Below is my analysis for 152-285 at the Class AA Southwest Regional in Johnstown this weekend. For the schedule and my look at 106-145, see last post in this blog.
Tournament Breakdown from 152-285
152 - Burrell's Steven Edwards and Blairsville's Andrew Doak have the byes. Doak's half of the draw appears tougher on paper with Berlin's Taylor Cahill, South Fayette's Grant Fetchet, and South Park's Greg Bulsak all there. Cahill-Fetchet and Doak-Bulsak are likely quarterfinal matchups. Keep an eye on Penns Valley's Seth Decker.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Cahill.
160 - South Fayette's Jared Walker and Berlin's Bryce Fochtman got the byes at 160, and these two could very well see each other in another final. Cambria Heights' Levi Niebauer, the other district champ at this weight, is in Fochtman's half.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Fochtman.
170 - Penns Valley's Corey Hazel and Jefferson-Morgan's Bill Bowlen are the finals favorites here in my opinion. A highlight quarterfinal if it happens is Somerset's Landon Lohr against Richland's Nico Pecora. Pecora beat Lohr three times in a one-week stretch in January. I give Northern Bedford's Lucas Kolinchak, who is opposite Hazel in the top half, a decent shot to make it through to Hershey.
Predicted D5 wrestlers to qualify for states: Lohr, Kolinchak.
182 - Three very good wrestlers highlight the field here at 182 — Blairsville's Scott Thompson, Meyersdale's Gavin Berkley, and Valley's Terrell Fields. Thompson and Fields have the byes. Berkley and Fields are on a collision course for the semifinals. I don't know enough about West Greene's Dalton Wildman and West Shamokin's Brendon Glover, but it appears one or both could make noise. Chestnut Ridge's Conner Buttry could see Wildman in the quarterfinals.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Berkley.
195 - HOPE for Hyndman's Jake Bennett received a bye and is on the bottom half of the draw, while United's Tyler Oliver has it up top. Like last season, Bennett enters the regional tournament with only one loss. But he failed to get out last year. The other top wrestlers to watch here should be WPIAL mates Marcus Davenport of Valley and Brad Grinnen of Ellwood City. Berlin's Toby Cahill is in Oliver's half of the bracket.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Bennett.
220 - Avella's Jake Temple and West Branch's Reynold "Buzzy" Maines are both unbeaten and have the byes here. Those two appear like the championship final participants, though Kittanning's Jacob Robb could have something to say about it. He's on Maines' side of the bracket. Last month, Robb put a big win on his card by going to heavyweight and majoring Burrell's Allan Beattie, 13-1.
Predicted D5 wrestlers to qualify for states: None.
285 - In all my years of being involved with New Jersey and Pennsylvania wrestling in some capacity, I can say I'm looking forward to this heavyweight bracket as much if not more than any other I can remember. That said, next week in Hershey could and should be even better. Sure, we'll probably see the usual 2-1 no-action overtime rideout battle on at least one occasion, but do yourself a favor and hang around for the big boys. Beattie has the top bracket bye, while Chestnut Ridge's Austin Buttry does on the bottom half. In my mind, there will be three or four good 285ers going home this weekend. Also on the bottom are Cambria Heights' Aaron Gill, Southmoreland's Jake Beistel, and Jefferson-Morgan's Ian Wolfe. With Beattie on top are West Branch's Morgan Selepack and Mount Union's Nik Smith, as well as Everett's Devin Reed. Reed could get Smith in the quarters. Those two split a pair of bouts this season.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Buttry.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
D5 Rewind, SW Regional Preview Part 1
I attended the District 5 Tournament on Saturday, but unfortunately had to rush home early due to a family emergency. So I didn't see the finals or consolation finals, and from the looks of it, there was plenty of good action in those rounds. My thoughts in brief below:
— First off, congratulations to Bedford's Ryan Easter for winning his fourth district championship.
— And nice to see all the Bedford County teams produce at least one regional qualifier.
Now, onto the Southwest Regional which begins on Friday afternoon at the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown. Here's the schedule:
Friday
1 p.m. - Preliminaries
4 p.m. - Quarterfinals/First Round Consolations
7 p.m. - Second Round Consolations
Saturday
11 a.m. - Semifinals/Third Round Consolations
1:30 p.m. - Consolation Semifinals
5 p.m. - Finals, Third Place Bouts, Fifth Place Bouts (three mats at same time)
Link to Brackets: http://LiveResults.escapesports.com/PIAA/2014-PIAA-Region-SW_AA.html#
Tournament Breakdown from 106-145
106 - A pretty solid weight to begin with. The byes belong to Chestnut Ridge's Aaron Burkett and South Park's Dallas Bulsak. District 6 champion Max Murin of Central Cambria is 30-0 and has been ranked higher than anyone else in this field most of the season. He could see Bulsak in the bottom bracket semifinal. Burkett is up top and draws the first round winner between Ligonier Valley's Carlos Chavez and Southmoreland's Cole Lambie. The other name to watch up top is Penn Cambria's Nolan Link, who dropped a one-point bout to Murin in the D6 final. Northern Bedford's Zach Clark is also in the bracket and faces Bentworth's Hunter Neely in the opener.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Burkett.
