Tuesday's Recap

A Local Look
   Tuesday's matches locally were highlighted by Bedford's 40-25 victory at Penn Cambria. I had planned on attending this match for the Bedford Gazette, but was unable to as I had to stay in the office.
   The Bisons made their first claim toward Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference supremacy in this one. Certainly from an individual perspective, a 13-6 decision by Josh Grimes over Zach Stevens at 152 pounds stands out. Grimes has experience, but didn't wrestle last year. On the other side, Stevens is also a veteran who finished sixth in District 6-AA. Bedford looks to be a better team than expected this season, and Brian Creps has said that there is a lot more team camaraderie this year.
   As for the LHAC race, it's obviously early to get a clear-cut favorite, as Bedford beat Penn Cambria, who beat Westmont-Hilltop. But Penn Cambria lost to Somerset, who faces Bedford tomorrow. I think Cambria Heights may have something to say about it, too. The Highlanders don't face any of the above four until January. Bedford hosts Westmont on January 12. And as we all know, individual matchups dictate duals. One thing is for sure — it should be a fun year in the league.
   Also last night, Everett (55-23 at Juniata Valley) and Northern Bedford (60-18 at Tussey Mountain) posted big blowout victories.

Around the State
   Two high profile national events took place this past weekend, with Pennsylvania wrestlers showing strong at both the King of the Mountain and Ironman events.
   At Central Mountain, Bethlehem Catholic dominated but individually, the top final of note was at 138 pounds, where Latrobe's Luke Pletcher needed overtime to defeat Nazareth's Sammy Sasso. Pletcher, ranked second in the country at 132 by Intermat and an Ohio State recruit, beat Sasso with a takedown in the extra period for a 7-5 decision. Sasso, ranked eighth nationally at 132, is just a sophomore but certainly no slouch, as he placed second in Class AAA last season at 120.
   In the Ironman, Wyoming Seminary beat Blair Academy in the team race. Individually, I'm looking at 126 pounds there, where Reynolds' sophomore Cole Matthews made a run to the finals after being seeded 12th.
   Matthews is another in a line of lower to middle weight studs across the state that are back this season, and I'm very interested to see who is where by the postseason tournaments. If Matthews stays 126, and Bedford's Jonathan Gabriel and Central Cambria's Max Murin are there as well, that's three returning state champions in the same weight. Throw in potentially Huntingdon's Collin Glorioso (two-time state placewinner) and/or Athens' Brian Courtney (state runner-up behind Matthews) and/or others, this could be the weight to watch.