Local Tour Stops #4-6

   Over the first two days this week, I made my way to get a view of three teams — Bedford, Chestnut Ridge, and Northern Bedford.
   My visit to Bedford was fairly brief, and unfortunately, some of the Bisons' wrestlers were not in the practice room when I was there. That said, numbers at Bedford are not usually a problem, as the program has a rich tradition and plenty of kids at the lower levels. Despite the absence of some, it did look like Brian Creps will have enough to fill his lineup, which these days is becoming more of the exception rather than the rule.
   Bedford did take a hard hit from graduation, losing the likes of Ryan Easter and Garrett Thomas among others, but having Jonathan Gabriel back gives the Bisons one of the top studs in the area.

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    At Northern Bedford, there's a lot of optimism, and rightly so. The Black Panthers could certainly be a darkhorse in District 5, though I'm not sure there's quite enough heavy duty firepower in Loysburg to seriously challenge Chestnut Ridge or Berlin, at least for this season.
    But Northern will have as many as 10 returning starters and should be solid through the middle of the lineup. Like most coaches, Brian Dutchcot works out right alongside his wrestlers. My time in the NBC room included the former Ridgway grappler keeping up with the youngsters in a few series of wind sprints.

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    I hit Chestnut Ridge earlier today, where the Lions are prepping for their District 5 title defense. It's no secret that Greg Lazor's group is loaded and the match at Berlin on January 6 has been circled for a long time as an early barometer on who's the favorite in D5. You can see more on each team in an earlier blog post, titled Top Team Talk.
   One of Lazor's first questions to me was, "Are you going to Powerade?"
   The Powerade is one of the big regular season tournaments on the east coast missing on my wrestling bucket list, but this year, the second day falls on my son's first birthday, too. So 2014 is out, but hopefully Ridge will continue to make that trip so I can get paid to attend.
   Nonetheless, given how good the Lions should be, I'll be seeing plenty of them throughout the winter.
 

Local Tour Stop #3

   On Thursday, I ventured to the southernmost school in my coverage area for the Bedford Gazette, at HOPE for Hyndman Charter School.
   The Hornets are coached this season by a new face, but a familiar one in District 5. Chadd Sines, who had some solid success at Meyersdale, is now in charge. Overall, Hyndman will be young this year, but at first glance in the room, numbers appear decent for Sines to begin his coaching reign in Bedford County.
   Sines is joined on the coaching staff by Logan Sheldon, who also served as Jake Snyder's top assistant over the past few years. Sheldon, a former state finalist for the Hornets, is well-liked by many of the wrestlers and keeping him around should preserve continuity.
   One note of interest I did see was another female wrestler among my locals. Rebecca Mosher is a freshman on Hyndman's roster. She joins Everett junior Selena Munoz in that regard. Somerset's Kat Luteri is another around the district.
   I'm glad to see more girls in Pennsylvania giving wrestling a shot. It's a sport that's demanding and not for the faint of heart, yet these three and others are battling their male counterparts without blinking an eye. Kudos!

Local Tour Stop #2

   My travels around the local wrestling teams on Wednesday took me to Claysburg-Kimmel for a look at this year's version of the Bulldogs.
   Claysburg could have as many as 11 returning lettermen in the 2014-15 lineup, which is a good foundation to start from for second-year head coach Dave Aungst. The Bulldogs have seven returnees that posted at least 10 wins last season, led by mid-upperweight Dakotah Feathers with 18.
   Certainly, Aungst would like to see postseason success come from that experience. It was quite an odd sight not to see Claysburg represented at the regional tournament last season.

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   Speaking of Claysburg-Kimmel, the start of each wrestling year begins with one question for me: Who might be the Cody Feathers for this season?