113 - One of the top weights in the state will be 113, and the regional draw in Johnstown looks very strong as well. To me, the top half of the pairings is tougher, with Huntingdon's Collin Glorioso getting the bye up there. Also up top are Southmoreland's Austin Griffiths, Jefferson-Morgan's Brendon Howard, and Central's Brock Biddle. Bedford's Jonathan Gabriel is down below, and I think he got about the best draw possible, being away from Glorioso, Griffiths, and Howard. The bottom half bye went to Burgettstown's Austin McDermitt, who Gabriel should see in the semifinals. Also in here locally are Chestnut Ridge's Blake Dunlap and Northern Bedford's Trey Childers.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Gabriel.
120 - The byes are in the names of Derry's George Phillippi and Berlin's Joe Swank. Phillippi is the defending 113-pound state champion. I expect Phillippi to reach the final on top, while a Swank vs. Forest Hills' Triston Law semifinal down below should be good. The locals are Bedford's Kyle Mehle and Chestnut Ridge's Dustin Ickes.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Swank.
126 - Unbeaten John Demaske of Jefferson-Morgan headlines this weight, as a returning fourth-place state medalist. Richland's Adam George, the D6 winner, has the other bye here. Names to watch include Valley's Pat Dewitt, Cambria Heights' Joe Davis, and Mount Pleasant's Mike Novak, among others. Bedford's Jake Warren is opposite George in the bottom half of the draw, while Northern Bedford's Jared Helsley is up top.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: None.
132 - This weight looks like it will turn out to be a finals matchup of Bedford's Ryan Easter and South Fayette's Mike Carr. Carr decisioned Easter in the Thomas Subaru finals last month, but Easter beat him last year in the Bedford tourney. On paper, this is not a strong group overall after Carr and Easter. Records can be deceiving, but 10 of the other 12 wrestlers in the bracket have at least 11 losses.
Predicted D5 wrestlers to qualify for states: Easter, Meyersdale's Tanner Hetrick.
138 - South Park's Jake Wentzel has the bye on top of this draw, while Chestnut Ridge's Derrick Claar has it on the bottom. Claar has not wrestled well in two previous regional appearances, but I like his chances to get through this time. Bedford's Garrett Thomas, who finished sixth last year and is in his final shot to get to states, could get Wentzel in a Saturday semifinal. Tyrone's Jason Schopp won the D6 title and is in the same half as Claar.
Predicted D5 wrestlers to qualify for states: Claar, Thomas.
145 - Two-time state champ and Penn State recruit Jason Nolf of Kittanning is the decisive favorite here, but this weight will be fun to watch. Nolf has the top bracket bye, while Chestnut Ridge's Trent Crouse is in that spot on the bottom. Like Claar, classmate Crouse hasn't had a lot to celebrate at the regional before. Names to know here: Nolf, Crouse, Richland's Nick Naglic, Berlin's Braden Fochtman, Mount Pleasant's Austin Mears, Huntingdon's Jacob Oliver, Beth-Center's Tony Welsh, and Burrell's Corey Falleroni.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Crouse.
I will have 152-285 later in the week.
— First off, congratulations to Bedford's Ryan Easter for winning his fourth district championship.
— And nice to see all the Bedford County teams produce at least one regional qualifier.
Now, onto the Southwest Regional which begins on Friday afternoon at the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown. Here's the schedule:
Friday
1 p.m. - Preliminaries
4 p.m. - Quarterfinals/First Round Consolations
7 p.m. - Second Round Consolations
Saturday
11 a.m. - Semifinals/Third Round Consolations
1:30 p.m. - Consolation Semifinals
5 p.m. - Finals, Third Place Bouts, Fifth Place Bouts (three mats at same time)
Link to Brackets: http://LiveResults.escapesports.com/PIAA/2014-PIAA-Region-SW_AA.html#
Tournament Breakdown from 106-145
106 - A pretty solid weight to begin with. The byes belong to Chestnut Ridge's Aaron Burkett and South Park's Dallas Bulsak. District 6 champion Max Murin of Central Cambria is 30-0 and has been ranked higher than anyone else in this field most of the season. He could see Bulsak in the bottom bracket semifinal. Burkett is up top and draws the first round winner between Ligonier Valley's Carlos Chavez and Southmoreland's Cole Lambie. The other name to watch up top is Penn Cambria's Nolan Link, who dropped a one-point bout to Murin in the D6 final. Northern Bedford's Zach Clark is also in the bracket and faces Bentworth's Hunter Neely in the opener.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Burkett.
