Class AA States: A look at Thursday's action

   The state tournament is here, as wrestlers were getting prepared on the mats of the Giant Center during today's open workout. Action begins at 9 a.m. tomorrow, and here's a look at some of the first round bouts to watch:

132 pounds - Jared McGill, Chestnut Ridge vs. Todd Lane, Southern Columbia
   Any first round bout at 132 is key as the winners I believe will have a much better chance of getting a medal. In my opinion, the overall bracket may be deeper than any other, including 126 where there are three returning state champions and a runner-up. There's not many places to hide here at 132.
   McGill took third in the Southwest Regional while Lane was second in the Northeast. If you don't remember Lane, the Southern Columbia junior was a state finalist as a freshman, before an injury cut his season short last year. McGill is one of the state's top freshmen, with his highlight win of the year over Bedford state champ Jonathan Gabriel.

138 pounds - Cole Aaron, Brookville vs. Carnell Andrews, Westmont-Hilltop
   Another regional 2nd against regional 3rd place here, and this should be a good one. Aaron and Andrews were both state qualifiers last season. Aaron pushed Gabriel to overtime in the opening round at 126 a year ago, while Andrews fell one win short of the medal stand in the 120-pound class. Despite the presence of unbeaten Zack Lebarron and returning placewinner Matt Schmall in this quarter of the bracket, it would not surprise me to see the Aaron/Andrews winner in Friday night's semifinals.

145 pounds - Keith Batkowski, Montoursville vs. Seth Baney, Huntingdon
   This is also a matchup where I believe the winner could reach the semifinals. Batkowski earned a sixth place medal at 138 a year ago. Baney was a breakout performer in last year's postseason and has continued that for most of this season.

220 pounds - Toby Cahill, Berlin vs. Cole Rickert, Reynolds
   In my view, Cahill is Berlin's best opportunity at a high medal this weekend. His tournament begins with a bout against Rickert, who cannot be overlooked despite having 15 losses. Rickert seems to have been up and down this season, but remember that he was a state placewinner a year ago, seventh at this same weight.

SW Regional Semifinal Eyecatchers

   We're down to four days left in the high school season, which means its Day 2 of the Southwest Regional. While many of the semifinals are worth a look, here's a few matchups that catch my eye:

106 - Garret Cornell, Everett vs. Josh Boozel, Mount Union
   Everett freshman Cornell has had a strong season so far, though he's been a little under the radar because Chestnut Ridge's Aaron Burkett gets most of the county and D5 attention, and rightly so. But Cornell is making a name for himself, and that continued on Friday with a pair of wins to earn a trip to the state tournament next week. Today, he'll take on Boozel in a rematch from an early-season dual meet. Boozel won that one, 4-3, though there were a couple of good scrambles in the bout where Cornell had opportunities to score.

126 - Max Murin, Central Cambria vs. Tyler Alberts, Ellwood City
Jonathan Gabriel, Bedford vs. Jihad Ratliff, Valley
   I'm not expecting either of these semifinals to be that close, but I highlight them here because Murin and Gabriel obviously need to avoid any hiccups in this round to set up the much anticipated state champion vs. state champion battle in the finals tonight. There's not much more to say about that championship bout we should see, so sit back and enjoy.

132 - Collin Glorioso, Huntingdon vs. Ian Ostrowski, Central Cambria
   This will be a rematch of the District 6 semifinals two weeks ago, where Glorioso pulled out a 1-0 decision. Some of that could be Glorioso dealing with a broken nose and having to wear a mask. But Ostrowski has had a fine season and I would not be surprised to see this one be close again.

138 - Justin McCoy, Chestnut Ridge vs. Tyler Scott, Huntingdon
   In the tournament's deepest weight, where 8 previous state qualifiers are battling for six spots, both McCoy and Scott ensured their state tournament trips last night. This semifinal could be one of the better ones. McCoy was impressive in his quarterfinal win over South Park's Dallas Bulsak, while Scott got past Southmoreland's Evan Myers. I think the edge here belongs to McCoy, but Scott has wrestled very well and earned some big wins over the last month.

160 - Braden Fochtman, Berlin vs. Dominic Fundy, Beth-Center
   After a year away from wrestling, Fochtman was one of four Berlin wrestlers to advance to the semifinals in Friday's action. He'll see Beth-Center freshman Fundy, who is perhaps the story of the tournament so far. Fundy's overtime takedown on Moshannon Valley's Larry Brown gave him a big upset and a trip to Hershey. Can he continue his run?