Another Day, Another Local Stop

   I had time to get down to Hyndman today, where the Hornets are under new coach Logan Sheldon, a former state finalist and 120-bout winner with his hometown program. As expected, the overall numbers are low as I counted maybe a dozen or just over that in the wrestling room. That said, Sheldon is working hard to keep the tradition, and get as much attention as possible. My picture below is of the door to the wrestling room, which I must say proudly displays a photocopy of my recent Bedford Gazette story discussing his hiring, while under that is a flyer recruiting new wrestlers to the team. Sheldon is being assisted by former teammate and fellow Hornet standout Levi Hosselrode.
   Unfortunately for Sheldon, he'll be without heavyweight Brandon Greise this season. Greise went 17-6 and was a fourth-place finisher in District 5 as a sophomore. This is a case of someone's loss being someone else's gain, as Greise is now at Bedford and will certainly give a boost to the Bisons' upperweights.
   Speaking of Bedford, I had an informal chat with assistant coach Sam Carroll today, who said that numbers look pretty good with the Bisons so far and there is plenty of optimism. That's usually the case with Bedford, but there is no doubt that Jonathan Gabriel's state championship in March (first in 51 years at the school) still resonates and will for a long time.

The wrestling room door at HOPE for Hyndman.

Let the Season Begin!

   Officially, another high school wrestling season is underway with the start of PIAA practices on Monday afternoon. Really though, if you're like me, which you might be if you're a regular to my blog, discussion about what's coming shortly didn't start today. I was one of the recipients in a large group text message last night that stated "Happy Wrestling Eve," then another one from the same source this morning saying "Happy Wrestling Day." So I guess at least a few people are excited about the local season.
   Like I did last year, I'll try to get to as many of the county wrestling rooms as I can in person before the season begins. It's not a big number, but my regular duties at the Bedford Gazette do keep me quite busy, so I'll do my best. Today, I hung out at Everett for a little while to check in on the Warriors. Here's a few tidbits:

2015-16 Everett Warriors
   — Everett head coach Robbie Ripple was optimistic about the number of wrestlers in the room. I don't have an official roster yet, but my count showed somewhere in the mid 20's for varsity bodies. Among them are at least seven returning letterwinners, including sophomore Liam Flaherty, who was a state qualifier as a freshman while posting a 26-11 record.

   — It was awesome to see Zach Reed working out with his teammates. Reed underwent emergency intestinal surgery over the summer and was in and out of the hospital several times very early in his life. In June, three feet of his intestines had to be removed after scar tissue had built up from his previous surgeries. A story about Zach's journey and the community support he and his family have received was featured in October 22nd's sports section of the Bedford Gazette.

   — One tough break for the Warriors this winter will be the absence of heavyweight Kyle Peterson, who suffered a knee injury in the offseason and did not play football nor will he be able to take the mat. Peterson, a junior, showed signs of promise last season with a 14-8 record at 285.

Everett wrestlers work out on the first day of official practice on Monday.

District 5 Tournament Schedule

   As reported last week, the District 5 committee chose to hold this season's district individual wrestling tournament at Pitt-Johnstown's Sports Center. It will be a one-day event on Saturday, February 20.
   Below is the projected schedule for that day:

8:30 a.m. - Preliminaries
9:30 a.m. - Quarterfinals, followed by Semifinals and Consolations
5 p.m. - Consolation Finals and Championship Bouts

   The one-day model at UPJ was selected over the usual two-day format, which would have been held at either Bedford, Chestnut Ridge, or North Star this year due to construction at Windber. You can read about that decision in my blog posts below.
   This season's Class AA Southwest Regional will again be at Canon-McMillan High School, on March 4 and 5.

