Donations accepted for injured Somerset player

   At Saturday’s District 5/8-AA semifinal game between Bedford and Everett, the Bison Quarterback Club will be accepting donations to benefit Marcus Hart, a junior wide receiver and defensive back for Somerset. Hart suffered a spinal cord injury in a game on October 25 and underwent surgery. Marcus has shown improvement, but he is facing a long recovery and is currently in a rehabilitation facility in Pittsburgh. Volunteers will be soliciting donations to help with his medical bills during halftime of Saturday’s game. Donations can also be made to:

Marcus Hart Recovery Fund, Somerset Trust Co.

Attn: Betty Anderson

P.O. Box 777

Somerset, PA 15501

Somerset junior Marcus Hart

'A dream come true' future for Buttry at West Point

   Austin Buttry's next step after high school can really only be described as a win-win scenario.
   The Chestnut Ridge senior will get to do two things he's known he's wanted to most of his life — serve his country, and be able to wrestle. Buttry recently signed to attend West Point and wrestle for the Black Knights of Army.
   "It's really where I've always wanted to go," he said. "Growing up, I told my parents I wanted to be an Army man. And I'll be able to wrestle too which is exciting. First and foremost, the job placement is something you can't beat."
   He's not sure exactly sure of a career path yet, but says he's open to being in the military long term.
   As for the wrestling side of West Point, Buttry is just as enthused. He'll wrestle for Joe Heskett, who was an NCAA champion in 2002 at Iowa State. Heskett became the Black Knights' coach in 2010.
   "Coach Heskett means what he says about the program," said Buttry. "He's definitely someone I want to wrestle for. Army told me to keep my options open in case something doesn't work out, but this is the place I've wanted to go."
   Buttry, who also considered Bloomsburg and the Naval Academy, has lofty goals from an athletic standpoint also.
   "I want to be a national champion. That's a big goal that I hope to put a lot of work into to achieve."
   Before all of that, though, is another promising high school wrestling season, where official practice begins two weeks from today. Buttry had a breakout year as a junior by going 40-8 and qualifying for the state tournament for the first time. In Hershey, the Lions' heavyweight knocked off 2012-13 nemesis Mitchell Hall of Tussey Mountain and came within a whisker of reaching the state finals. Buttry eventually finished fifth and is ranked second preseason by PA Power Rankings at 285.
   He owns 86 career wins at Chestnut Ridge, and also helped the Lions to a fourth place finish in the state team duals last winter.
   "I just want to be a well-known name around here and be a good senior for my teammates," he said. "Hopefully, I'll leave a good impression on my school and family, because that's whats important."

Photo by Bedford Gazette

   Chestnut Ridge heavyweight Austin Buttry works for a pin during the state team duals last season. Buttry has announced his plans to attend Army and wrestle for the Black Knights.

Locals at Clarion Open

  The Clarion Open was held this weekend and a few local wrestlers to my coverage area were involved. I also listed any wrestlers from District 5. Here's a quick synopsis:

125 - Nick Roberts of Ohio State finished third after losing in overtime in the quarterfinals. Roberts won three state titles at North Star.
   NOTE: An interesting result from this bracket was a first round bout featuring Lehigh's Darian Cruz and Rutgers' Josh Patrick. Cruz defeated Patrick, 6-1. In last season's 120-pound state semifinals, Cruz (Bethlehem Catholic) beat Patrick (Ligonier Valley) 10-5 on the way to his second state title.

141 - Tanner Cahill of Bloomsburg was 0-2. The former Conemaugh Township wrestler lost to former Bethlehem Catholic standout Randy Cruz in the first round.

157 - Two UPJ wrestlers, Corey Aungst of Claysburg and Drew Gartland of Northern Bedford, were here. Aungst went 0-2, while Gartland was 1-2.

165 - James Otten of UPJ was 0-2. Otten wrestled at Shade and originally attended Edinboro before transferring closer to home.

184 - Tyler Dibert of Clarion had the best tournament of the Bedford County locals, going 2-2 and finishing fourth. His semifinal loss was to Ohio State's Kenny Courts, a former PIAA champion from Central Dauphin. Dibert was a state placewinner in March for Chestnut Ridge.