113 - One of the top weights in the state will be 113, and the regional draw in Johnstown looks very strong as well. To me, the top half of the pairings is tougher, with Huntingdon's Collin Glorioso getting the bye up there. Also up top are Southmoreland's Austin Griffiths, Jefferson-Morgan's Brendon Howard, and Central's Brock Biddle. Bedford's Jonathan Gabriel is down below, and I think he got about the best draw possible, being away from Glorioso, Griffiths, and Howard. The bottom half bye went to Burgettstown's Austin McDermitt, who Gabriel should see in the semifinals. Also in here locally are Chestnut Ridge's Blake Dunlap and Northern Bedford's Trey Childers.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Gabriel.
120 - The byes are in the names of Derry's George Phillippi and Berlin's Joe Swank. Phillippi is the defending 113-pound state champion. I expect Phillippi to reach the final on top, while a Swank vs. Forest Hills' Triston Law semifinal down below should be good. The locals are Bedford's Kyle Mehle and Chestnut Ridge's Dustin Ickes.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Swank.
126 - Unbeaten John Demaske of Jefferson-Morgan headlines this weight, as a returning fourth-place state medalist. Richland's Adam George, the D6 winner, has the other bye here. Names to watch include Valley's Pat Dewitt, Cambria Heights' Joe Davis, and Mount Pleasant's Mike Novak, among others. Bedford's Jake Warren is opposite George in the bottom half of the draw, while Northern Bedford's Jared Helsley is up top.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: None.
132 - This weight looks like it will turn out to be a finals matchup of Bedford's Ryan Easter and South Fayette's Mike Carr. Carr decisioned Easter in the Thomas Subaru finals last month, but Easter beat him last year in the Bedford tourney. On paper, this is not a strong group overall after Carr and Easter. Records can be deceiving, but 10 of the other 12 wrestlers in the bracket have at least 11 losses.
Predicted D5 wrestlers to qualify for states: Easter, Meyersdale's Tanner Hetrick.
138 - South Park's Jake Wentzel has the bye on top of this draw, while Chestnut Ridge's Derrick Claar has it on the bottom. Claar has not wrestled well in two previous regional appearances, but I like his chances to get through this time. Bedford's Garrett Thomas, who finished sixth last year and is in his final shot to get to states, could get Wentzel in a Saturday semifinal. Tyrone's Jason Schopp won the D6 title and is in the same half as Claar.
Predicted D5 wrestlers to qualify for states: Claar, Thomas.
145 - Two-time state champ and Penn State recruit Jason Nolf of Kittanning is the decisive favorite here, but this weight will be fun to watch. Nolf has the top bracket bye, while Chestnut Ridge's Trent Crouse is in that spot on the bottom. Like Claar, classmate Crouse hasn't had a lot to celebrate at the regional before. Names to know here: Nolf, Crouse, Richland's Nick Naglic, Berlin's Braden Fochtman, Mount Pleasant's Austin Mears, Huntingdon's Jacob Oliver, Beth-Center's Tony Welsh, and Burrell's Corey Falleroni.
Predicted D5 wrestler to qualify for states: Crouse.
I will have 152-285 later in the week.
Friday, February 21, 2014
District 5 Tournament - Friday results
Team scores and all Friday bouts below.
2014 District 5 Tournament
Team Key and Standings
CR - Chestnut Ridge, 49.5; BB - Berlin, 48; B - Bedford, 42.5; S - Somerset, 37.5; NS - North Star, 37; M - Meyersdale, 30; NB - Northern Bedford, 28; E - Everett, 26; CT - Conemaugh Township, 22; H - HOPE for Hyndman, 14; Sh - Shade, 11; TM - Tussey Mountain, 11.
Preliminaries
106 - Noah Baughman, B, pinned Kyle Boyce, BB, 2:19; Cameron Gibbner, H, pinned Landon Bambling, E, 0:34; Zach Clark, NB, pinned Lucas Carnell, M, 1:49.
113 - Kat Luteri, S, dec. Roy Reichard, TM, 3-2.
126 - Austin Lawson, Sh, pinned Selena Munoz, E, 2:34; Brady Gardner, NS, pinned John Arnold, M, 0:59.
132 - Shayne Brumbaugh, TM, pinned Michael Baker, NS, 3:26; Carter Replogle, NB, dec. Ben Moyer, CT, 8-6 OT; Mahlon Akers, E, maj. dec. Shane Smith, Sh, 14-0.