D5 opts for UPJ

   On Wednesday, the District 5 committee voted to have this season's district wrestling tournament at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown's Sports Center.
   The second point of that is it will be held all in one day, on Saturday, February 20, 2016.
   As reported by Spring Into Sports earlier this month, there were two options in regards to the district tournament after longtime host Windber Area High School is unable to have it this year due to ongoing construction at its campus.
   1) - A two-day tournament at either Bedford, Chestnut Ridge, or North Star, wrestled on the normal dates as usual (districts-regionals-states over three consecutive weekends)
   or
   2) - A one-day tournament at UPJ
   District officials opted for the latter, with D5 vice chairman Jeff Batzel saying that overall polling among coaches, athletic directors, and principals from the district schools was in favor of the UPJ deal.
   The one-day tournament does carry a couple of major differences with it, though. PIAA rules state that wrestlers can only compete in five bouts per day as a maximum.
   So pigtail round losers will see their season end rather than have at least one consolation bout. Wrestlebacks will only be contested from the quarterfinals on.
   Secondly, the date of February 20 means there will be a two-week break between the district tournament and the Southwest Regional, which is set to take place on March 4 and 5. This is like District 6-AA has dealt with for years as D6 holds both of its tournaments at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
   While the vote passed, not all coaches are enamored with the idea, one being Chestnut Ridge's Greg Lazor.
   "I definitely don't like it," he said. "Even with them restructuring it to have pigtail losers out, to have the tournament the week before just isn't something I wanted to see happen. That week in between (districts and regionals) means more time without live competition than we are used to. Usually, we already had a whole week or more of practice anyway before the district tournament. Now, it will be the other way around with a lot of teams finishing up their dual seasons right before the tournament, which is only the second biggest tournament of the year."
   As Lazor points out in that last quote, late-season scheduling could be forced to change. Among local schedules, Bedford wrestles Everett on February 16, and Chestnut Ridge faces Tussey Mountain on February 17, just a few days before the new date.
   "It's a concern for sure," said Lazor. "I know the district was in a tough spot this year. Windber would usually have a half-day of school too, so we could start earlier on Friday. I know either us or probably Bedford or North Star didn't have that built in, so we would be back to a later start and maybe have to use three mats.
   "In the end, it is what it is. It's not ideal in my opinion, but it will be a good tournament as always, regardless."

Sheldon takes over Hornets' program

UPDATE - I have a story on this for Friday's Gazette.

   It isn't all that surprising that Logan Sheldon would eventually land himself a head coaching opportunity.
   Since graduating from Hyndman in 2009, Sheldon has served as an assistant coach for several years at the school under Gary Satzer, Jake Snyder, and most recently Chadd Sines. With the departure of Sines to return to Meyersdale after one season, HOPE for Hyndman had an opening and Sheldon was recently hired to take over the reigns.
   I'll have more on this for the Bedford Gazette at an upcoming date, but I do know that Sheldon was the only applicant for the position. He was initially hesitant to move into the head chair as he has other time commitments, but when nobody else put in their name, Sheldon wanted to make sure there was a coach in place.
   To me, this is a win-win scenario for the school and for the former state runner-up. In being on staff for a number of years despite the change in school (public to charter), Sheldon has built a good rapport with the Hyndman kids. The Hornets always seem to struggle with filling weight classes, but they do tend to have standout wrestlers from time to time despite the low numbers. Sheldon was one of them for sure, and his experiences should benefit those athletes who are in the room.
   Sheldon's hire has added to a busy time amongst District 5 schools changing wrestling coaches. While we already knew of Sines' return to Meyersdale, Eric Knopsnyder recently reported that Somerset hired former D5 official Brandon Boburchock, while Conemaugh Township will have James Otten at the helm. That link is here - http://wrestlingpa.com/2015/10/new-coaches-in-district-5/.

Bedford Gazette File Photo

   Hyndman native Logan Sheldon, seen here in the 2009 state tournament where he finished second at 130 pounds, was recently named HOPE for Hyndman's varsity coach. Sheldon was a three-time state qualifier with the Hornets and won 120 bouts in his high school career.

Class AA State Team Rankings - Preseason Edition

   One month from today, wrestling teams in Pennsylvania can begin official practices for the 2015-16 high school season. Of course, there are plenty of happenings set to go already from a national standpoint, with the Who's No. 1 and Night of Conflict events taking place this weekend, and the Super 32 Tournament over the Halloween weekend.
   Locally, it is a much anticipated year with a number of storylines. I plan to have much more on those things in the coming days and weeks.
   Just to whet your appetite for now though, I've put together my top five preseason teams in Class AA.