NCAA names site finalists

   The NCAA has selected eight locations as finalists to host one or more of the Division I Wrestling National Championships between 2015 and 2018. The good news for local fans is that both Pittsburgh (Consol Energy Center) and Philadelphia (Wells Fargo Center) are in the running, as well as Cleveland (Quicken Loans Arena). Philadelphia hosted the event in 2011.
   The other finalists are New York City (Madison Square Garden), Louisville (KFC Yum Center), Kansas City (Sprint Center), St. Louis (Scottrade Center), and Oklahoma City (Chesapeake Energy Arena).
   St. Louis has held the tournament on several occasions, while Oklahoma City is the host for this upcoming season's event in March.
   The hosts will be named on December 11. Below is a link to the article:

http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2013-10-30/host-site-finalists-named-final-round-81-championships-2014-18

McCoy places at Super 32

   I'm a couple of days late on this with all the district playoff action going on, but Chestnut Ridge middle-schooler Justin McCoy came home with an eighth-place medal from the prestigious Super 32 Challenge in North Carolina this past weekend.
   McCoy, wrestling at 105 pounds in the Middle School Division, lost his second round bout to eventual champion Mitch Moore of Ohio powerhouse St. Paris Graham. But he bounced back with three straight consolation victories to get into the medal rounds.
   McCoy, who was a Pennsylvania Junior Wrestling champion in 2011 (9-10, 85 pounds) and a runner-up in 2013 (11-12, 95 pounds), is widely expected to be in the Lions' varsity lineup next year as a freshman.

Claysburg coaching update

   With less than a month before official wrestling practice begins, Claysburg-Kimmel is still looking to fill its head coaching vacancy.
   The job opened up after longtime coach Dave Marko stepped down after a highly successful 18-year run. But Claysburg has had a rather lukewarm, at best, reaction to the hiring process as no real candidates have stepped forward.
   At this point, if a suitable candidate cannot be found, the job will be handled by a group of people with strong ties to the program. Unfortunately, none of them has the current ability to be the head coach full-time due to jobs and other committments.
   It honestly shocks me that the Bulldogs haven't tabbed someone to fill the position yet. With the program that Marko and others through the years built, I would have expected a lot of people to come knocking on the door. And it's a shame that Marko and the Claysburg powers that be couldn't work something out to keep him on the bench.
   Word is that Claysburg will have at least 18 kids in the varsity room this season, and the small District 6 school also has good numbers in its junior high and elementary programs. The booster club is very active and is a great support system, as are the parents and fans there.
   The group coaching situation is not ideal, which is partly why Claysburg has reached out to me to help get the word out to any wrestling people who might show interest.
   If anyone is interested, please contact the school at 814-239-5141, or send me an email to rspring@bedfordgazette.com. I will be happy to point you in the right direction.

2013 Super 32 Challenge

    The preeminent preseason wrestling tournament in the nation hits the mats this weekend with the Super 32 Challenge in Greensboro, N.C. Wrestling begins at 8 a.m. on Saturday and runs through Sunday evening, as the tournament is run on 26 mats.
    The Super 32 is dubbed "Battle for the Belt" as championship belts are given to the winners. Last year, over 200 wrestlers across the country who competed in the Super 32 won their respective state championship.
    Below, I have listed the wrestlers from Districts 5 and 6 that are scheduled to compete this year, as of the most recent entry lists for the event.

High School Division
106 - Cole Manley, Altoona freshman
120 - Triston Law, Forest Hills junior
132 - Trevor Corl, Bellefonte junior
132 - Hayden Hidlay, Mifflin County sophomore
160 - Andrew Doak, Blairsville junior
160 - Chad Reese, Central Mountain senior
195 - Tyler Oliver, United junior
220 - Seth McLendon, United senior (transfer from Penn Cambria)

Middle School Division - The majority of entries were listed with their club team names, such as Young Guns, so there may be some from the region that I don't know what their home school district is. The one name I know is Chestnut Ridge 8th grader Justin McCoy, who is scheduled to compete at 105 pounds.