State Rankings

Here are where District 5 and 6 wrestlers are in the Class AA state rankings by PA Power Rankings, as of last week. Keep in mind that some of them haven't been at the weights they are ranked at yet, it is more of a preseason list. I apologize in not getting these out earlier, but there was so much to do with the weekend tournaments. New rankings are expected out later this week.

106 pounds
5. Jon Gabriel, Bedford
7. Colin Glorioso, Huntingdon
15. Ian Ostrowski, Central Cambria
16. David Wiles, Marion Center

113 pounds
13. Derrick Claar, Chestnut Ridge
14. Logan Blackburn, Westmont
15. Tristan Law, Forest Hills
19. Sage Moist, Mount Union

120 pounds
2. Justin Patrick, Ligonier Valley
3. Ryan Easter, Bedford
15. Josh Brown, Claysburg
21. Mason Replogle, Northern Bedford

126 pounds
3. Josh Patrick, Ligonier Valley
10. Collin Day, Meyersdale
15. Joe Davis, Cambria Heights
18. Garrett Thomas, Bedford

132 pounds
10. Toby Brett, Bedford
12. Brad Thomas, Cambria Heights
13. Tanner Hetrick, Meyersdale
19. Chase Fox, Portage

138 pounds
8. Brennon Shields, Southern Huntingdon
11. Damian Corle, Northern Bedford
13. JP Hayles, West Branch
16. Brandon Heberling, Marion Center
17. Nick Naglic, Richland

145 pounds
3. Sean Heggs, Juniata
9. Drew Gartland, Northern Bedford
17. Seth Deist, Meyersdale

152 pounds
5. Andrew Doak, Blairsville
15. Tanner Cahill, Conemaugh Township

160 pounds
1. Cody Law, Forest Hills
17. Channing Cavender, Blairsville
18. Richard Moskey, HOPE for Hyndman

170 pounds
7. Bradie Bollman, Chestnut Ridge
8. Mike Rogers, Penns Valley
20. Zack Pinkas, Forest Hills

182 pounds
5. Scott Thompson, Blairsville
8. Tyler Dibert, Chestnut Ridge
9. Jared Beckwith, Tyrone
14. Phil Kyle, Mount Union
15. Jacob Nickelson, Somerset

195 pounds
4. James Stodart, Moshannon Valley
9. Dan Albright, Chestnut Ridge
10. DJ Wunder, Tyrone
11. Michael Brett, Bedford

220 pounds
9. Jacob Ludwig, Moshannon Valley
14. Jake Bennett, HOPE for Hyndman
15. Seth McLendon, Penn Cambria
19. Don Shovestull, Westmont

285 pounds
7. Austin Buttry, Chestnut Ridge
10. Nik Smith, Mount Union
17. Ben Mountain, United

King of the Mountain wrapup

Four out of the five years that Bedford has had the King of the Mountain Tournament on its schedule, I've made the trip. As always, there's not a shortage of quality competition anywhere in the Central Mountain gymnasium.
I heard several people mention that the tournament seemed deeper than in years past and I agree. With Bethlehem Catholic, Cumberland Valley, Fort LeBoeuf and others getting involved this season, it was a significant upgrade for an event that is already known as one of the best in the nation, in the conversation with tournaments such as the Beast of the East and Reno Tourmanent of Champions.

Raising the Bar

Bedford junior Ryan Easter is currently 78-14 in his career and he is a two-time state placewinner, a sixth place medal last season after taking fifth as a freshman.
But Easter isn't resting on those laurels, and he has much bigger aspirations.
"I want to be a state champion," he said. If that happens, he would be Bedford's first since the mid-1960's and only the school's third ever.
Here's what he told me next, about an hour after he lost in the King of the Mountain 126-pound final to Lansing, N.Y. standout William Koll.
"I want to go undefeated the rest of the year after this."
With Bedford's schedule and the possibility that the Bisons could advance to Hershey again for the Class AA state duals, that is a lofty goal. But don't mistake that for any type of arrogance or bravado. As much as I know Ryan, he's a very confident wrestler who believes highly in himself.

Bedford's Ryan Easter against Lansing's William Koll on Saturday.

Freshmen Phenoms

Not only did seeing the debut of Bedford's Jonathan Gabriel give me a taste of some of the immense talent pouring into the varsity wrestling ranks, but others from the region and even out of state raised my eye. For more on Gabriel, pick up Monday's Bedford Gazette as I chronicalled his first two days of varsity competition.

One of these is Mifflin County's Hayden Hidlay, who I had heard about but had never seen of course. Boy, did Hidlay impress. He was the 10th seed in the 113-pound bracket and came within an overtime score of knocking off top seed, defending KoM champion, and defending Class AAA state champ Ethan Lizak of Parkland, a junior. Losing 4-3 in the finals does nothing to deflate anything this ninth grader will do later this season or in the future.

