Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Penn State tops in recruiting

  Intermat has named Penn State's 2014 recruiting class as the top one in the nation. Cael Sanderson went out of state for his top two recruits, plucking heavyweight Nick Nevills from California and 174/184-pound Bo Nickal from Texas.
  Nevills is ranked fourth among individual recruits nationwide while Nickal is fifth. Also joining the fold is three-time PIAA Class AA champion Jason Nolf of Kittanning, who is projected at 149 and is rated seventh among recruits.
   Oklahoma State is ranked second, with the Cowboys getting four-time unbeaten PA champ Chance Marstellar of Kennard-Dale as their top recruit. Cornell is third, and Ohio State, which landed top upperweight prospects Kyle Snyder and Thomas Haines, is fourth.

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Wrestling Camp at Claysburg


   The Bulldog and Dragon Tilts and Legs Wrestling Camp will be held May 12-15 from 6:30-9 p.m. in the Claysburg-Kimmel High School auxillary gymnasium.
   The camp will feature two-time NCAA All-American and former Tyrone state champion A.J. Schopp as the lead counselor.
   Cost is $60 to attend, and coaches can attend free with any wrestler. For more information, call Dave Marko at 931-8894 or Dave Aungst at 381-5860.

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Bethlehem Catholic moving to Class AAA

   In a move that surely will be applauded by several Class AA teams, state power Bethlehem Catholic is expected to wrestle in Class AAA beginning next season.
   The Golden Hawks are making the move in what is described as a voluntary upgrade, given the deadline for schools to declare up in classification for the PIAA's next two-year cycle has long since passed. Numbers for the next cycle were released for all sports in mid-December.
   The move was unanimously passed by the District 11 committee, and will take effect if it is also passed by the PIAA Board of Directors at their May 21 meeting. That is expected to happen.
   Through local media reports, Becahi coach Jeff Karam says the school has had internal discussions of such a move for about a year.
   "We're always looking for new challenges and always trying to find ways to improve," Karam told Nick Fierro of Allentown's Morning Call. "We feel like moving up now is the right time. I'm happy the District 11 committee approved it and I think it's going to be terrific to compete against the Triple-A teams in the postseason. We're just going to have to work extra hard."
   Bethlehem Catholic has won four consecutive PIAA Class AA Team Duals championships, and has also been a dominant force in the individual postseason.
   If nothing else, it certainly changes the landscape in Class AA, where it was a battle for second place in early February in Hershey.

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Flood City Showdown

   This year's Flood City Showdown will take place this Sunday, April 6, with a 3:05 p.m. start at Westmont-Hilltop High School. It again features some top seniors from the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference against those from the WestPAC and Heritage Conferences.
   Below are the tentative matchups, courtesy of Westmont coach Matt Beaujon:

110 - Carlos Chavez, Ligonier Valley vs. Tommy DeArmitt, Berlin *
126 - Jake Warren, Bedford vs. E.J. Custer, Berlin
132 - Ryan Easter, Bedford vs. Tanner Hetrick, Meyersdale
141 - Garrett Thomas, Bedford vs. Seth Deist, Meyersdale
145 - Nick Naglic, Richland vs. Corey Fritch, North Star
160 - Mike Laue, Somerset vs. Dereck Croyle, Ligonier Valley
175 - Landon Lohr, Somerset vs. Chance Williams, Bedford *
190 - Kevin Horner, North Star vs. Gavin Berkley, Meyersdale *
285 - Aaron Gill, Cambria Heights vs. Austin Buttry, Chestnut Ridge *

* - Non-Scoring bout for team purposes