145 - Kyle Supanick, NS, pinned Ethan Crawford, NB, 3:14.
152 - Colton Stahl, CT, pinned Kendall Swick, M, 3:52.
160 - Wes Graham, E, dec. Ty Bechtel, NB, 8-2; Jacob Grosik, CT, pinned Jonah Kindya, H, 1:21.
170 - Waylon Brennan, E, pinned Ryan Lishia, M, 2:52.
220 - Zach Claycomb, E, pinned Tanner Wigfield, B, 5:15.
285 - Blake Brenneman, M, pinned Chris Morales, TM, 1:50.
Quarterfinals
106 - Aaron Burkett, CR, tech. fall Baughman, B, 18-2, 5:56; Nathan Thomas, CT, dec. Lenny Beeman, NS, 5-3; Oaklee Brode, TM, pinned Gibbner, H, 0:45; Quinn Cole, S, dec. Clark, NB, 4-1.
113 - Jonathan Gabriel, B, pinned Luteri, S, 2:31; Trey Childers, NB, pinned Dalton Klotz, E, 4:19; Blake Dunlap, CR, pinned Tanner Clites, H, 2:37; Tommy DeArmitt, BB, maj. dec. Aaron Griffith, CT, 15-4.
120 - Joe Swank, BB, pinned Michael Steiner, CT, 1:45; Colton Gennett, NS, dec. Dustin Ickes, CR, 10-3; Kyle Mehle, B, dec. Dylan Park, TM, 8-6; Ben Stover, E, pinned Robby Snyder, H, 4:46.
126 - Jared Helsley, NB, pinned Lawson, Sh, 2:30; E.J. Custer, BB, pinned Morgan Deremer, CR, 5:30; Jake Warren, B, pinned Brennan Price, TM, 2:43; Kody Ofsanko, CT, pinned Brady Gardner, NS, 3:24.
132 - Ryan Easter, B, tech. fall Brumbaugh, TM, 17-2, 2:36; Austin Hemminger, S, dec. Kane McKenzie, BB, 7-2; Sam Shank, CR, dec. Replogle, NB, 9-4; Tanner Hetrick, M, pinned Akers, E, 3:55.
138 - Derrick Claar, CR, pinned Shawn Costas, NS, 3:33; Storm McDonald, BB, dec. Brady McKenzie, M, 5-4; Jon Fabian, S, pinned Ridge Hershberger, NB, 5:46; Garrett Thomas, B, pinned Brandon Stahl, CT, 1:07.
145 - Braden Fochtman, BB, pinned Kyle Supanick, NS, 1:39; Toby Brett, B, pinned Casey Berchick, CT, 2:43; Seth Deist, M, pinned Lee Moskey, H, 2:32; Trent Crouse, CR, pinned Bailey Phillips, S, 1:23.
152 - Taylor Cahill, BB, pinned Stahl, CT, 1:22; Chris Eichelberger, NB, maj. dec. Quinn Barnett, TM, 11-2; Sheldon Wagner, S, dec. Brandyn Beaver, CR, 5-3; Tevin Mostoller, NS, dec. Kenny Collins, B, 6-0.
160 - Bryce Fochtman, BB, pinned Graham, E, 5:09; Mike Laue, S, dec. Dan Brett, B, 11-4; Colby Hillegass, CR, dec. Gus Strasiser, NS, 4-2 2OT; Christian Hutzell, M, dec. Jake Grosik, CT, 5-0.
170 - Landon Lohr, S, tech. fall Brennan, E, 16-1, 2:23; Dillion Charlton, NS, maj. dec. Oscar Miller, H, 9-0; Kyle Winegardner, CR, dec. Brody Moore, BB, 3-2; Lucas Kolinchak, NB, dec. Brayden Crawley, B, 7-1.
182 - Gavin Berkley, M, pinned Dalton Reed, E, 0:16; Shane Pepper, BB, dec. Hunter Connor, NS, 6-5; Chance Williams, B, dec. Mason Guyer, NB, 3-2 2 OT; Conner Buttry, CR, pinned Casey Pyle, S, 1:01.
195 - Jake Bennett, H, pinned John Baublitz, Sh, 0:25; Thomas Miller, NS, dec. Tristan Deal, M, 6-2; Logan Eller, S, pinned Matt Kline, B, 3:25; Toby Cahill, BB, pinned Jon Heming, CR, 3:20.
220 - Ty Smith, M, pinned Claycomb, E, 0:25; Shane Davis, CR, pinned Nate Zanoni, BB, 4:23; Chris Merkel, H, pinned Zack Svencer, CT, 3:17; Kevin Horner, NS, pinned Jack Hause, S, 1:12.
