Wrestling Notes - Early November

   Wrestling is here for the 2018-19 season.
   Official high school practices begin in less than two weeks, while the college season began for many teams in the past few days. And many high schoolers from the region, state, and beyond took part in the first-annual The Surge yesterday at UPJ's Sports Center. I wasn't there, but it appeared to be a wide-ranging success, so a hat tip to my friends at PA Power Wrestling.
   Here's some short tidbits from my files as we get closer to the season around here:

Cassidy makes commitment
   Bedford junior Kaden Cassidy announced on Sunday night (he broke the news to me first) that he had made a verbal commitment to George Mason University. I have a story on this for tomorrow's Bedford Gazette. While I won't give away everything in my story, getting Cassidy is another piece of George Mason's strong recruiting push into Pennsylvania. Make sure you get a copy of the paper on Tuesday.

McCoy wins Hokie Open
   The winningest wrestler in Bedford County history began his collegiate career over the weekend with a title in the Freshman/Sophomore Division at the Hokie Open. Competing at 157 pounds, University of Virginia true freshman Justin McCoy went 5-0 in the event, which included a pair of technical falls. In the finals, the former state champ defeated George Mason freshman Kolby Ho by a 9-7 decision. Ho was a Class AAA state finalist for DuBois last March, while McCoy won a Class AA title in 2017 and was a finalist last year at Chestnut Ridge.
   McCoy told me last week that he is likely to redshirt this season. In a dual on Saturday, Virginia beat Indiana, which included a technical fall by former Ligonier Valley standout Robby Patrick (174).

Gabriel up to 141 for Navy
   Former Bedford state champion Jonathan Gabriel will likely be at 141 pounds at the Naval Academy this year. He told me about a month ago that he would be there and would have to beat two-time NCAA qualifier Nick Gil for the starting spot. The Midshipmen wrestled Ohio State in their opener on Saturday night. Gil lost, 3-2, to second-ranked and NCAA All-American Joey McKenna.

Harbaugh in at Millersville
   Millersville defeated Delaware Valley, 21-14, in its season opener on Saturday. At 141 pounds, we saw the debut of Chestnut Ridge grad Seth Harbaugh. Harbaugh, who won 86 bouts in high school, lost to Del Val's Kordell Rush by technical fall.