Local Preseason Talk

   As we move closer to that first whistle of official practice (a little over 12 days now), here's some tidbits I've had in my mind for a while but just haven't had the time to put on paper or on here:

   I went back over my records from last year to make sure I was updated for the new season. After the state tournament ended in March, my coverage area for the Bedford Gazette, which is the six schools in the county plus Claysburg-Kimmel, had four more additions to the career 100-win club. That made it an even 60 members of the club overall.

   Of those 60, 15 of them have achieved the feat in the last five seasons, since the 09-10 campaign. That 25% mark is pretty impressive to me. There's no doubt that the schedule now is far different than it was when guys like Jan Clark were wrestling. Clark, a three-time state champion and four-time finalist at Northern Bedford, won 109 bouts when his high school career ended in the late 1970's. That number only ranks Clark 38th on the all-time victory list, but can you even argue that anybody locally has been better than him?
   Nowadays, there are so many more dual meets and especially tournaments where you can ring up four or five wins in one weekend. Many other aspects of the sport have changed, too.
   My only point here, and I've been thinking it for a few years before I broke down the latest numbers this week, is that the local area is producing quite a bit of talent. This season, and I'll detail some of it below, should see at least three more wrestlers join the 100-win club. And there's the possibility of many more in the upcoming seasons with the younger core of wrestlers we have at this point plus a number of others I know will be on the varsity mat in the near future.

Overall Top 5 Winningest Wrestlers
Bedford Gazette Area
1. Ty Dively, Claysburg-Kimmel, 146
2. James Dodson, Claysburg-Kimmel, 141 (tie)
2. Ryan Easter, Bedford, 141 (tie)
2. Jarrett Musselman, Claysburg-Kimmel, 141 (tie)
5. Adam Whetstone, Claysburg-Kimmel, 139

Bedford County Schools
1. Ryan Easter, Bedford, 141
2. Tyler Dibert, Chestnut Ridge, 138
3. Josh Snyder, Hyndman, 132
4. Brian Gibbons, Bedford, 129
5. Jake Bennett, Hyndman, 128 (tie)
5. Cory Thomas, Bedford, 128 (tie)

The Upcoming Season
   Certainly, the graduation of Easter, Bedford teammate Garrett Thomas, Chestnut Ridge's Austin Buttry, and others means we'll be talking putting some other names in the spotlight beginning next month. But there's no shortage of star power. Here's a look at a few of the returnees:

Jonathan Gabriel, Bedford (Jr.): 29-6 last season, State runner-up
   It has to begin with Bedford lightweight Jonathan Gabriel, who put together a stellar run in Hershey to reach the Class AA 113-pound championship bout. After the regional tournament, I really didn't know what to expect at states from the talented Gabriel, and in my picks for the top eight finishers, I didn't choose him. He had suffered an injury to which I had been told he was far less than 100% by the time he hit the Giant Center mats for the open workout the night before the tournament began.
   But Gabriel made a mockery of my picks at 113, first with a hard-fought 2-1 win, then a technical fall and a thrilling semifinal pin. In the finals against Bethlehem Catholic's Luke Karam, I thought Gabriel was the more aggressive of the two, but he found himself constantly having his arms trapped which limited his offensive scoring ability in a 5-0 loss.
   The last state champion from Bedford was Ron Hamilton in 1964. That's a long, long drought, but Gabriel definitely has the tools to be the one to finally break through.

Aaron Burkett, Chestnut Ridge (Jr.): 38-8 last season, State 6th place
   The other returning state medalist to the area is Chestnut Ridge's Aaron Burkett, who made a run to the semifinals before placing sixth at 106 pounds. One of the lasting images I have from the 2014 state tournament is that of Burkett's quarterfinal pin over Lancaster Catholic's Joe Lobeck. That bout took place in front of the media table, but I had made my way over to Mat 3 for Gabriel's quarterfinal, which was about to begin as Lobeck was looking like a sure winner over Burkett in their quarter. I looked over in time to see Burkett deck Lobeck with a cement job in the final seconds of the bout, and the ensuing celebration with Lions' head coach Greg Lazor and assistant Josh Deputy. It was quite a happy scene. Burkett had his chances to win that night's semifinal before a 3-1 loss to eventual champ Jake Reigel.
   Chestnut Ridge has had only one two-time state placewinner, Gary Pfahler. Burkett can join him, and go after a school record third medal next winter.

Conner Buttry, Chestnut Ridge (Jr.): 36-9 last season, State qualifier
   Chestnut Ridge junior Conner Buttry should be one of the top upperweights around this season. Going at 182 last postseason, Buttry had a solid run to the state tournament and won a bout there to finish in the top 12. Buttry won 36 times as a sophomore, a strong gain from a 17-win season the year before. And he also was coming off a pretty severe knee injury as well. Like his older brother Austin, he's not going to physically scare anybody on the weight scales. But he makes up for it with his intangibles, and he has an outstanding chance to become the school's 13th different state placewinner.

Derrick Claar, Chestnut Ridge (Sr.): 32-8 last season, Regional qualifier
   The closest to being the next member of the 100-win club is Chestnut Ridge senior Derrick Claar, who currently sits at 98. Claar is still looking at an elusive first trip to the state tournament. I'd bet that he gets there this season. While he's put up a number of impressive wins over the years, the regional tournament has been a puzzle for Claar (and teammate Trent Crouse) that he can't figure out. Maybe the venue change from the Cambria County War Memorial to IUP will make a difference. As silly as that sounds, I wonder sometimes if things like that are really true. We've seen it before with kids we think are championship contenders. However the individual season plays out, Claar will be one of the headliners for Lazor's talented group of Lions.

Trent Crouse, Chestnut Ridge (Sr.): 30-8 last season, Regional qualifier
   Speaking of Crouse, he's another of Lazor's guns that could and should be in Hershey come the final weekend of the season in March. As much of an all-out, go at all times wrestler as maybe I've ever seen, Crouse has also produced quite the resume, and he should crack the 100-win plateau early in the season. Remember that as a freshman, Crouse beat state placewinners Zach Swarrow and Ryan Easter in the semifinals and finals of the Thomas Tournament. Then he beat Easter again a week later in the District 5 Duals. And his battles with Bedford's Garrett Thomas are very memorable.
   Like Claar, it would be a surprise to not see Crouse in the state tournament field. Of course, that's been my logic the past few seasons and the opposite has been the case. But I think things will change for both of them this time.

Lucas Kolinchak, Northern Bedford (Jr.): 26-9, Regional qualifier
   Along with Buttry, I wrote on several occasions last season that Kolinchak was as improved as any wrestler I saw locally. A year after going 6-11, Kolinchak won 20 more times and came within one victory of the state tournament at 170 pounds. The Northern Bedford junior made a believer out of me with his overall performance in 2013-14. I expect more headlines to come from the Panther this winter.