Lions on top at KoM

   MILL HALL, Pa. - It’s good to be the king.
   Chestnut Ridge was undoubtedly that at this year’s King of the Mountain Tournament, as the Lions crowned three champions and placed three others in the top eight of their weight classes to earn the 2017 team title in one of the top early season events.
   Kaden Cassidy (120), Justin McCoy (152), and Jared McGill (170) won championships, while Dalton Seace (285) was fifth, Austin Crouse (195) took sixth, and Levi Hobson (182) finished eighth. The Lions tallied 168.5 points. New Jersey power Phillipsburg (157.5) and host school Central Mountain (141) were second and third, respectively.
   “The team wrestled tough and picked up a lot of bonus points," said Chestnut Ridge coach Greg Lazor. "It was great to see our three state placewinners step up and win a tournament of this prestige. And I was also very pleased that some of our other wrestlers stepped up also and earned a place in an extremely tough tournament."
   Of the three winners, McCoy was the most dominant. The defending 145-pound Class AA state champion rolled through his bracket, which culminated in four takedowns and a 9-1 major decision in the finals over Brian Meyer of Phillipsburg, NJ. That title bout was a battle between Division I recruits, as McCoy is going to Virginia while Meyer, a third-place state medalist in New Jersey, has committed to Lehigh.
   The senior standout for Ridge was very happy with his performance.
   "It's a great feeling to win (this tournament)," said McCoy. "I was a little disappointed last year when I lost in the finals (to Bellefonte's Brock Port) after a close match, and I didn't want that to happen again. So I'm grateful that God gave me the opportunity to be in the finals again and be able to come out on top."
   "He wrestled awesome all weekend," added Lazor. "He moved continuously and controlled every match."
   Cassidy became Chestnut Ridge's first champion at the event earlier in the finals, a 1-0 victory over Bishop McDevitt's Chase Shields. The sophomore placed third at 106 in Hershey last March, while Shields was also a state placewinner from a season ago.
   "Kaden wrestled tough in the finals," said Lazor. "It was great to see him bounce back from a disappointing (St. Mary's) tournament last weekend."
   Cassidy enjoyed the moment on Saturday night, but is looking ahead to bigger things down the road.
   "It feels good right now, but I know there's room for improvement," he said. "My hand fighting is better this year. But I need to move my feet more."
   At 170, McGill gave the Lions a perfect trifecta in the KoM finals, taking care of business in a 10-4 decision over Bethel Park's Jason Montgomery.
   "I had a little struggle not getting to my shots in the semifinals (a 5-2 win), but overall, I felt pretty dominant for the whole tournament," said McGill, fourth in the state at the same weight last winter. "It's very early in the season, so there's a lot of work that needs to be done. I just need to keep working hard every day."
   "Jared had a great tournament," said Lazor. "He looked offensive on his feet and wrestled tough from the top."
   McGill and McCoy also offered praise to their teammates in claiming a team trophy.
   "Everyone did their job by getting bonus points and fighting through the loser's bracket," said McGill, a junior who has already announced his intentions to attend West Point. "It's just an amazing feeling to come out on top as a team at such a tough tournament."
   "It's great to have three individual champions, but I thought everyone did a great job with their effort and fight the whole weekend," added McCoy. "Many kids stepped up and got bonus points when we needed them."