Another heralded freshman is Phillipsburg, NJ's Brandon Paetzell. Now, some of you know that Phillipsburg, NJ is my hometown and where I went to school. So naturally, I'm going to have a rooting interest in my Stateliners.

So I also keep up on what is going on with P'burg, as it is affectionately known, as well as high school wrestling in that state. Heck, I even watched an hour-long video preview about the New Jersey season last week. Call me crazy, as my wife often does this time of year.

Now back to the topic. What I didn't know until Saturday morning was that Paetzell had a connection to Gabriel, not just after the two wrestled on Friday night in the second round where Gabriel won in overtime.
From what I was told, Gabriel had never beaten Paetzell before in any competition. I checked with young Gabriel after the tournament and he recalled a bout with Paetzell at a tournament in Indianapolis.

"Yeah, I think he beat me pretty bad," he said.
After finally winning against his old foe on Friday, Gabriel acknowledged that nobody told him who it was until the final whistle blew.

The Week Ahead

The big match coming up this week is Bedford hosting Chestnut Ridge. Likely the two best teams in District 5, it should be a good one and a possible preview of the two getting together again in the district duals come early February.
Also on the card on Tuesday is Northern Bedford against Tussey Mountain, while the Panthers wrestle Everett later in the week for any county fans.

Other Weekend Wrestling Action

All of my coverage area teams are involved somewhere around the state as it is a busy weekend in local wrestling. Aside from Bedford's appearance at the King of the Mountain, which I have already previewed in this blog, Chestnut Ridge will be at the Mount Carmel Tournament, and Claysburg and HOPE for Hyndman will be at the Sheetz Holiday Classic at Penn Cambria. Also, Everett, Northern Bedford, and Tussey Mountain trek to Moshannon Valley for the ICC Duals. Here are short briefs on them.

Sheetz Holiday Classic - Today and Saturday
Teams: Altoona, Berlin, Cambria Heights, Canandaigua, NY, Central Cambria, Claysburg, Conemaugh Township, Corry, Forest Hills, Johnstown, Hollidaysburg, HOPE for Hyndman, Huntingdon, Ligonier Valley, Mercer, Mount Pleasant, Northern Cambria, Penn Cambria, Portage, Richland, St. Mary's.

Headline individuals here should include Altoona's T.J. Brandt and D.J. Hollingshead, Ligonier Valley's Justin and Josh Patrick, and Forest Hills' Cody Law. Wrestling is set to begin at 5 p.m. today at Penn Cambria.

Mount Carmel Tournament - Saturday
Teams: Chestnut Ridge, Mount Carmel, North Penn, Pottsville, Tamaqua, Wellsboro.

This is a round-robin style event. Chestnut Ridge is the headliner here, with standout upperweight Tyler Dibert needing two wins to get 100 for his career.

ICC Duals - Saturday
Teams: Everett, Northern Bedford, Tussey Mountain, Glendale, Moshannon Valley, West Branch.

Moshannon Valley hosts this year. Everett, NBC, and Tussey will each wrestle the three northern foes in dual meets.

King of the Mountain Part 2

Got back from North Star a while ago. Chestnut Ridge opened the season with a 60-11 win over the Cougars. Highlight of the night was Dustin Bence's pin of Luke Lepley. Bence won 5 bouts last year while Lepley won 21 and almost got to regionals.

But I won't give everything away. Read my story about it in Friday's Bedford Gazette, and also stay near this blog as I will have a short feature on Ridge's Tyler Dibert as he nears 100 wins and looks forward to his senior season.

Now, for the King of the Mountain. The top seedings in each weight have been released. Wrestling kicks off at Central Mountain at 11 a.m. Friday. Yours truly is making the trip on Saturday for all the action from the second day.

106 pounds - General McLane's Joe Wheeling is the top seed here, with Bedford's Jon Gabriel at #2. The big news here is that Latrobe's Luke Pletcher, ranked nationally as high as second, is at 113 this weekend. Wheeling was 27-5 last season as a sophomore. He finished second in District 10-AAA.

Finals prediction - Gabriel vs. Bethlehem Catholic's Luke Karam, seeded fifth.

113 - This weight class seems to have all kinds of possibilities. Parkland's Ethan Lizak, a defending Class AAA state champion and finalist two years ago, is seeded first, with defending AA runner-up Korbin Myers of Boiling Springs seeded second. Pletcher, again rated so highly on a national scale, drew only the #4 seed. Redbank Valley's Willie Gruver, seeded fifth, is a proven commodity as is sixth seed Zach Fisher of Phillipsburg, NJ (my alma mater).  Another top freshman I have heard about is Mifflin County's Hunter Hidlay, seeded 10th.

