Holiday Odds and Ends

   There were plenty of wrestling goings on this week as we get closer to the new year. Here's what I'm looking at:

Cornell's Excellence
  It was a mere formality going into the season that Everett's Garret Cornell would become his school's all-time wins leader, as he only needed 10 more to do so. But the way he accomplished the feat was impressive to say the least.
  On Saturday at the Panther Holiday Classic, Cornell used a strong first period to beat Bedford's Kaden Cassidy, 4-2, for the 132-pound title in a battle of high state placewinners (Cornell - 3rd at 126 last season; Cassidy - 3rd at 106 in 2017).
  Then on Tuesday night, Cornell handed Glendale's Brock McMillen a 13-0 defeat. McMillen was the 113-pound state runner-up in March. The loss was by far the most lopsided in McMillen's short varsity career to date. And it gave Cornell the school record, eclipsing Tom Brambley's mark of 112 victories set in the early years of this century.
  I wasn't at Mount Aloysius on the weekend or at Glendale on Tuesday, but I caught up with Cornell last night as the Warriors routed Claysburg-Kimmel. My feature on Cornell's achievement is in today's edition of the Bedford Gazette. And until the end of February, the website is completely free access to anyone, as we have undergone updates to our writing and page design systems.

Lions pass test from Rangers
  I also wasn't able to attend Tuesday's Forest Hills at Chestnut Ridge dual meet due to my son's Christmas concert at his school, so I'll leave my thoughts brief as I didn't cover it. The Lions used their heavy advantage on paper in the upperweights to build a lead, then got enough points down low to secure a victory before the Ranger middleweights could have a chance at the upset. I say upset just because of Chestnut Ridge's recent history, but surely the tide in the area could certainly shift to Forest Hills in the near future.

Dropping names
   During his heralded youth and scholastic wrestling career, former Bedford standout Ryan Easter had the chance to compete against wrestlers such as Jason Nolf, Darian Cruz, Vincenzo Joseph and many other high-profile names.
   In a Q & A piece with Barstool Sports that was published on Thursday afternoon, two-time NCAA champion Joseph was asked a series of 21 questions, ranging from his plans after college to more lighter topics like thoughts about his current Penn State teammates and if he has any superstitions.
   Back to Easter, who was brought up in Joseph's answer to the final question. Joseph mentions that Easter pinned him with a spladle in the North Hills Open 12 and under event back in their days as youth wrestlers. He jokes that Easter had an unfair advantage because he was a year older. I took a photo of the question and the answer in its entirety, which you can view below.

Q&A with Vincenzo Joseph on barstoolsports.com

Holiday Tournament Time
   Two big events at the end of next week will close out the 2018 portion of the wrestling schedule. Three county teams — Bedford, Northern Bedford, and Tussey Mountain — are entered in the Southmoreland Holiday Classic. And Chestnut Ridge will again be competing at the Powerade Tournament.
   Below are tournament fields for each event:
Southmoreland Holiday Classic - Bedford, Bethel Park, Burgettstown, Butler, Beth-Center, Chartiers Houston, Ellwood City, Frazier, Fort Cherry, Greensburg Salem, Hermitage, Indian Land (SC), Jefferson-Morgan, Lee Davis (VA), Ligonier Valley, Marion Center, Mount Pleasant, Meyersdale, Northern Bedford, North Star, Somerset, Southmoreland, South Park, South Side, Tussey Mountain, United, Union City, Upper St. Clair, Valley

Powerade Tournament - Belle Vernon, Benton, Burrell, Camden Catholic (NJ), Canon-McMillan, Cedar Cliff, Chestnut Ridge, Connellsville, Council Rock North, DePaul Catholic (NJ), Derry, DuBois, Erie Prep, Franklin Regional, Freedom, Hampton, Hempfield, Howell (NJ), Kiski Area, Latrobe, Malvern Prep, Mason (OH), McGuffey, Mifflin County, Moeller (OH), Montoursville, Mount Lebanon, North Hills, Norwin, Oak Park-River Forest (IL), Palisades, Parkersburg (WV), Parkersburg South (WV), Penfield (NY), Penn Trafford, Pine Richland, Pottsville, Quaker Valley, Trinity, Pope John Paul II, Reynolds, Saegertown, Seneca Valley, Shaler, St. Albans (WV), St. Joseph's Academy, St. Pauls Prep (MD), Stroudsburg, Thomas Jefferson, Waynesburg, West Allegheny

Midweek Thoughts

   The wrestling season is off and running, as some key early duals have taken place and the first big weekend of tournament action is coming up.
   With that in mind, here's some reviewing and previewing:

From My Eyes
   I've covered two duals so far for the Bedford Gazette, North Star's win at Everett on Friday and Northern Bedford's triumph over Everett last night. Both were tight matches each decided by five points.
   I mentioned in my "Preseason Storylines" last week that while Northern Bedford may not have the superstar name(s) yet on its roster, a lot of experience was returning to the Black Panther room. Two of the lesser knowns may be Colby Imler and Austin Mowry, but the pair came up with back-to-back pins at 160 and 170 pounds to push the Panthers to victory, 34-29. Mowry is a returning regional qualifier, but still seems to be flying under the radar. A clincher like he pulled out last night could certainly build into bigger things for the senior.
   On Friday, North Star's Colby Vinisky earned a key win, a pin, in what was regarded as a toss-up bout at 170 with Everett's Quinton Spade. The other highlight for the Cougars was Hunter Tremain recording his 100th career victory. In my opinion, Tremain would have climbed the podium in Hershey last March had he not been injured. Instead, he had to sit on 99 wins and wait until the opening match of his senior year.

North Star fans react to Hunter Tremain's 100th win on Friday night.

Photo by Ryan Spring

   North Star coach Tim Rosa told me after the match that his squad was still battling some minor injury issues and had a couple of potential starters out of the lineup. All three of these teams, along with others like Berlin and Tussey Mountain, should be in the upper echelon of District 5.
   And while Everett is 0-2, it doesn't mean the Warriors have looked bad at all. If they would have swung one bout in either match their way, they win, so that's how close the margin has been between 2-0 and where they are.
   Continuing with the Warriors, one wrestler I've come away impressed so far is Cody Rock. The junior was at heavyweight on Friday and pinned North Star's Noah Livingston, then wrestled 220 and beat NBC's Jay Ebersole, 4-3. In each bout, Rock has looked aggressive and energetic. Down the road, the upperweights (220 and 285) could be a logjam among many talented D5 wrestlers, and Rock will be a name worth watching.

Looking Forward
   A full slate of dual meet action around Bedford County takes place again tomorrow night. Bedford visits Chestnut Ridge in what is usually an entertaining affair no matter the outcome, and brings a lot of passionate fans from both sides to the gym.
   The Glendale at Tussey Mountain match also bears watching. Glendale is perhaps one of the favorites in the District 6-AA team race, and I've said that I think Tussey could have one of its better years in recent history.
   Then on Friday and Saturday, tournament action takes center stage. Locally, Bedford and Everett are at the Panther Holiday Classic at Mount Aloysius, with a number of top wrestlers and teams from the region and a few from outside the region expected to be on hand.
   Chestnut Ridge is again at the King of the Mountain Tournament at Central Mountain, where the Lions won the team title last year with three individual champions, including returnee Jared McGill. While it is a tournament setting, the 33-team field features three of the top five in Pa. Power Wrestling's top five Class AA dual meet rankings (No. 3 Muncy, No. 4 Burrell, and No. 5 Chestnut Ridge) among many other bigtime wrestling schools.
 

Preseason Storylines

   The moment many have waited for is just days away as the 2018-19 local wrestling season gets going on Friday night.
   And around Bedford County and beyond, there are a number of intriguing storylines. Here's some things I'm looking at, first from a team perspective and then individually:

Lions still on top?
   We won't know until early February if Chestnut Ridge can claim what would be a seventh straight District 5 Duals championship, but the Lions are certainly the favorites again to do so. Yes they lost Justin McCoy, a 2017 state champion and the county's all-time winningest wrestler (167-18), and several other veterans to graduation. However, Ridge is at the point in its program where it reloads rather than rebuilds more often than nought. This is another year I think that is true. The Lions will be very good down low and up top, meaning if a dual starts at say 170, they could easily win all or most of the first 6-8 bouts and have commanding leads on anyone. A lot of high-profile names dot this roster, first and foremost Jared McGill. The Pitt commit was unbeaten until the state semifinals last March and will surely be aiming at the top of the podium (see more below).