   As a junior, Feathers caught lightning in a bottle during the 2006-07 postseason. It was my first year working at the Bedford Gazette, and Cody's run became a great story and still is one of my highlights over the past eight years of covering the sports scene around here.
   Feathers walked into the Altoona Fieldhouse as the sixth seed in a pretty solid 125-pound bracket at the District 6-AA Tournament. He got to the quarterfinals and knocked off Tyrone's T.J. Albright on that Friday night. The next day, he pinned Northern Cambria's Scott Knarr in the semifinals, then rallied with a late four-point move to defeat Glenn Winslow of Cambria Heights, 6-3, for the improbable championship.
   The next weekend in the Southwest Regional, Feathers earned another title with a 10-8 win over Winslow in the finals. District 6 owned that regional bracket. Aside from Feathers and Winslow, Albright was third, Paul Myers of Penn Cambria took fourth, and Knarr finished sixth.
   The Bulldog ended up winning his first 10 postseason bouts before losing in the state semifinals and eventually placing sixth in Hershey. He had a strong regular season as a senior, but didn't make it back to the Giant Center. However, Feathers was already etched in history, as former Claysburg and current Central head coach Dave Marko painted the names of district and regional champions, and state placewinners on the walls of CK's practice room. You can see my photo of Feathers' district winning accomplishment below.
   Back to the question, which evolves from the fact that Feathers was not even close to the radar when it came to potential state qualifiers, let alone medalists. Yet at the end of the season, he was the Gazette area's only state placewinner.

Is there another Cody Feathers story in the works for this season?

Changes to the blog

   If you've been viewing this blog on a PC or Mac, you might have noticed I've been tinkering with the look of it in the past few weeks and months. I've now gone with a more basic look that I hope to stay with. I don't consider myself a great artist, but I'm a design freak. When I was young, I remember my parents having a newspaper program on their computer that you could write articles and design a layout. Little did I know at the time that I would be doing this for a living, though it was never my intention to go this route in the media business until I took a part-time gig about 10 years ago.
   Anyway, my main reason for the blog is to keep people informed, offer opinion, and such, not to be the best looking website out there. So for now, I'm keeping it simple.

And It Begins

   The first whistles blew today for the official start of practice for the 2014-15 wrestling season, which is always long awaited after the previous season's state tournament months ago.
   I started my look at local teams with a visit to Everett to check in on the Warriors. Certainly, the first day of a new season is going to bring plenty of excitement, and that was the case with fourth-year head coach Rob Ripple and his group. While I don't have an exact roster yet, numbers appear to be pretty good for the Everett team.
   Ripple, who helped turn Bedford's junior high into one of the top feeder programs in the area, and his son Tanner, a 100-match winner for the varsity Bisons, have been doing good things in Everett and hopes are up for building on that foundation. Joining as an assistant coach this season is former Bedford heavyweight state placewinner Josh Krupa.
   The highlight for the Warriors last season was Devin Reed, who became the school's first state placewinner since 2005, taking sixth at 285 pounds in Hershey. Reed won't be on the roster this year, but I would think his success should be to the benefit of the others that those kind of postseason achievements are possible.

Top Team Talk

   I've taken a look at who some of the top teams across the state in Class AA could be this coming season, based on who's back and who is new. The teams are ordered starting with last season's state finish, if applicable. It's a pretty substantial list, but of course, there will probably be a surprise team or two that's not on here.

UPDATE on November 10: I have added some notes on many of these teams.

Reynolds

2013-14: District 10 champion, State 2nd place

Returnees: 

Gage Bayless, 39-7 at 106

Seth Hogue, 37-11 at 113, State 4th

Chaise Hauck, 27-15 at 120

Mike Bartolo, 34-11 at 126

Alec Reiter, 2-4 at 126

Joel Leise, 24-17 at 132

Damion Gearhart, 3-5 at 145

Mike Millero, 41-10 at 170

Cole Rickert, 31-9 at 220

Gene Ringer, 38-15 at 285, State 8th

    Promising Newcomer: Cole Matthews (PJW 3rd place in 2014, previous PJW champion)

NOTES: The defending state team runner-up likely comes into the new season as one of the Class AA favorites, with Bethlehem Catholic up in AAA. Hogue had a solid state tournament last season that included a quarterfinal win over Southmoreland's Austin Griffiths. Millero, Rickert, and Ringer give the Raiders as good of an upperweight group as probably anybody. The question mark may be the middle of the lineup, which is likely where we'll see the debut of another Matthews in Reynolds' varsity colors. This one, Cole, is very accomplished already with six PJW state medals and wins this summer in the ASICS Freestyle and Greco-Roman Nationals. Reynolds will wrestle at the Powerade Tournament in late December, a new addition to its schedule.

