Sunday, March 25, 2018

McGill takes third in national tourney

   Jared McGill continues to prove he belongs among the best wrestlers in Pennsylvania, and the entire nation.
   McGill's latest achievement is a third-place medal at the NHSCA Junior Nationals this weekend in Virginia Beach. The Chestnut Ridge star has now finished third at 170 pounds in each of the past two years.
   He finished the event off this morning with an 8-2 decision over Troy Fisher of Kansas in the third-place bout. That avenged a 4-2 loss to Fisher in the quarterfinals. Fisher is a Kansas state champion from one of that state's top programs, Goddard High School, and is being recruited by Oklahoma State among others.
   Today's win over Fisher came after another eye-opening victory for McGill, a 6-5 consolation triumph over Susquehanna Township's Edmond Ruth, who won his second straight PIAA Class AA title two weeks ago at 170. Ruth also won the 160-pound bracket at the Sophomore Nationals last March.
   Not only did McGill beat Ruth, he had to rally from a 5-1 deficit to do so, which included the winning points in the final 20 seconds of the bout. The two were at different weights in the Pennsylvania postseason. As mentioned, Ruth became a two-time champ, while McGill competed at 160 and placed third in Hershey for his third state medal.
   "I felt like I had an awesome tournament," he said. "I beat some tough kids this weekend. I feel like I stepped up my game and redeemed myself from a tough quarterfinal match. Beating that same kid for third place feels great."
   Everett's Garret Cornell, third in the state at 126 earlier this month, also went to the Junior Nationals and posted a 4-2 record at that same weight.
 

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Bedford seeking new leader

   Earlier this week, Bedford wrestling coach Brian Creps resigned after 14 seasons of leading the Bisons program.
   Creps posted an overall record of 182-63, with eight Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference championships. Bedford also won five straight District 5 Dual Meet titles from 2008-12.
   Bedford placed fourth in the Class AA Duals in 2009, becoming the first D5 team to medal in the event up to that point. Creps also coached a number of standout individuals, including four-time state placer Ryan Easter, and 2015 state champion Jonathan Gabriel.
   Creps is underrated as a coach in my opinion. I believe he knew the strengths and weaknesses of his wrestlers as well as anyone, and his really good Bedford teams found ways to win matches where they were at least a slight underdog before the first whistle blew.
   A pair of examples of that come from the state duals. In 2008, Bedford’s first dual was against Shady Side Academy, a team that featured Dane Johnson, Matthew Cunningham, Roman San Doval, Geoff Alexander, and Frank Martellotti.
   Bedford’s Devin Cook scored the key win, 4-3 over Martellotti, to push the Bisons to a 34-32 upset. Bedford then beat Towanda to reach the semifinals against Bermuduan Springs. The locals fell just short there, but it helped pave the way to that 2009 fourth-place effort.
   In 2012, the Bisons pulled out a 30-29 quarterfinal victory against Pen Argyl despite strategically forfeiting to state medalists Matt Williams and Mike Racciato. With Bedford leading 21-12, Creps opted against an Easter-Williams battle and forfeited to the Green Knights. After Williams had his hand raised, he threw his headgear in disgust at not getting to wrestle Easter, and that cost Pen Argyl a team point. As the remainder of the match played out, the Bisons would lead by seven points at the end, and it was an easy call to forfeit to Racciato with no danger of losing the dual.
   Unfortunately, Bedford’s program has fallen on hard times in the past few years, without a state qualifier in either 2017 or 2018. But I would still think that the position should draw plenty of interest.