285 - Austin Buttry, CR, pinned Brenneman, M, 0:31; Trevor Brown, Sh, pinned Brandon Greise, H, 3:47; Anthony Collins, BB, dec. Nate Shoemaker, B, 5-2; Devin Reed, E, pinned Brady Vinisky, NS, 1:59.
First Round Consolations
None.
Second Round Consolations
106 - Baughman, B, pinned Carnell, M, 0:23; Beeman, NS, pinned Bambling, E, 4:44; Clark, NB, dec. Boyce, BB, 2-1.
113 - Griffith, CT, pinned Reichard, TM, 3:30.
126 - Lawson, Sh, dec. Arnold, M, 2-1; Gardner, NS, pinned Munoz, E, 2:22.
132 - Brumbaugh, TM, dec. Smith, Sh, 9-6; McKenzie, BB, pinned Moyer, CT, 0:56; Baker, NS, dec. Akers, E, 6-2.
145 - Phillips, S, pinned Crawford, NB, 2:14.
152 - Collins, B, dec. Swick, M, 11-4.
160 - Graham, E, pinned Kindya, H, 2:07; Grosik, CT, dec. Bechtel, NB, 7-0.
170 - Crawley, B, pinned Lishia, M, 0:48.
220 - Hause, S, pinned Wigfield, B, 1:52.
285 - Vinisky, NS, pinned Morales, TM, 0:59.
Monday, February 17, 2014
D5 Tournament Preview
It's only Monday and the District 5 Tournament at Windber is four days away, but I have put together a weekend preview below. I won't offer any predictions here, as I'll save those for my story for Friday's Bedford Gazette. I see there is also a chat tonight at 9 p.m. on Bleacher Coaches to discuss the tournament. If you haven't seen them, here is a link to the brackets — District 5 Brackets.
3:30 p.m. - Quarterfinals
6 p.m. - Consolation Finals, followed by Championship Finals
Weight by Weight Breakdown
106 - Top seed Aaron Burkett of Chestnut Ridge is the only wrestler in this bracket with at least 20 wins, and the sophomore has 31 this season and he is the heavy favorite.
Quarterfinal to watch: Tussey Mountain's Oaklee Brode vs. HOPE for Hyndman's Cameron Gibbner - Gibbner, seeded sixth, pinned third seed Brode earlier this month.
113 - Another weight with a strong favorite, with Bedford's Jonathan Gabriel here. He pinned second seed Tommy DeArmitt of Berlin in a District 5 Duals semifinal. DeArmitt owns wins over third seed Blake Dunlap of Chestnut Ridge this year, but Dunlap pinned him in last year's quarterfinals. Dunlap is a defending runner-up at this weight. Fourth seed Trey Childers of Northern Bedford is also a returning regional qualifier, having placed third at 106 in 2013.
Quarterfinal to watch: Dunlap vs. HOPE for Hyndman's Tanner Clites.
120 - Berlin's Joe Swank appears as the favorite, but I think this weight is pretty deep for the second and third place finishers. While Swank should get to the final on top, the bottom half looks wide open, and I wouldn't be totally surprised if sixth seed Damian Jano of Somerset is in the final.
Quarterfinals to watch: Chestnut Ridge's Dustin Ickes vs. North Star's Colton Gennett, Tussey Mountain's Dylan Park vs. Jano, HOPE for Hyndman's Robby Snyder vs. Bedford's Kyle Mehle.
126 - I don't think there's a clear cut favorite at 126 going in. The top five seeds, Northern Bedford's Jared Helsley, Conemaugh Township's Kody Ofsanko, Bedford's Jake Warren, Chestnut Ridge's Morgan Deremer, and Berlin's E.J. Custer should be the ones vying for regional berths. Top seed Helsley beat second seed Ofsanko, but has two losses to third seed Warren and has split a pair of close bouts with fourth seed Deremer. I expect this to be one of the more fun weights to watch.
Quarterfinal to watch: Deremer vs. Custer.
132 - The top storyline heading into the event, at least from a Bedford County perspective, is Ryan Easter's attempt to join the District 5 four-time champion club. The Bedford senior is also closing in on the county wins record, set by four-timer Tyler Dibert of Chestnut Ridge just last season. Hard to see him lose inside the Windber gym this weekend, though Meyersdale's Tanner Hetrick is formidable.
Quarterfinal to watch: Somerset's Austin Hemminger vs. Berlin's Kane McKenzie.
138 - Most local fans are probably looking forward to another battle between Bedford's Garrett Thomas and Chestnut Ridge's Derrick Claar. Thomas beat Claar in the finals of the Thomas Subaru Tournament late last month. Here, Claar got the top seed over the Bedford foe based on the points. It shouldn't matter though, as it would take a big upset to see them not lock horns for the title.