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Burrell

2013-14: District 7 champion, State 3rd place

Returnees:

Dean Edwards, 12-23 at 106

Dillan Jeffery, 21-17 at 113

Jason Roberts, 11-25 at 120

Anthony Marra, 28-18 at 126

Damon Greenwald, 15-11 at 138

Jason David, 7-6 at 145

Alex Moses, 14-9 at 182

Robert Scherer, 32-19 at 195

Allan Beattie, 44-6 at 285, State 3rd

NOTES: Burrell had a great finish to its team season last winter. After losing to Hamburg in its PIAA Duals opener at Hershey, the Bucs reeled off five straight wins to finish third. That included avenging a loss to Chestnut Ridge at the Brookville Duals, before beating Huntingdon and then ripping both Hamburg in a rematch, then Boiling Springs in the consolation final. Burrell did lose state champion Steven Edwards, but a nucleus of experience is back, led by heavyweight Allan Beattie, third in the state as a junior.

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Boiling Springs

2013-14: District 3 champion, State 4th place

Returnees:

Jonathan Day, 18-21 at 106

Devin Crum, 3-18 at 113

Korbin Myers, 44-2 at 120, State Champion

Grant Bond, 41-7 at 126, State 5th

Kyle Shoop, 39-9 at 132, State 2nd

A.J. Kostyak, 15-7 at 138

John Vaughn, 35-13 at 145

Tyler Kauffman, 20-15 at 152

Travis Wickard, 32-16 at 170

Nathan Gouhin, 24-18 at 182

NOTES: The defending District 3 champion Bubblers should be very strong again in the 2014-15 season. The middle of the lineup is very strong, with Myers, Bond, Shoop, and Vaughn leading the way. Likely challenging Boiling Springs locally will be Bermudian Springs, who you can view below.

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Hamburg

2013-14: District 3 2nd place, State qualifier

Returnees:

Romeo Eaddy, 16-22 at 106

Mike Eicher, 4-25 at 113

Sean Stanish, 43-12 at 120

Dylan Miller, 2-2 at 138

Andrew Kochel, 23-22 at 145

Matt James, 13-19 at 152

Ronnie Lavigne, 18-19 at 160

Tyler Herber, 18-24 at 170

NOTES: On paper, it looks like Hamburg might not match last season's output. Then again, who thought Hamburg would have reached the state team semifinals? The District 3 school upset Burrell and Brookville in consecutive matches before running into the Bethlehem Catholic buzzsaw. 

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Brookville

2013-14: District 9 champion, State qualifier

Returnees:

Jacob St. Laurent, 5-5 at 106

Gavin Park, 28-7 at 106

Taylor Ortz, 38-4 at 113, State 3rd

Cole Aaron, 25-12 at 120

Devin Joiner, 10-13 at 126

Cole Clever, 20-14 at 126

Dalton Zimmerman, 26-10 at 132, State 6th in 2013

Dane Clever, 2-6 at 152

Jimmy Miller, 27-15 at 160, State 8th

Dominic Palmer, 5-5 at 170

Noah Cielseski, 9-15 at 182

Jake Keesecker, 2-3 at 195

Bryce Town, 29-12 at 220

   Promising Newcomer: Caleb Hetrick (PJW placewinner in 2013)

NOTES: Brookville should be another top contender if things line up. Ortz and Miller won state medals a season ago, while Zimmerman didn't but he did the year before. The District 9 champs have a number of other quality people, including Town, who I saw did a lot of offseason wrestling.

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Huntingdon

2013-14: District 6 champion, State qualifier

Returnees:

John Kline, 2-27 at 106

Collin Glorioso, 40-4 at 113, State 5th, State 3rd in 2013

Tyler Scott, 33-8 at 120

Seth Baney, 4-0 at 145

Jacob Oliver, 41-5 at 145, State 4th

Jon Wagner, 34-11 at 152

Logan Fisher, 31-10 at 170

Matt Norris, 30-8 at 182

NOTES: Huntingdon should be one of the favorites if not the top dog in District 6 this season. Glorioso and Oliver front a lineup that has a good bit of talent even if the other names aren't household ones yet. The Bearcats did add the King of the Mountain Tournament to their schedule, giving their studs another top event to shine in.

