, Soph., 18-7; 10. Clayton Green, West Branch, Soph., 16-4; 11. Derrick Beattie, Burrell, Sr., 15-9; 12. Christian Hutzell, Meyersdale, Fr. 16-6; 13. Daniel Brett, Bedford, Soph., 9-6; 14. Bryson Day, Northern Garrett, Soph., 16-6; 15. Jacob Grosik, Conemaugh Township, Fr., 12-8; 16. Dakotah Feathers, Claysburg-Kimmel, Jr., 10-7; 17. Wes Graham, Everett, Fr., 8-7.

   Breakdown: Another group of strong wrestlers at the top of this weight. Walker and Fochtman are likely finalists in my opinion. Zalar, who has wrestled well and not so well in events I've seen him at, is the wild card.

170 - 1. Nico Pecora, Richland, Sr., 17-0; 2. Auston Hummel, North Schuylkill, Sr., 20-1; 3. Landon Lohr, Somerset, Sr., 11-1; 4. Bill Bowlen, Jefferson-Morgan, Soph., 21-3; 5. Lucas Kolinchak, Northern Bedford, Soph., 13-3; 6. Kyle Winegardner, Chestnut Ridge, Sr., 15-7; 7. Dillion Charlton, North Star, Soph., 16-4; 8. Nick Pattock, Burrell, Sr., 15-9; 9. Conor Myers, West Branch, Jr., 15-5; 10. Blake Burket, Central, Sr., 11-3; 11. Justin Hammel, Claysburg-Kimmel, Sr., 11-5; 12. Devon Kylor, Mount Union, Sr., 12-7; 13. Dalton Waksmunski, Cambria Heights, Jr., 11-5; 14. Matt Wyland, Penn Cambria, Sr., 11-8; 15. Trevor Moore, Berlin Brothersvalley, Jr., 7-5; 16. Jack Previte, South Fayette, Sr., 5-2.

   Breakdown: Pecora looks improved from last year and has the top seed this weekend. He owns a pair of wins over Lohr recently. Remember that records for the wrestlers are taken from what is given to them by the bracket, so example there is Lohr at 11-1. Bowlen and Kolinchak are sophomores who seem to have taken a big step forward from freshmen debuts last year.

182 - 1. Gavin Berkley, Meyersdale, Sr., 22-1; 2. Conner Buttry, Chestnut Ridge, Soph., 21-3; 3. Hunter Connor, North Star, Jr., 19-5; 4. Rausaun Culberson, South Fayette, Soph., 13-5; 5. C.J. Steinhilber, North Schuykill, Soph., 9-3; 6. Mason Guyer, Northern Bedford, Soph., 14-5; 7. Dennis Link, Cambria Heights, Soph., 15-5; 8. Chance Williams, Bedford, Sr., 9-6; 9. Shane Pepper, Berlin Brothersvalley, Jr., 16-7; 10., Robbie Pearce, West Branch, Sr., 14-6; 11. Jason Perkins, Jefferson-Morgan, Sr., 13-12; 12. D.J. Bookwalter, Mount Union, Soph., 9-7; 13. Jared Ponder, Central, Sr., 8-5; 14. Alex Moses, Burrell, Soph., 3-1.

   Breakdown: Looks here like 1, then 2, then a dropoff. No disrespect to anyone 3 and lower, that's just how I see this one shaking out.

195 - 1. Jared Beckwith, Tyrone, Sr., 16-1; 2. Logan Eller, Somerset, Jr., 13-1; 3. Phil Kyle, Mount Union, Sr., 15-4; 4. Alek Hummel, North Schuylkill, Jr., 19-3; 5. Toby Cahill, Berlin Brothersvalley, Fr., 17-6; 6. Vince McDowell, West Branch, Soph., 16-4; 7. Mason White, Tri-Valley, Sr., 16-9; 8. Kevin Horner, North Star, Sr., 14-8; 9. Anthony Mezzelo, Cambria Heights, Jr., 12-5; 10., Spencer Girman, South Fayette, Sr., 10-6; 11. Tristan Deal, Meyersdale, Soph., 12-6; 12. Robert Scherer, Burrell, Soph., 13-10; 13. Tyler Elder, Claysburg-Kimmel, Soph., 8-6; 14. Jeff Jento, Jefferson-Morgan, Sr., 11-9; 15. August Snyder, Newport, Soph., 9-9.

   Breakdown: Beckwith and Eller both come in with good records, as do others in Hummel, Cahill, Kyle, etc. Don't know enough about Hummel so he could be a player here.

220 - 1. Buzzy Maines, West Branch, Jr., 20-0; 2. Stew Trulick, Berlin Brothersvalley, Sr., 18-2; 3. John Wilkinson, Penn Cambria, S., 15-3; 4. Josh Lind, Mount Pleasant, Soph., 17-8; 5. Ty Smith, Meyersdale, Jr., 24-6; 6. Darrian Stapleton, Mount Union, Sr., 16-3; 7. Shane Davis, Chestnut Ridge, Jr., 8-1; 8. Bryce Christoff, South Fayette, Sr., 11-8; 9. Trenton Yorty, Northern Garrett, Sr., 11-4; 10. Austin Conrath, Central, Sr. 7-2; 11. Anthony Patterson, Jefferson-Morgan, Jr., 7-3; 12. Zach Svencer, Conemaugh Township, Sr., 11-9; 13. Dane Tarantelli, North Schuylkill, Soph., 11-9; 14. Jack Hause, Somerset, Fr., 6-6.

   Breakdown: A lot of solid wrestlers here as well, though I believe Maines is a cut about the rest. I like Smith to finish higher than his seed. Locally, Davis has wrestled well so far for Chestnut Ridge.

285 - 1. Al Beattie, Burrell, Jr., 19-4; 2. Nik Smith, Mount Union, Sr., 17-2; 3. Morgan Selepack, West Branch, Sr., 15-2; 4. Aaron Gill, Cambria Heights, Sr., 14-0; 5. Nate Gadinski, North Schuylkill, Jr., 21-1; 6. Devin Reed, Everett, Jr., 13-2; 7. Anthony Collins, Berlin Brothersvalley, Soph., 18-5; 8. Ian Wolfe, Jefferson-Morgan, Jr., 18-4; 9. Josh Bower, Newport, Jr., 13-4; 10. Nate Shoemaker, Bedford, Jr., 8-5.

   Breakdown: The big news from this is that Chestnut Ridge's Austin Buttry will not be competing this weekend after suffering an injury at last week's Ultimate Duals. Lions' coach Greg Lazor told me at tonight's seeding meeting that Buttry would have been in the bracket had it been a postseason tournament, and that it was only looking to be a 1-2 week injury healing time. Meanwhile, Beattie should be tough to beat in this field, though Smith is solid and Selepack is a returning state placewinner. Seeded sixth, Reed owns a win over Smith but lost to Selepack, whom he could meet in tomorrow's quarterfinals.