Northern Bedford girls program continues to grow

 

Jared Mellott, left, discusses a drill during Monday's girls wrestling practice at Northern Bedford.

   The back of one shirt at a recent girls wrestling practice at Northern Bedford County High School read "Don't be fooled by the ponytail."

   These days, there's no fooling around about one of the fastest growing sports in the country. Girls wrestling continues to fly high, and it's thriving locally at Northern Bedford.

   According to the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA) website, there were well over 16,000 girls wrestling in American high schools in 2018, compared to about only 800 in 1994.

   Girls from across Bedford County and even as far away as West Virginia have attended practices this season at Northern Bedford. 

   This isn't the first year for the program, as it was started a few years ago by the Fouse family. Currently, it is run by former Northern Bedford standout Jared Mellott, who won 101 bouts and was a two-time regional qualifier. One of his main assistants is Shane Suter, who was a district champion with the Black Panthers. Both Mellott and Suter have daughters that are wrestling in the program.

   The girls practice during the week and will also compete in tournaments. This past weekend, they took part in the Christmas Tree Capital Round Robin at IUP's Kovalchick Center, where eight girls finished fourth or higher in their respective weight classes. 

   There were over 25 girls at practice on Monday night, and local wrestling fans can expect more and more female names to show up in box scores alongside their boys counterparts. 

             Girls work on wrestling drills during their practice at Northern Bedford earlier this week.

   One of the products of Northern Bedford's program, Jordyn Fouse, is a starter on the Panthers' junior high team. She won on Tuesday by riding out her opponent in the ultimate tiebreaker, and received as much of an ovation in the Northern Bedford gym as some of the varsity wrestlers did for their efforts later on in the night.

   Fouse also finished fifth against the boys at 101 pounds in Saturday's Bearcat Classic.

   Around the nation in recent years, a number of states have sanctioned an official high school state championship event in girls wrestling. Pennsylvania, long regarded as one of the top states for boys wrestling, does not have an official girls state championship as of yet. 

   But the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), which presides over state championships in all sports, continues to face mounting pressure from the outside to join with bordering states Maryland, New Jersey, and more than a dozen others around the country in holding an official state event for the female contingent.

   While that is the eventual hope, opportunities elsewhere for girls who wrestle are becoming more available. Over 60 colleges sponsor varsity women's programs, while women's wrestling became a recognized Olympic sport in 2004.

   Another local opportunity recently opened as well, with Chestnut Ridge varsity coach Josh Deputy teaming with Young Guns leader Jody Strittmatter to form the The Orchard Girls Wrestling Club. Practices for that club will be based out of Deputy's The Compound Ridge near his home in New Paris.

   

   

 

2019-20 Season Preview

   Yes, another wrestling season is upon us.
   A few dual meets and tournaments dot the calendar for this Friday and Saturday, while the new year gets underway for everyone by sometime next week.
   I wrote season previews for the six teams in the Bedford Gazette's coverage area, which releases its overall winter issue for Friday's edition.
   The Altoona Mirror's "Winter Heat" came out today, and there are capsule previews of all of its area squads in those pages.
   Aside from that, here's what I'm looking at as the first whistle gets closer.

The Big Three
   While there is plenty of returning talent across Bedford County, there are three state placewinners from March back on the local mats — Bedford's Kaden Cassidy, and Chestnut Ridge teammates Kai Burkett and Nate Holderbaum.
   Cassidy is a two-time medalist in Hershey, taking third in both his freshman and junior years. The George Mason recruit would enjoy nothing more than to climb that final step to the top of the podium this season, likely at either 132 or 138 pounds. Cassidy posted a 37-2 mark last winter. He has the most wins from a season ago of any returning wrestler in the county.
   Burkett turned a solid freshman year at 106 into a better one at the same weight as a sophomore. He posted a 35-6 record and finished fifth in the state tournament after reaching the Class AA semifinals.
   Holderbaum closed out last season as one of the strongest performers in the area, gaining fourth-place honors at the Giant Center following three straight wins from a pigtail spot in the 113-pound bracket.

Others to Watch
   Aside from that trio, Chestnut Ridge's Duane Knisely and Northern Bedford's Ian Sherlock are also returning district champions. Also to keep an eye on, in no particular order, are Bedford's Mathew Emerick, Chestnut Ridge's Ross Dull, Gryphon Callihan, and Trevor Weyandt, Claysburg-Kimmel's Kobe Harr, Everett's Lane Younker and Logan Propst, Northern Bedford's Colby Imler, and Tussey Mountain's Trevor Husick and Matthew Watkins.
   One of those I'll single out is Callihan, who was 22-16 last season but lost some close bouts against a number of top-notch wrestlers from around the state.
   The Lions held an open intrasquad scrimmage last night, which I attended. Yes, it's a scrimmage, but from seeing him in person and a brief chat with Ridge coach Josh Deputy on the subject, Callihan looks like he could be a tough out this season.

New Faces
   There's always a few newcomers, whether they are freshmen or others who are on rosters. Two that jump out right away are Chestnut Ridge freshman Calan Bollman, and Claysburg-Kimmel freshman Cole Claycomb.
   Bollman headlines a crop of young talented Lions ready to keep them at the top of the district's pecking order. A Mountain Conference junior high champion last year and a Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling (PJW) fifth-place state medalist two seasons ago, Bollman drew my eye on Tuesday night.
   Again, it's a preseason scrimmage, but Bollman gave Holderbaum (three years his senior and a high school state medalist as mentioned) everything he wanted in a tight six-plus minute battle.

   Chestnut Ridge teammates Nate Holderbaum, left, and Calan Bollman work for position during Tuesday's intrasquad scrimmage.

   Claysburg will have lower numbers this year overall, but Claycomb is likely to make an impact in his first varsity season. Claycomb finished seventh in the state at PJW's last winter and should team with Harr to give the Bulldogs cheering options well into the postseason.

Chasing the Lions

  Chestnut Ridge is once again a prohibitive favorite to lay claim to top billing in District 5. Outside of that, who can knock the Lions off? The biggest challenges in the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference should come from Forest Hills and Westmont Hilltop. 

   The Rangers have a strong core of talent returning, including state champ Jackson Arrington and high placer Erik Gibson. And Westmont may not have a lot of "jump off the page" names on its roster, but the Hilltoppers have almost everyone back from a year ago.

   In terms of the Lions, there won't be very many "weak" spots from 106 to the 170-182 range. Throw in Knisely up top, and beating Chestnut Ridge is going to take a strong effort from anybody. Forest Hills came close last December (35-28). The Rangers host the Lions on December 17.

The Men in Stripes

   This is a shoutout to local officials Mike Eichelberger and Randy Jarrett, who worked Chestnut Ridge's scrimmage. 

   While there are understandable reasons that many officials in all sports are getting out of the business, Eichelberger and Jarrett showed why they're two of the best and most respected (in my opinion) among wrestling referees in both the area and state. 

   Before the scrimmage started, the pair took a good 10-15 minutes to explain, and demonstrate, to the wrestlers the new rules and points of emphasis regarding stalling and the penalty point structure. They're not just looking to collect some extra money, they have a genuine interest in the athletes.

   Often times, officials are on the other end of things in regards to negative attention, whether it may be warranted or not. 

   Myself included, I think we can all do a little better in giving these men and women a hand and a thank you for allowing us to keep enjoying high school athletics.