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Saucon Valley

2013-14: District 11 2nd place, State qualifier

Returnees:

Jack Hill, 33-10 at 106

Harley Lau, 2-1 at 113

Jarred Kyra, 7-19 at 113

Ty Drukenmiller, 18-22 at 120

Bret Svites, 17-21 at 126

Justin Propsner, 11-11 at 132

Dylan Yonney, 27-18 at 132

Nathan Harka, 23-21 at 145

Nick Schneider, 14-10 at 145

Blayne Hirshbeck, 18-13 at 152

Devin Fontenez, 35-11 at 160

Jason Lynch, 40-13 at 170

Brandon Blobe, 24-7 at 182

Sam Scheetz, 19-6 at 285

   Promising Newcomer: Jason Jones (PJW qualifier)

NOTES: The banner in District 11-AA this year could come from Saucon Valley, which has had a good team in recent seasons, but has been overshadowed by the dominance of Bethlehem Catholic. Saucon has a lot of returning kids, led by Fontanez, Lynch, and Blobe in the upperweights. 

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Chestnut Ridge

2013-14: District 5 champion, State qualifier

Returnees:

Aaron Burkett, 38-8 at 106, State 6th

Blake Dunlap, 22-11 at 113

Luke Hobson, 5-4 at 120

Morgan Deremer, 18-13 at 126

Derrick Claar, 32-8 at 138

Trent Crouse, 30-8 at 145

Brandyn Beaver, 6-9 at 152

Colby Hillegass, 23-16 at 160

Josh McGill, 2-4 at 160

Conner Buttry, 36-9 at 182

Jon Heming, 9-17 at 195

Shane Davis, 13-9 at 220

   Promising Newcomer: Justin McCoy (PJW 3rd place in 2014, previous PJW champion, five-time PJW placewinner)

NOTES: As long as the weight classes shuffle out, Chestnut Ridge should be loaded in the lower and middle areas of its roster, with Buttry leading the upperweights for the Lions. Burkett, Claar, and Crouse are the top winners there with others having a good bit of experience. Certainly, McCoy is going to be a youngster to watch as he brings a strong resume to the varsity room. If things play out well and Ridge can get through District 5, meaning likely Berlin and maybe Somerset, it could mean another state team medal for the Lions.

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Towanda

2013-14: District 4 champion, State qualifier

Returnees:

Nate Secules, 14-22 at 106

Mike Alberico, 2-0 at 113

Brian Westbrook, 3-1 at 120

Clay Mosier, 11-21 at 126

Steven Yates, 22-8 at 138

David Knolles, 16-14 at 145

Dayton Wickwire, 36-9 at 160

Breycin Fulmer, 25-14 at 170

Kalob Benjamin, 4-4 at 182

Dakota Manning, 35-13 at 195

NOTES: Towanda's lineup has some tough spots, especially with Yates, Wickwire, and Manning. 

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Fort LeBoeuf

2013-14: District 10 2nd place, State qualifier

Returnees:

Steve McGarvie, 2-0 at 106

Abe Guarriello, 29-16 at 106

Isaac Bengel, 16-9 at 113

Logan Kuzma, 12-4 at 113

Jarrette Carter, 31-10 at 120

Tyler Kuzma, 31-15 at 126

Shane Newell, 16-14 at 132

Sam Adams, 3-9 at 138

Jacob Lathrop, 5-16 at 160

Lane Reinwald, 3-10 at 170

Andrew Rose, 6-11 at 170

Garrett Reinwald, 40-10 at 195

Gabe Dylewski, 5-7 at 220

NOTES: Fort LeBoeuf's expected returnees resemble that of Saucon Valley, a lot of unknown names but a lot of names back means returning experience. FLB is usually a strong bet to get to Hershey, and if so, usually wrestles very well on the Giant Center mats.

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Redbank Valley

2013-14: District 9 2nd place, State qualifier

Returnees:

Ryan Kube, 21-15 at 106

Scott Drenning, 5-8 at 113

Tanner Altobelli, 32-10 at 126

Kolbin Altobelli, 6-10 at 126

Austin Schreckengost, 2-10 at 132

Luke Gallo, 22-16 at 138

Jake Hopper, 5-15 at 152

Keshon Truitt, 19-14 at 160

Devin Schimp, 5-17 at 170

Brylee Shumaker, 22-11 at 195

Cal Haines, 27-6 at 220

Pat Crawford, 2-3 at 285

NOTES: Redbank Valley lost to district mate Brookville in a consolation match in Hershey last season. The top wrestlers on paper appear to be Tanner Altobelli and Haines.