Finals prediction - Pletcher vs. Myers.

120 - Cuyahoga Valley Christian's Nathan Tomasello, ranked first in the nation, is not listed and apparently not wrestling, though teammates of his are seeded. Still not a bad weight here, with Bethlehem Catholic's Darian Cruz at the top. Cruz is the defending AA state champ at 106 and ranked nationally in the top five by most services. Ryan Pomrinca of North Hunterdon drew the second seed, with Council Rock South's Dan Martoccio third. Martoccio beat Bedford's Ryan Easter in the KoM finals two years ago at 103. Erie McDowell's Paul Deitz and Fort LeBoeuf's Tyler Kuzma aren't bad, either.

Finals prediction - Cruz vs. Martoccio.

126 - The top seed here is Lansing, N.Y. product William Koll, the son of Cornell coach Rob Koll. Koll is a returning New York state champion. Drawing the second seed is Bedford's Easter. The intriguing part of this bracket, at least from my angle, is a potential semifinal between Easter and third seed Matt Williams of Pen Argyl. Easter beat Williams on an overtime takedown in the first round at states last March, while at the state duals a month earlier, Williams dearly cost the Green Knights a team point in their 30-29 quarterfinal loss to the Bisons by throwing his headgear, upset that he didn't get the chance to wrestle Easter or anybody else for that matter.

Finals prediction - Koll vs. Easter.

132 - Kittanning's Jason Nolf, last year's KoM Outstanding Wrestler and a 2011 PIAA Class AA champion is the favorite here. He is followed in the seedings by Cole Walter of Mifflinburg, Josh Decatur of Cuyahoga Valley Christian, and Nick Gibson of Erie McDowell. Bedford's Garrett Thomas is seeded ninth.

Finals prediction - Nolf vs. Walter.

138 - Lansing's Conner Lepresi is a defending New York placewinner and is tops here. Cumberland Valley's Patrick Duggan is the second seed and is very highly regarded. Juniata's Sean Heggs surprised some at states last season and is the third seed. Bedford's Toby Brett is eighth.

Finals prediction - Erie McDowell's Shawn Spearman, seeded fourth, vs. Duggan.

145 - Pen Argyl stud and two-time state champion Michael Racciato is seeded first. Despite winning those two state titles, Racciato hasn't won this tournament in three previous tries. That says something about the quality at the King of the Mountain, though in fairness, Racciato and his Pen Argyl football team have done well the past two years, leaving him a smaller window for wrestling practice. It could be an all District 11 final as Bethlehem Catholic's Ryan Todora is the second seed. Line Mountain's Seth Lansberry is a solid wrestler and is #3.

Finals prediction - Racciato vs. Todora.

152 - Reynolds ace Austin Matthews, who lost in the state finals last winter to Racciato, is the top seed at 152, with John Vaughn of Boiling Springs second and Jimmy Schuitema of Phillipsburg, NJ third. Bedford's Tanner Williams, who placed here last year, is seeded seventh.

Finals prediction - Matthews vs. Schuitema (hey, gotta give my school some love).

160 - Cumberland Valley's T.C. Warner and Latrobe's Zack Zavatsky, both nationally ranked and both returning state AAA placewinners, highlight this bracket as the top two seeds, respectively. Sleeper here could be Bethlehem Catholic's Connor Hedash, the #7 seed. Hedash transferred to Becahi from Northern Lehigh before last season, but was ruled ineligible.

Finals prediction - Warner vs. Zavatsky.

170 - I don't much about this group other than top seed Ty Walter of Mifflinburg, so it will be short.

Finals prediction - Walter vs. Penn Trafford's Will Palorino, seeded sixth.

182 - Bellefonte's Nick Shawley drew the top post here with the second spot occupied by New Jersey's Liam Korbul of North Hunterdon. Bethlehem Catholic's Jose Ortiz is third.

Finals prediction - Shawley vs. Ortiz.

195 - Council Rock South's P.J. Steinmetz drew the top seed and DuBois' Landon Hanna is #2. The host school, Central Mountain, appears to have its best shot at a high placer on paper here with third seed Blaze Buckwalter. Bedford's Michael Brett, who has made a lot of noise at this tournament before, has the eighth seed.

Finals prediction - Steinmetz vs. Buckwalter.

220 - Like 170, I don't know a lot about this bracket besides top seed Evan Daley of Fort LeBoeuf.

Finals prediction - Daley vs. Boyertown's Jordan Wood, the third seed.

