District 5 Bracket Analysis

   As you probably know by now, the District 5 brackets were released yesterday. The tournament begins on Friday at 2 p.m. with pigtails and the quarterfinals to follow. I will have a preview story and predictions for who will be the regional qualifiers from myself and Sam Shuss in Friday's Bedford Gazette. Full brackets can be found here — D5 Brackets.
   Below is some bracket analysis:

106
   Chestnut Ridge's Aaron Burkett, ranked second in the state and a returning champ and sixth place medalist in Hershey, is the heavy favorite here. Hard not to see the top four seeds getting to the semifinals.

113
   No pigtails scheduled as of now in this bracket with Chestnut Ridge's Dylan Williams seeded first. The bottom side quarterfinals could be interesting here. Northern Bedford's Zach Clark is the second seed, but he lost to seventh seed Grant Browell of Bedford in a dual meet, 4-3.

120
   Another weight, another top seed for Chestnut Ridge, as freshman Justin McCoy walks in as a likely bet to win his first district title. Only McCoy (28-4) and Somerset's Quinn Cole (20-8) have more than 20 wins here.

126
   Bedford's Jonathan Gabriel is one of two Bedford County wrestlers that can win their third district titles this weekend. Northern Bedford's Jared Helsley is the second seed and came down recently from 132. That means we won't see another round of Helsley vs. Chestnut Ridge's Morgan Deremer, who is at 132. But we will see Round Three between North Star's Brady Gardner and Berlin's Austin Lee, in the 4-5 matchup. Gardner has two pins of Lee already this season, but the latter one came in the district duals when Lee built an early lead only to be caught in a cradle. Gardner's big win there helped the Cougars reach the D5 final.

132
   Berlin's Joey Swank has the top seed here with Deremer second. I think those two should get to the finals, but the battle for third is wide open in my opinion. Everett's Ben Stover (3 seed), Northern Bedford's Jon Raab (4 seed), North Star's Chris Baker (5 seed), and HOPE for Hyndman's Tanner Clites (6 seed) could all be players. Bedford's Kyle Mehle was a district finalist last year. He is seeded eighth this year.

138
   Chestnut Ridge's Derrick Claar looks for his third title and is at the same weight as last season. The top seed should get to the finals. Quarterfinals between Everett's Mahlon Akers and North Star's Shawn Costas, and Berlin's Kane McKenzie and Bedford's Kenny Collins, could be interesting.

145
   This could be one of the best weights in Windber this weekend. Top seed Brady McKenzie of Meyersdale and No. 2 Tevin Mostoller of North Star have split a pair of bouts. Somerset's Austin Hemminger, a state qualifier last year, is the third seed after wrestling mostly at 152 this season. Shade's Mike Manges is the fourth seed but does have a win over McKenzie. Northern Bedford's Ridge Hershberger, Chestnut Ridge's Levi Hobson, and Conemaugh Township's Brandon Stahl also have winning records.

152
   The top three seeds here — Chestnut Ridge's Trent Crouse, Somerset's Jon Fabian, and North Star's Gus Strasiser — have a combined record of 80-18, while the other six wrestlers in the bracket are 33-63. Fabian-Strasiser in the semifinals could be pretty good.

160
   This weight is a lot like the previous one, with Berlin's Bryce Fochtman, Chestnut Ridge's Colby Hillegass, and North Star's Dillion Charlton owning 81 wins combined. Hillegass vs. Charlton is a highlight projected semifinal.

170
   Berlin's Taylor Cahill and Northern Bedford's Lucas Kolinchak are likely finalists here, with a battle for third possibly between Bedford's Dan Brett, Everett's Wes Graham, and North Star's Michael Baker. Brett beat Graham at the Thomas Tournament, after the Everett wrestler had nearly pulled off the stunner of the year in a 2-0 loss to returning state finalist J.J. Walker of South Fayette.

182
   Meyersdale's second of three top seeds in the tournament is Chris Hutzell at 182. Berlin's Storm McDonald and North Star's Jon Thomas are second and third, respectively. McDonald beat Thomas 5-3 in the regular season dual. Keep an eye on Chestnut Ridge's Brandyn Beaver, seeded fourth.

195
   Hard not to see a final between Chestnut Ridge's Conner Buttry and Berlin's Toby Cahill. North Star's Hunter Conner is the only other wrestler in the draw with more than a .500 record.

220
   Meyersdale's Ty Smith holds down the top seed here, with Berlin's Shane Pepper second. Smith pinned Pepper early in the season, and also has a win over Somerset's Logan Eller, the third seed.

285
   To me, this is the one weight where there isn't a clear cut one or two choices for eventual champion. Save the best for last? Quite possibly, as Chestnut Ridge's Shane Davis, Berlin's Anthony Collins, HOPE for Hyndman's Brandon Greise, Bedford's Nate Shoemaker, Shade's Trevor Brown, and Everett's Kyle Peterson are the top six seeds in that order and are all capable of getting to Canon-Mac next week. Brown beat Collins earlier in the year, while first-year wrestler Peterson has a win over Davis. Greise might be one of the least known kids in the tournament, but he might be Hyndman's best wrestler and probably its best shot at a regional qualifier.