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South Fayette

2013-14: District 7 2nd place, State qualifier

Returnees:

Andrew John, 34-15 at 106

Jasper Wolfe, 20-12 at 113

Scott Rzepecki, 14-17 at 126

Mike Carr, 44-2 at 132, State 5th

Shane Ging, 29-19 at 138

Ben Previte, 14-10 at 145

Brett Beltz, 35-11 at 145

Camden Hoover, 2-1 at 145

J.J. Walker, 43-2 at 160, State 2nd, State 7th in 2013

Rausaun Culberson, 17-14 at 220

Jeremy Carter, 11-22 at 285

   Promising Newcomer: Mike Cusik (PJW 4th place)

NOTES: South Fayette is led by returning state medalists Carr and Walker. John, Wolfe, Ging, and Beltz also have good wins to their names in the past. I think the race in D7 should be interesting between Burrell, South Fayette, and Jefferson-Morgan.

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Montoursville

2013-14: District 4 2nd place, State qualifier

Returnees:

Morgan Comini, 23-12 at 106

Cortland Stahl, 5-15 at 120

Jacob Strassner, 20-21 at 126

Keith Batkowski, 41-4 at 132

Nolan Ott, 32-13 at 138

Bryce O'Connor, 6-19 at 145

Michael Forney, 13-19 at 152

Triston Choate, 17-15 at 160

Garrett Hoffman, 44-5 at 170, State 6th

Ben Cerney, 37-10 at 220

   Promising Newcomer: Gavin Hoffman (Four-time PJW champion, six-time PJW placewinner)

NOTES: Montoursville fell to local Chestnut Ridge in the first day of the state duals last season. Batkowski was part of a very strong 132-pound bracket at the state tournament one month later, and was eliminated by Bedford's Ryan Easter in the consolations. My sources tell me that Gavin Hoffman is the real deal coming into varsity, and I've been told he's better than his brother, who finished sixth in the state at 170.

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West Branch

2013-14: District 6 2nd place, State qualifier

Returnees:

Joey Couteret, 32-8 at 106

Hunter Parks, 14-18 at 120

Nathan Kristofits, 9-14 at 132

Kris Smeal, 7-5 at 152

Luke Slippey, 20-4 at 152

Clayton Green, 25-11 at 160

Conor Myers, 19-13 at 170

Vincent McDowell, 23-11 at 195

Buzzy Maines, 38-2 at 220, State 2nd

NOTES: West Branch should still be a player in the District 6 race, with a number of pretty good wrestlers back. That group is undoubtedly led by Maines, who was second in the state last season.

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Jefferson-Morgan

2013-14: District 7 3rd place, State qualifier

Returnees:

Damon Belford, 13-18 at 106

Brendan Howard, 35-10 at 113

Aaron Mylan, 11-22 at 120

Austin Goldsberry, 8-18 at 132

Trevor Kniha, 29-22 at 152

Jeremy Mayfield, 7-10 at 152

Parker Woodring, 2-9 at 160

Bill Bowlen, 40-6 at 170

Anthony Patterson, 18-9 at 195

Ian Wolfe, 32-11 at 285

   Promising Newcomer: Gavin Teasdale (Two-time PJW champion, four-time PJW placewinner)

NOTES: Jefferson-Morgan should be one of the top WPIAL AA programs. Howard was a state qualifier two seasons ago, and he, Bowlen, and Wolfe make up the strong points of the returning group of wrestlers. Teasdale, likely at 106, is a can't-miss stud I've been told. JM will be attending the Powerade Tournament in late December, switching from the Southmoreland Holiday Classic.

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Wyalusing Valley

2013-14: District 4 3rd place, State qualifier

Returnees:

Taylor Schum, 4-9 at 106

Josh Haley, 38-7 at 106

Jacob Sandfort, 5-15 at 113

Tracey Brown, 16-18 at 120

Charles Stretch, 12-21 at 126

Collin Edsell, 38-5 at 132

Nevin Nolte, 3-3 at 138

Ryan Force, 14-12 at 138

Justin Haley, 30-8 at 145

Ryan Kipp, 16-20 at 160

Warner Mendoza, 17-17 at 195

Dylan Otis, 44-5 at 220, State 4th

Dalton Chilson, 44-8 at 285

NOTES: Wyalusing has good records in both Haley's, Esdell, Otis, and Chilson. 