Quarterfinal to watch: Meyersdale's Brady McKenzie vs. Berlin's Storm McDonald - McKenzie has three wins over McDonald, but one was 4-2 and another was 3-2.
145 - This is one of the toughest weights in the state, let alone District 5 which looks to be very good. Another situation where the second seed has a win (or two) over the top seed. Chestnut Ridge's Trent Crouse has beaten Berlin's Braden Fochtman twice, but his points were much lower and not enough to challenge the seeding based on head-to-head. I won't detail that here, as Eric Knopsnyder of the Tribune-Democrat did that this morning on his blog. You can see that on the link here — Knop's knotes. Meyersdale's Seth Deist is the third seed, while Bedford's Toby Brett is the fourth seed, but a two-time district champion. A solid wrestler will see his season end this weekend.
Quarterfinal to watch: Wait for the semifinals.
152 - Berlin's Taylor Cahill sits here as the favorite. He placed second at this weight last year while at Conemaugh Township. A pretty deep bracket that begins with North Star's Tevin Mostoller at the second seed, and also includes Somerset's Sheldon Wagner, Tussey Mountain's Quinn Barnett and Northern Bedford's Chris Eichelberger.
Quarterfinal to watch: Barnett vs. Eichelberger.
160 - Somerset County wrestlers hold the top four seeds here, beginning with No. 1 Bryce Fochtman of Berlin. I've never seen freshman Christian Hutzell of Meyersdale, the second seed, and my sample size on third seed Gus Strasiser of North Star is very small. That said, both have had really good seasons. Hutzell has kept two bouts with Fochtman pretty close, while he and Strasiser have split a pair of encounters.
Quarterfinal to watch: Somerset's Mike Laue vs. Bedford's Daniel Brett — Brett beat Laue, 7-6, in a dual meet which was the decisive victory in Bedford's team win over Somerset.
170 - Somerset's Landon Lohr is the top seed and I like his chances to get to the final. The second seed is Northern Bedford's Lucas Kolinchak, who has been one of the most improved wrestlers in the area. The sophomore already has 15 more wins than he had as a ninth-grader last year. He has two wins against third seed Kyle Winegardner of Chestnut Ridge, and that should be a good semifinal if it happens.
Quarterfinal to watch: HOPE for Hyndman's Oscar Miller vs. North Star's Dillion Charlton.
182 - On paper, I'd be surprised if we don't see Meyersdale's Gavin Berkley and Chestnut Ridge's Conner Buttry battling for the championship come Saturday night. The third spot should be a go between Chance Williams, Hunter Connor, Shane Pepper, and Mason Guyer.
Quarterfinals to watch: Bedford's Williams vs. Northern Bedford's Guyer, North Star's Connor vs. Berlin's Pepper — Williams and Guyer have split, Conner has two pins on Pepper.
195 - HOPE for Hyndman's Jake Bennett is a defending champion, but he won at 220 last year. He owns a win over second seed and freshman Toby Cahill of Berlin, though it was in overtime. Somerset's Logan Eller, the third seed, has improved greatly this season. That could be the top three here.
Quarterfinal to watch: Meyersdale's Tristan Deal vs. North Star's Thomas Miller.
220 - An interesting weight here, after Berlin's Stew Trulick who would have been the favorite suffered a season-ending injury. The top seed is Meyersdale's Ty Smith and North Star's Kevin Horner is the second seed. After that in order, it's HOPE for Hyndman's Chris Merkel, Berlin's Nate Zanoni, and Chestnut Ridge's Shane Davis.
Quarterfinal to watch: Zanoni vs. Davis.
285 - Chestnut Ridge's Austin Buttry is the top seed as he vies for his first district title. He has a win over second seed Devin Reed of Everett, who has some big wins to his name in his first season in District 5. The third seed is Berlin's Anthony Collins, who has shown good improvement over last year.
Quarterfinals to watch: Collins vs. Bedford's Nate Shoemaker, Shade's Trevor Brown vs. HOPE for Hyndman's Brandon Greise.
2014 District 5 Tournament
at Windber HS
Friday's Schedule
2 p.m. - Preliminaries3:30 p.m. - Quarterfinals
Saturday's Schedule
10 a.m. - Semifinals/Consolations6 p.m. - Consolation Finals, followed by Championship Finals
— Top three finishers advance to Class AA Southwest Regional —
Weight by Weight Breakdown
106 - Top seed Aaron Burkett of Chestnut Ridge is the only wrestler in this bracket with at least 20 wins, and the sophomore has 31 this season and he is the heavy favorite.