Saturday, March 10, 2018

McCoy's career something to cherish

   Simply put, Justin McCoy's high school wrestling career is well...maybe that not simply put.
   Yes, the final result in today's state championship bouts didn't produce the perfect ending, but that should do nothing to dampen what the Chestnut Ridge star accomplished in four short years.
   Here's a brief glimpse at the numbers:
   * Career Record of 167-18
   * Four-time District 5 champion
   * Two-time Southwest Regional champion
   * 2017 state champion (145 pounds)
   Furthermore, McCoy's the first wrestler from Chestnut Ridge to win four state medals, and only the third from Bedford County schools to do so. Northern Bedford's Jan Clark, who won three titles in the late 1970's, and Bedford's Ryan Easter (2011-14) are the only others.
   All of that puts McCoy in very exclusive company. Along the way of this 45-2 senior season, he smashed through both his school and District 5 win records. Aaron Burkett held Ridge's previous mark at 152, while North Star's Chris Lascari had 154 victories and had been the D5 leader for a number of years.
   The four-time district champions is a who's who list of local wrestlers, while there's only been six other state champions from the county. (Northern Bedford's aforementioned Clark, Bedford's John Heacock, Ron Hamilton, and Jonathan Gabriel, Chestnut Ridge's Gary Pfahler, and Everett's Paul Clark)
   McCoy also bookended his scholastic career by helping the Lions to two of their three state team medals, second place in the Class AA Duals in 2015 and third place a month ago.
   "My career at Chestnut Ridge is one I will never forget," he said earlier tonight. "Not only the success that I've had has made it great, but being with my teammates and the success we've had had made it even better. I'm so thankful for all the people who have helped me in my career, and thankful that God gave me these opportunities."
   Personally, my opinion was that McCoy's career took a turning point two years ago at the state tournament, when he lost in the quarterfinals against Cole Wetzel of Boiling Springs and went on to place seventh at 138 pounds. That's not to say at all that his first two seasons in a varsity uniform were bad in any way. You can't say that about someone who was already a two-time state medalist and well on his way to becoming one of the area's all-time greats.
   I just think it made him work that much harder to achieve his ultimate dream, that state championship. And I think he knew what he needed to work on.
   Even though I departed the Bedford Gazette in the first week of the wrestling season last year, so I didn't get to cover him as much in person, the moments I got to watch McCoy and the chats I had with him told me there was going to be different results over the final two seasons.
   Obviously, those results were different. Always a very technically sound wrestler, I saw a much more aggressive McCoy than ever. He was determined to dominate opponents from the neutral position, and go harder after bonus points when he was on top.
   Come Hershey last year, the bottom line was that McCoy was not only able to win, he was ready to win. He was down early to Bishop McDevitt's John Pipa in the 145-pound final, but scored five points in the second period of his 5-2 victory for the championship. That aggressiveness showed in putting Pipa on his back for the winning points.
   This year, more of the same. And he added a tournament title early in the season at the King of the Mountain. McCoy was strong throughout the winter, and he walked into the Giant Center on Thursday with a 42-1 record. And in his first three bouts in his final high school event, McCoy posted a pair of 11-1 major decisions and a win by injury default. That set up a regional final rematch with Frazier sophomore Thayne Lawrence, with the gold medal on the line.
   McCoy won that regional final two weeks ago by a 10-1 count. This one was far different, though. Let's give Lawrence, an 8-1 winner, all the credit for that. We've seen plenty of regional rematches in state finals before, but not very often one where a lopsided score one way turns completely around.
   "What was different this time was I just didn't start the match well," said McCoy. "If I get a takedown in the first period, I can get on a roll. I wasn't able to do that and I was fighting back the whole match."
   While I laud Lawrence for what he did this afternoon, I give a big thumbs up to McCoy as well - for his entire career. The University of Virginia is getting a really great wrestler, but it's also getting a really great person.
   "In college, I want to be the best I can be, be a multiple-time NCAA All-American and a champion," he said. "I'm looking forward to trying to reach my goals and make many more memories with my new teammates."
   I started hearing about Justin McCoy years before he was at the high school level. And in the blink of an eye, he's moving on to his next challenge.
   A blink of an eye, but wow, what a blink it was.