Spring Into Sports Class AA Team Rankings - Oct. 16

1. Reynolds
   Why the Raiders are here - Reynolds, third in the state duals last season, is primed to do better this time around. Four state placewinners, including champion Cole Matthews (42-6 at 120) and runner-up Seth Hogue (41-6 at 126), are set to return. The other two are heavyweights Cole Rickert (36-11 at 220) and Gene Ringer (42-11 at 285), who were seventh and sixth in the state, respectively. Also back is Gage Bayless (34-13 at 113), while incoming freshman Beau Bayless (PJW qualifier) could make an strong impact in the lightweights. The key for Reynolds appears to be how the lineup from about 145-195 fills in.
2. Chestnut Ridge
   Why the Lions are here - The defending state runner-ups are definite title contenders again in 2015-16. With three returning state placewinners and some other good talent, Chestnut Ridge is positioned to be the best team in this region. Lehigh recruit Aaron Burkett is a two-time state medalist after taking second last year (41-6 at 106). West Virginia signee Conner Buttry took third at 195 (42-5), and Justin McCoy was sixth at 120 (38-8). Dylan Williams, Levi Hobson, and Morgan Deremer are other names to watch for the Lions. And we can't forget about freshman Jared McGill, who's a former PJW champion and multiple-time placewinner at the junior level. He was second last season. Buttry appears to be fully healthy after suffering another knee injury in February, while Williams also looks like he's on the quick mend after an offseason injury.
3. Wyalusing
   Why the Rams are here - Wyalusing was one of the surprises of last year's Class AA state duals, taking fourth after losing in the semifinals to Chestnut Ridge. The Rams are slated to have seven wrestlers who had at least 24 wins last year back, fronted by fourth-place state medalist Collin Edsell (44-7 at 138). Creighton Edsell (44-7 at 132) and Josh Haley (41-9 at 120) also had over 40 wins and were state qualifiers.
4. Montoursville
   Why the Warriors are here - I put another District 4 team in the mix here with Montoursville, where five state qualifiers, including three medalists, should be back on the mat. Keith Batkowski (38-6 at 138) and Gavin Hoffman (41-6 at 170) were sixth in Class AA, while Garrett Hoffman (44-3 at 182) was eighth after entering the state tournament undefeated. Overall, Montoursville has 12 potential returnees who won at least 10 bouts in 2014-15.
5. Bermudian Springs
   Why the Eagles are here - Three state qualifiers and 10 wrestlers who won in the double digits a season ago have Bermudian Springs as my top team in District 3 and No. 5 in my preseason state rankings. Austin Clabaugh (42-9 at 120), Noah Fleshman (30-13 at 160) and Brady Linebaugh (36-4 at 285) all reached Hershey, while Ashton West won 33 bouts at 152. Bayley Oberlander was 25-4 at 106, and would have likely been at least a state qualifier had he not suffered a season-ending injury. Bermudian should also have incoming PJW champion Chase Dull in the lineup.
Others to keep an eye on
 — Boiling Springs, Brookville, Greenville, Northern Lehigh, Saucon Valley, South Fayette

District 5 Tournament to relocate?

   It seems very likely that the District 5 Tournament will not be held at Windber in late February.
   Due to the ongoing construction project at WAHS, whether the gymnasium will be ready and the lack of parking because of it means the event will probably be held at a new location in 2016.
   Rumors have persisted regarding this for a few months, and I've had more than a handful of people in the past couple of weeks ask me about it.
   While nothing has been set in stone yet, there are two options that are reportedly being looked at.
— The tournament will be held at either Bedford, Chestnut Ridge, or North Star, and be run as a two-day event on February 26-27.
— The tournament will be a one-day event at UPJ on February 20. With this option, there would be a two-week break between the district and regional tournaments, as is the case each year with District 6-AA.
   I spoke with Bedford athletic director Dan Baker, who told me he hadn't yet been contacted about any such proposal, though he would welcome it with open arms. Of course, Bedford does hold the Thomas Subaru Tournament each January, which usually fields between 25 and 30 schools. Despite some drawbacks regarding seating, parking, and other variables, I think the Bedford people do an excellent job with it, and it would be a suitable alternative for the district tournament and its 12 teams. I would also think that Chestnut Ridge and North Star could be fine sites to use.
   In hindsight, if Everett had been able to construct a new gymnasium as part of its renovation project a couple of years ago, that probably would have been the alternative. At the time, before the gym idea was scrapped from the construction, I had all but confirmed that Everett and Windber would have held the district tournament on a rotational basis.