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.