2014 King of the Mountain Preview

   One of the top wrestling tournaments in Pennsylvania and on the east coast begins tomorrow with the annual King of the Mountain Tournament at Central Mountain.
   Bedford is making the trip once again and is one of 33 teams invited this year.

2014 King of the Mountain Tournament
Friday's Schedule
   First Round, Consolation First Round, 2 p.m.
   Second Round, Consolation Second Round, 5:30 p.m.
   Consolation Third Round, 9 p.m.

Saturday's Schedule
   Quarterfinals, 10 a.m.
   Consolation Fourth Round, 12 p.m.
   Consolation Fifth Round, 3:30 p.m.
   Championship and Consolation Finals, 5 p.m.

   Teams: Archbishop Wood, Bedford, Bellefonte, Benton, Bethlehem Catholic, Bishop McDevitt, Boiling Springs, Boyertown, Burrell, Central Mountain, Council Rock South, Downingtown East, DuBois, Erie Cathedral Prep, Erie McDowell, Fort LeBoeuf, General McLane, Greater Latrobe, Hamburg, Hempfield (D7), Huntingdon, Jersey Shore, Kittanning, Lower Dauphin, Mifflin County, North Allegheny, Owen J. Roberts, Pennridge, Penn Trafford, Penns Valley, Schuylkill Valley, South Western, Stroudsburg, Wyalusing.

   Seeding Link: http://www.centralmountainhighschool.bigteams.com/siteRepository/1759/userfiles/KOM-2014/2014-Seeding-File-web-version-121014.pdf

   Spring's Take: This is always a great event with several top teams in both Class AA and Class AAA. This year's field is no different, featuring at the top defending KOM and Class AA team champion Bethlehem Catholic, who is now in AAA. Also there are Boiling Springs, Burrell, Greater Latrobe, and North Allegheny. The link to the seeds is above.
   I'm certainly very interested in the 126-pound bracket, where Bedford's Jonathan Gabriel is seeded third. Bethlehem Catholic's Luke Karam is the top seed. Karam defeated Gabriel twice last year, winning 11-0 at the King of the Mountain, and 5-0 in the 113-pound state final in Hershey.
   For them to meet again, potential semifinals see Karam drawing Huntingdon's Collin Glorioso, the fourth seed, and Gabriel getting Boiling Springs' Grant Bond, the second seed. Karam owns a pair of state tournament wins over Glorioso. With Karam up in class this season, Gabriel, Bond, and Glorioso (if he doesn't go 120 later as rumored) are the likely top players for a state title at this weight by the time we arrive at the Giant Center in March.
   The top seeds from District 6 include Mifflin County's Hayden Hidlay at 145, Huntingdon's Jacob Oliver at 160, and Penns Valley's Corey Hazel at 182.