Quarterfinal to watch: Tussey Mountain's Oaklee Brode vs. HOPE for Hyndman's Cameron Gibbner - Gibbner, seeded sixth, pinned third seed Brode earlier this month.
113 - Another weight with a strong favorite, with Bedford's Jonathan Gabriel here. He pinned second seed Tommy DeArmitt of Berlin in a District 5 Duals semifinal. DeArmitt owns wins over third seed Blake Dunlap of Chestnut Ridge this year, but Dunlap pinned him in last year's quarterfinals. Dunlap is a defending runner-up at this weight. Fourth seed Trey Childers of Northern Bedford is also a returning regional qualifier, having placed third at 106 in 2013.
Quarterfinal to watch: Dunlap vs. HOPE for Hyndman's Tanner Clites.
120 - Berlin's Joe Swank appears as the favorite, but I think this weight is pretty deep for the second and third place finishers. While Swank should get to the final on top, the bottom half looks wide open, and I wouldn't be totally surprised if sixth seed Damian Jano of Somerset is in the final.
Quarterfinals to watch: Chestnut Ridge's Dustin Ickes vs. North Star's Colton Gennett, Tussey Mountain's Dylan Park vs. Jano, HOPE for Hyndman's Robby Snyder vs. Bedford's Kyle Mehle.
126 - I don't think there's a clear cut favorite at 126 going in. The top five seeds, Northern Bedford's Jared Helsley, Conemaugh Township's Kody Ofsanko, Bedford's Jake Warren, Chestnut Ridge's Morgan Deremer, and Berlin's E.J. Custer should be the ones vying for regional berths. Top seed Helsley beat second seed Ofsanko, but has two losses to third seed Warren and has split a pair of close bouts with fourth seed Deremer. I expect this to be one of the more fun weights to watch.
Quarterfinal to watch: Deremer vs. Custer.
132 - The top storyline heading into the event, at least from a Bedford County perspective, is Ryan Easter's attempt to join the District 5 four-time champion club. The Bedford senior is also closing in on the county wins record, set by four-timer Tyler Dibert of Chestnut Ridge just last season. Hard to see him lose inside the Windber gym this weekend, though Meyersdale's Tanner Hetrick is formidable.
Quarterfinal to watch: Somerset's Austin Hemminger vs. Berlin's Kane McKenzie.
138 - Most local fans are probably looking forward to another battle between Bedford's Garrett Thomas and Chestnut Ridge's Derrick Claar. Thomas beat Claar in the finals of the Thomas Subaru Tournament late last month. Here, Claar got the top seed over the Bedford foe based on the points. It shouldn't matter though, as it would take a big upset to see them not lock horns for the title.
Quarterfinal to watch: Meyersdale's Brady McKenzie vs. Berlin's Storm McDonald - McKenzie has three wins over McDonald, but one was 4-2 and another was 3-2.
145 - This is one of the toughest weights in the state, let alone District 5 which looks to be very good. Another situation where the second seed has a win (or two) over the top seed. Chestnut Ridge's Trent Crouse has beaten Berlin's Braden Fochtman twice, but his points were much lower and not enough to challenge the seeding based on head-to-head. I won't detail that here, as Eric Knopsnyder of the Tribune-Democrat did that this morning on his blog. You can see that on the link here — Knop's knotes. Meyersdale's Seth Deist is the third seed, while Bedford's Toby Brett is the fourth seed, but a two-time district champion. A solid wrestler will see his season end this weekend.
Quarterfinal to watch: Wait for the semifinals.
152 - Berlin's Taylor Cahill sits here as the favorite. He placed second at this weight last year while at Conemaugh Township. A pretty deep bracket that begins with North Star's Tevin Mostoller at the second seed, and also includes Somerset's Sheldon Wagner, Tussey Mountain's Quinn Barnett and Northern Bedford's Chris Eichelberger.
Quarterfinal to watch: Barnett vs. Eichelberger.
160 - Somerset County wrestlers hold the top four seeds here, beginning with No. 1 Bryce Fochtman of Berlin. I've never seen freshman Christian Hutzell of Meyersdale, the second seed, and my sample size on third seed Gus Strasiser of North Star is very small. That said, both have had really good seasons. Hutzell has kept two bouts with Fochtman pretty close, while he and Strasiser have split a pair of encounters.
Quarterfinal to watch: Somerset's Mike Laue vs. Bedford's Daniel Brett — Brett beat Laue, 7-6, in a dual meet which was the decisive victory in Bedford's team win over Somerset.
170 - Somerset's Landon Lohr is the top seed and I like his chances to get to the final. The second seed is Northern Bedford's Lucas Kolinchak, who has been one of the most improved wrestlers in the area. The sophomore already has 15 more wins than he had as a ninth-grader last year. He has two wins against third seed Kyle Winegardner of Chestnut Ridge, and that should be a good semifinal if it happens.