Cornell, McGill earn third-place medals

   Garret Cornell and Jared McGill closed out the state tournament this weekend with a lot in common.
   Both of them placed third in their respective Class AA brackets, each doing so with strong finishes after disappointing losses. And both have next year to improve their position on the podium.
   Everett's Cornell won his first medal in three trips to the Giant Center in Hershey. The junior 126-pounder won four straight consolation bouts after dropping a 5-2 quarterfinal decision against Saucon Valley's Josh Jones. Included in that run were a pair of overtime wins, the latter of which a 5-3 victory over Cambridge Springs' Tye Varndell to place third at the weight.
   Cornell is the highest Everett placewinner at the PIAA Tournament since Paul Clark won the program's lone state title to date in 1983. He also is the first Warrior to finish in the top four since Travis Karns in 1989.
   "It feels really good to finally get on the podium this year," said Cornell, who went 39-4 for the season. "A lot of hard work has paid off. I feel that I improved this year both mentally and on my feet. My coaching staff and practice partners were a big help to me."
   While Cornell was in the same weight class as eventual four-time champion Gavin Teasdale, McGill was labeled as one of the pre-tournament favorites at 160.
   And the Chestnut Ridge junior served notice early in the event why that was the case. Unbeaten heading into the tournament, McGill knocked off returning state champion Creighton Edsell, 4-2, in Friday's quarterfinals. But an early deficit against Port Allegany's Jacob Kallenborn was too much to overcome in the semifinals, which ended 8-7 and dashed the local's dream of gold this time around.
   Still, McGill persevered by winning by major decision in the consolation semifinals, and then pinning Wyalusing's Edsell in the third-place bout. Kallenborn lost to Northwestern Lehigh's Caleb Clymer in the finals.
   McGill will go into his senior season with three state medals (6th, 4th, 3rd) and posted a record this year of 46-1. Should he reach the medal stand again, he'll join teammate Justin McCoy as Chestnut Ridge's only four-time state placewinners.
   "It feels good to come back and finish third," he said. "It's not what I was working for all year, but sometimes things don't go how you want them to. It was important to me to finish strong because I wanted to prove to everyone that I was the best in the bracket."
   Cornell and McGill are also both looking forward to what lies ahead.
   "I just need to work on relaxing if I'm losing a match," said McGill. "The semifinal was the first time I was losing all year. It stinks that I got caught on my back, but things happen, and I want to work on coming back if that happens."
   "My goals for next year are to finish higher on the podium, and break my school's win record," said Cornell, who also eclipsed the 100-win mark in the state tournament.

Tuesday, March 6, 2018

McCoy leads local state contingent

   It seems as if every time Justin McCoy’s name is mentioned when it comes to high school wrestling, it’s about breaking records and creating more history.
   That’s the case when you’ve had a career as great as the Chestnut Ridge senior has, and one last terrific moment could be in store this weekend at the PIAA Championships in Hershey.
   If McCoy repeats as a Class AA state champion - at 152 pound this year after winning 145 last March - he’ll be the first two-time champ at Chestnut Ridge, and only the second from the county and fifth from District 5 to ever win more than one state title.
   District 5 doesn’t always get the notoriety of some of the larger areas in the state, but it has a rich wrestling tradition. So what McCoy’s on the doorstep of accomplishing is really something to savor.
   Heading into Thursday’s opening round at the Giant Center, McCoy stands at 164-17 in his career, already a four-time district champion and two-time regional winner. That win total is also the new District 5 record.
   By the way, McCoy’s fan base grew by one in the last week as his sister Brooke and her husband welcomed a son into the world. A picture posted by the family on social media showed four baby onesies, one of which says on it “When I grow up, I want to wrestle like my uncle”.
   Time will obviously tell whether his nephew will follow his footsteps to the mat, but little Luke certainly won’t have to look past his uncle for a better role model.

McGill among favorites at 160
   McCoy’s Chestnut Ridge teammate Jared McGill would like nothing less than claiming his first state title. Having finished fourth at 170 last year, the undefeated junior decided to drop a weight this time around to go after the top prize.
   His physicality and mat wrestling ability makes McGill especially dangerous. He’ll be one to watch this weekend, but will face a tough task in a presumed Friday quarterfinal with returning champion Creighton Edsell of Wyalusing. Edsell suffered his first loss of the season in the regional finals.
   The other county wrestlers who qualified are Chestnut Ridge’s Levi Hobson (170) and Austin Crouse (182), Everett’s Garret Cornell (126), and Tussey Mountain’s Brady Villa (126). Cornell is a two-time qualifier, while the other three are making their first trip.
   Best of luck to all!

Class AA Champion Picks
106 - Pat Demark, Trinity
113 - Beau Bayless, Reynolds
120 - Jaret Lane, Southern Columbia
126 - Gavin Teasdale, Jefferson-Morgan
132 - Joe Klock, Muncy
138 - Cole Matthews, Reynolds
145 - Kollin Myers, Boiling Springs
152 - Justin McCoy, Chestnut Ridge
160 - Jared McGill, Chestnut Ridge 
170 - Edmond Ruth, Susquehanna Township
182 - Cody Mulligan, Saegertown
195 - Gavin Hoffman, Montoursville
220 - Anthony Walters, Bishop McCort
285 - Dan Scheib, Tri-Valley