285 - Could be a rematch of last year's final here, with top seed and defending AA state champion Nazar Mironenko of Mifflinburg, and second seed Garrett Poorman of Bellefonte. Mironenko won the KoM title a year ago but still seemed to go unnoticed into Hershey only to come out with the big prize.

Finals prediction - Mironenko vs. Poorman.

King of the Mountain Part 1

Teams at the 2012 King of the Mountain: Bedford, Bellefonte, Bethlehem Catholic, Biglerville, Boiling Springs, Boyertown, Brooks School (MA), Bucktail, Central Mountain, Colonial Forge (VA), Council Rock South, Cumberland Valley, Cuyahoga Valley Christian (OH), Dieruff, DuBois, Erie McDowell, Fort LeBoeuf, General McLane, Greater Latrobe, Jersey Shore, Juniata, Kittanning, Lansing (NY), Line Mountain, Mifflinburg, Mifflin County, North Hunterdon (NJ), Parkland, Pen Argyl, Penn Trafford, Phillipsburg (NJ), Redbank Valley, Reynolds, South Western, Stroudsburg.

New teams for this year: Bethlehem Catholic, Boyertown, Brooks School, Bucktail, Colonial Forge, Cumberland Valley, Cuyahoga Valley Christian, Fort LeBoeuf, General McLane, Lansing, North Hunterdon, Redbank Valley.

Defending champion: Erie McDowell.

Nationally ranked wrestlers expected at this tournament (rankings by Intermat and Flowrestling)
106 - Luke Pletcher, Greater Latrobe freshman, #2 Intermat, #3 Flo
113 - Ethan Lizak, Parkland junior, #6 Intermat, #11 Flo
120 - Nathan Tomasello, Cuyahoga Valley Christian senior, #1 Intermat, #1 Flo
120 - Darian Cruz, Bethlehem Catholic senior, #5 Intermat, #4 Flo
126 - Zeke Moisey, Bethlehem Catholic junior, #8 Intermat, #5 Flo
132 - Jason Nolf, Kittanning junior, #6 Intermat, #5 Flo
145 - Michael Racciato, Pen Argyl senior, #7 Intermat, #2 Flo
152 - Austin Matthews, Reynolds senior, #7 Intermat, #8 Flo
160 - Zack Zavatsky, Greater Latrobe junior, #11 Intermat
160 - T.C. Warner, Cumberland Valley junior, #17 Intermat, #12 Flo at 152
170 - Ty Walter, Mifflinburg senior, #19 Flo

Bedford returnees with KoM records and placings from 2011
Jake Warren, junior, 0-2 DNP at 106
Ryan Easter, junior, 4-1 2nd at 113
Garrett Thomas, junior, 3-2 DNP at 120
Toby Brett, junior, 3-2 DNP at 126
Caleb Grimes, senior, 0-2 DNP at 132
Tanner Williams, senior, 3-3 8th at 152
Michael Brett, senior, 4-3 8th at 195
Justin Easter, senior, 0-2 DNP at 285

Seedings are expected to be released on Thursday. I will have more on that once I have them.

Penn State very prominent in NCAA rankings

Eight Nittany Lions in Intermat Top 20.

http://www.gopsusports.com/sports/m-wrestl/spec-rel/121112aaa.html

Williams glad to be back

Bedford's Tanner Williams pins Somerset's Daniel Talley on Tuesday night.

   
Tanner Williams could not have dreamed up a better day.
   Chomping at the bit to wrestle in high school competition since early February, the Bedford senior went out in front of his home crowd and set the tone for the match with a pin, one of several in the Bisons' 62-15 rout of Laurel Highland Athletic Conference rival Somerset.

   In a fitting twist, it was Williams who got the chance to wrestle first, as the 152-pound weight class was drawn to begin the match. He could hardly keep his emotions in check leading up to the time he and his teammates took the mat, but once he stood on the starting line, it was back to business for Williams.

  "It feels amazing to be back," he said. "It was the greatest welcome I could have back, starting my team off with a pin. Being a leader and all, it was great to get my team off on a good note.

  "The whole day, I was so pumped up. At weigh-in's, I felt like I was freaking out, just saying 'Let's go, let's go.' When they pulled my number for the start, I was like 'Alright, this is what I'm talking about.'"

  "He was so excited all day long," added Bedford coach Brian Creps. "Today was like Christmas for him."

  Williams was enjoying a solid junior season when it came to a halt in the PIAA Class AA State Duals, where he suffered a broken hand. That relegated him to a role of cheerleader after he had posted a 23-7 record.

  Now healed up and coming off a strong cross country season, Williams appears primed to make a run at the regional and state tournaments to close his high school career.

  "My goal individually is to qualify for states, and maybe even place," he said. "For the team, we definitely want to go back to state duals."