Quarterfinal to watch: HOPE for Hyndman's Oscar Miller vs. North Star's Dillion Charlton.
182 - On paper, I'd be surprised if we don't see Meyersdale's Gavin Berkley and Chestnut Ridge's Conner Buttry battling for the championship come Saturday night. The third spot should be a go between Chance Williams, Hunter Connor, Shane Pepper, and Mason Guyer.
Quarterfinals to watch: Bedford's Williams vs. Northern Bedford's Guyer, North Star's Connor vs. Berlin's Pepper — Williams and Guyer have split, Conner has two pins on Pepper.
195 - HOPE for Hyndman's Jake Bennett is a defending champion, but he won at 220 last year. He owns a win over second seed and freshman Toby Cahill of Berlin, though it was in overtime. Somerset's Logan Eller, the third seed, has improved greatly this season. That could be the top three here.
Quarterfinal to watch: Meyersdale's Tristan Deal vs. North Star's Thomas Miller.
220 - An interesting weight here, after Berlin's Stew Trulick who would have been the favorite suffered a season-ending injury. The top seed is Meyersdale's Ty Smith and North Star's Kevin Horner is the second seed. After that in order, it's HOPE for Hyndman's Chris Merkel, Berlin's Nate Zanoni, and Chestnut Ridge's Shane Davis.
Quarterfinal to watch: Zanoni vs. Davis.
285 - Chestnut Ridge's Austin Buttry is the top seed as he vies for his first district title. He has a win over second seed Devin Reed of Everett, who has some big wins to his name in his first season in District 5. The third seed is Berlin's Anthony Collins, who has shown good improvement over last year.
Quarterfinals to watch: Collins vs. Bedford's Nate Shoemaker, Shade's Trevor Brown vs. HOPE for Hyndman's Brandon Greise.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
D5 Tournament Brackets
District 5 Brackets were just released. Here's the link - http://liveresults.escapesports.com/PIAA/2014-PIAA-District-V_AA.html
Friday, February 7, 2014
State Duals Thursday recap
Chestnut Ridge got off to a good start in its second appearance at the PIAA Class AA Team Duals, defeating Montoursville 37-22 to advance to Friday's quarterfinals against Boiling Springs. For my full review of the match, pick up a copy of the www.bedfordgazette.com, or subscribe online.
The Lions won four of the first five and four of the last five bouts to earn the win.
While that was going on, here are some other sights and notes from the day.
Deep, Deep, Deep — I had already surmised that the Class AA field this year was deeper than past years, and that is certainly true. Throw out Bethlehem Catholic at the top, and Lower Moreland and Western Wayne at the bottom, and everyone else is solid. It's going to be fun seeing how the quarterfinals and beyond play out.
Feeling slighted — If Hamburg was feeling a bit jilted as a result of the debate over last weekend's District 3 Duals, where Boiling Springs and Bermudian Springs had to wrestle a loser-go-home semifinal after both were ranked in the top five in the state, the Berks County team was probably using it as motivation. I watched most of Hamburg's win over Burrell and came away quite impressed. Chris Kummerer's 7-5 decision over J.R. Andrejcik at 132 pounds made the ultimate difference. Kummerer was losing 5-0 early after being caught in a cradle, but he rallied for a big win.
Can I buy a win? — It's hard not to feel bad for Lower Moreland. The District 1 squad has now been completely shut out in three straight matches. Bethlehem Catholic won in Thursday's opener, 73-0. That's coming off last year's tournament where Lower Moreland was beaten 81-0 by Becahi and 79-0 by Central Columbia. 0-42 in bouts and a team score deficit of 233-0.
Looking ahead to the quarterfinals for Chestnut Ridge, it will be a tough match with Boiling Springs, but one I think could be winnable. Straight up, I think the Lions have a good chance at bonus points at 106, 113, and 182. Boiling Springs is very good and has flexibility between 120-152, and that's where the Lions will have to save points where they can to have a chance.
The prospects for Chestnut Ridge winning a second straight state medal are better if it defeats Boiling Springs, though nothing is guaranteed as again, this AA bracket is a grinder. If the Lions lose to the Bubblers, my best guess for the consolation rounds, in order, would be Burrell, Huntingdon, and Brookville. Ridge and Burrell was a nailbiter last month (31-29), while Brookville defeated Ridge (41-28 without Austin Buttry). Huntingdon is a tough matchup for the Lions. The Bearcats are so balanced, and their two weakest weights, 106 and 285, are two of Chestnut Ridge's stronger ones, so that doesn't help much.
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