County Pride
   Elsewhere around the county, I think it's going to be a pretty good year. Numbers and enthusiasm are higher at places like Bedford and Tussey Mountain, while Everett and Northern Bedford both return a sizable number of starters.
   Bedford - New head coach Joel Easter inherits a bigger roster that includes Kaden Cassidy and Cole Lingenfelter this year. Cassidy (see more below) is back in the Bison practice room after two years away, which included a state medal. Lingenfelter competed for Claysburg-Kimmel the past two seasons.
   Everett - The Warriors welcome back a lot of their talent from a year ago, most notably state medalist Garret Cornell (see more below). Upperweight Shane Clark is also returning after taking the last two years off. Everett has an interesting early schedule with duals against North Star (Friday) and Northern Bedford (next Tuesday) to begin the season.
   Northern Bedford - At NBC, excitement is also running high. The Black Panthers may not have the "superstar" wrestler on their roster, yet, but they'll have nine starters back from last season. On paper, it appears like Northern should have good balance in its lineup. Among those to keep an eye on are Alex Fouse, who wrestled 132 two years ago but is set to go 182 this winter, and middleweight Ian Sherlock, who was 12-2 before being shut down last year because of injury.
   Tussey Mountain - This might be one of the more anticipated wrestling seasons in quite some time in Saxton. The Titans, who will be guided by former Northern Bedford wrestler Mason Replogle, should have quite a bit of balance as well. Brady Villa is a returning state qualifier, while Tussey also has a group of newcomers that should be strong. That includes PJW medalist and freshman Matt Watkins at heavyweight.

Gold on their minds
   I mentioned McGill, Cassidy, and Cornell above, and those are the three most decorated local wrestlers heading into the year. That's not to say there won't be some surprises, as there always are, but this trio is the preseason headline among individual talent.
   Jared McGill - I think most everyone thought McGill was the wrestler to beat come Hershey last season. Unfortunately, the Chestnut Ridge star got beat in the semifinals, putting a damper on what was a brilliant season where he finished 46-1 and won everything except the state's Class AA gold medal at 160 pounds. He'll at least be starting at 182 as a senior and is one of if not the favorite again. McGill has 120 career wins and is 47 behind McCoy for the school and county record. He can also join McCoy as a four-time state placewinner. He owns plenty of big wins, including several over former state champs.
   Kaden Cassidy - The homecoming of Cassidy to Bedford has been much talked about during the summer and fall, and he made more recent news by committing to wrestle at George Mason University after he graduates in 2020. Cassidy was a decorated youth wrestler and he had a strong freshman season at Bishop McCort that culminated with a third-place state medal at 106 pounds. Last year, he won the King of the Mountain Tournament for Chestnut Ridge, but was sidelined shortly after with an injury and didn't compete the rest of the season. If you look at the postseason results at 113 and 120, surely Cassidy would have been right in the mix for the state title as he owned previous victories over a few of the high medalists. He is likely to be at 132 this winter.
   Garret Cornell - Cornell saved his best for last as a junior by winning four straight bouts in Hershey to finish third at 126, perhaps a little unnoticed given that four-time state champion Gavin Teasdale was in the same weight class. That was his first state medal after two previous trips came up empty. Cornell could be back at 126 again and will be a contender. Like Cassidy above, Cornell has either beaten or come really close to some of the higher finishers in the state over the past two years.

Other Tidbits from around Pennsylvania
   - Bald Eagle Area and Philipsburg-Osceola will be in Class AA. The two District 6 schools have long voluntarily competed up in Class AAA. BEA was slated to have state finalist Gage McClenahan back, but he suffered a bad injury in football and probably won't see the mat this season.
   - This season begins a new cycle of enrollment numbers as well. Notably going up to Class AAA are Susquehanna Township and South Fayette. For Susquehanna Township, that means two-time state champion Edmund Ruth will try to win his second state medal in each class (They were AAA three years ago, when Ruth placed eighth). Ruth being in the other class means that he and McGill won't face each other in the postseason, should they even be at the same weight. Ruth was expected to be the favorite to win a third straight title in Class AA. McGill beat Ruth in a consolation round of the NHSCA Junior Nationals in April. South Fayette's jump means that some of the best wrestlers from that school that we'll see in January's Thomas Tournament will be up a class for the postseason.
   A number of high placers in the Class AAA field will also be down to Class AA. They include Pope John Paul's Ryan Vulakh (third at 145) and Matt Vulakh (eighth at 106), and Hopewell's Jacob Ealy (fifth at 126).
   - Tom Housenick of The Morning Call in Allentown reported today that reigning 145-pound Class AA champion Nathan Haubert will miss the regular season with a knee injury. Haubert, who almost spoiled McCoy's run to the 145 title two years ago, won it last year after placing fourth for Palisades in 2017. He is hopeful of a return for the postseason events.

Previews, Previews, Previews
   Full previews complete with rosters will be in Friday's special Winter Sports pullout edition of the Bedford Gazette. Wrestling preview information from both the Altoona Mirror and Johnstown Tribune-Democrat should be out during the middle of the week. Support all of us by picking up a copy.