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Greenville

2013-14: District 10 3rd place, State qualifier

Returnees:

Michael Lineman, 39-8 at 106

Jase Paxton, 37-12 at 113

Brandon Moss, 19-15 at 126

Blake Reynolds, 36-14 at 132

Gavin Wilkerson, 39-9 at 138

Gage Gladysz, 40-4 at 160

Zach Miller, 35-8 at 170

Mason Horne, 13-17 at 285

NOTES: Greenville, in a good District 10 with Reynolds, Fort LeBoeuf, and Saegertown, brings back six wrestlers with at least 35 wins each.

Other Potential Contenders

Berlin - District 5

Returnees:

Kyle Boyce, 13-20 at 106

Emil Kiesnowski, 2-4 at 113

Joey Swank, 33-6 at 120

Kane McKenzie, 25-18 at 132

Storm McDonald, 20-19 at 138

Braden Fochtman, 36-7 at 145

Taylor Cahill, 40-6 at 152

Bryce Fochtman, 35-8 at 160

Brody Moore, 8-5 at 170

Trevor Moore, 11-11 at 170

Shane Pepper, 22-13 at 182

Toby Cahill, 29-11 at 195

Anthony Collins, 27-11 at 285

NOTES: Berlin has another solid season shaping up and is expected to be Somerset County's top entry. Swank, both Fochtman's, and both Cahill's are the studs, while Collins is a tough heavyweight, and most of the others are proven commodities.

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Bermudian Springs - District 3

Returnees:

Austin Clabaugh, 30-10 at 106

Bayley Oberlander, 25-8 at 113

Jarod Miller, 18-21 at 120

Ashton West, 12-10 at 126

Noah Fleshman, 5-4 at 132

Jason Townsend, 2-10 at 132

Phoenix Russell, 3-9 at 152

Briton Shelton, 41-4 at 160, State 4th, State 8th in 2013

Cody Rowland, 8-10 at 170

Sid Stauffer, 5-7 at 170

Colton Dull, 38-7 at 182, State 7th

Sam McCollum, 36-9 at 220, State 8th

Brady Linebaugh, 26-8 at 285

NOTES: Bermudian Springs should be really good and a contender to take the District 3 crown from rival Boiling Springs this season. Bermudian appears to be strong in the lower and upper areas of its lineup, with three state medalists back.

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Saegertown - District 10

Returnees:

Dillon Auck, 12-17 at 106

Jarrett Ruhl, 19-16 at 113

Bingbong Elizon, 25-14 at 120

Jude Mattocks, 8-14 at 126

Tyler Vath, 37-8 at 132, State 4th, State 8th in 2013

Nick Monico, 37-12 at 138, State 6th, State 8th in 2013

Garrett Zuver, 27-17 at 152

Lance Neusscheler, 21-18 at 160

Daniel Simmerman, 11-18 at 170

Donald Baron, 5-6 at 170

Dylan Reynolds, 41-5 at 182, State 3rd, State 4th in 2013

Zach Stafford, 20-17 at 195

Joseph Boylan, 5-13 at 220

Jason Nageotte, 2-6 at 285

Dalton Gaerttner, 4-13 at 285

    Promising Newcomer: Cody Mulligan (PJW champion in 2014, four-time PJW placewinner)

NOTES: Vath, Monico, and Reynolds are all multiple state medalists and certainly lead Saegertown into battle this season. I said it last year and will say again - think if Spencer Lee and Devin Brown were still there. That would make the team even more formidable.

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Southern Columbia - District 4

Returnees:

Shane Casey, 23-9 at 106

Noah Carl, 14-12 at 113

Todd Lane, 37-5 at 120, State 2nd

Kent Lane, 28-2 at 138, State 2nd, State 6th in 2013

Bryce Hager, 5-9 at 138

Blake Marks, 35-6 at 152, State 2nd, State 8th in 2013

Carter Houseknecht, 3-17 at 160

Connor Houseknecht, 16-10 at 160

Steve Toczylousky, 17-13 at 182

Chase Tillett, 5-10 at 182

Matt Fabian, 10-11 at 285

   Transfer: Billy Barnes, 42-1 at 145 for Williamson, State 2nd, State 6th in 2013

   Promising Newcomer: Jaret Lane

NOTES: Southern Columbia has a lot of top notch talent back and could be a sleeper, if not the favorite, in District 4. Todd Lane, Kent Lane, and Marks gave SC three state finalists last season. Throw in transfer Barnes from Williamson, and now the Tigers have four runner-ups. 

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.