Think about wrestling’s grueling aspects.
Hours of drilling. Sore muscles and battered bones. Sweat-covered shirts, shorts and socks.
Philipsburg-Osceola coach Tim McCamley didn’t need to witness the difficult stuff to realize this season wouldn’t be like previous ones. All he needed to see was a few swipes of a pen.
“I knew when signups started,” he said. “Just knowing the kids that were back that we had the room. ...I knew it was going to be a whole different attitude.”
P-O held registration in late- October. Three months later, the Mounties are still going strong.
The names on McCamley’s initial list now compose one of the district’s top Class AAA teams. The Mounties (9-2) are a lock to end a streak of nine straight losing seasons and could be serious factors in the District 6 team and individual tournaments.
McCamley, the program’s former junior high head coach, has coached the varsity team since 2007-08. He said the Mounties are wrestling as a team this year. The camaraderie is apparent in the team’s results.
P-O opened the season by winning its own Mountaineer Tournament. Losses to Bellefonte and Central Mountain followed, but the Mounties won 12 of 14 place bouts to finish second at Brockway’s Big Dog Tournament.
“That was big for us,” McCamley said. “They came out with a lot more confidence. They helped each other. They pushed each other on the mat. Everybody was sitting in the corner and watching everybody wrestle.”
The positive vibes carried into January. The Mounties are 9-0 this month, with a criteria triumph over Bald Eagle Area and five victories at Juniata’s Junior- Senior Duals.
The lineup includes no glaring holes. Sophomore Chris Thompson entered this weekend’s New Oxford Tournament with a 23-0 record at 106 pounds; Andrew Greenawalt, Jared Smith, Logan Walstrom, Jeffrey Thompson and Jay Prentice are a combined 89-19 from 138 to 170 pounds; and young upperweights Bub Lumadue and Nick Gray are improving with the help of veteran 195- pounder Brad Anstine.
“The kids have a lot of pride,” McCamley said. “Every kid has wrestled with a lot of pride from the first time they stepped on the mat. They are really pushing each other hard to make each other better.”
McCamley is guarded as February approaches. Midseason injuries, including one to returning state qualifier Nick Gurol in 2010, slowed some of his previous teams.
“I’m not playing all my cards just yet,” McCamley said. “You just have to play the hand your dealt. You’re trying to peak in February and balancing that with putting a nice dual meet team out there.”
Down to 106
The 106-pound weight class has a new entry.
State College sophomore Mike Kauffman dropped to 106 after beginning the season at 113. His move bolsters a division that includes Thompson and returning District 6 Class AAA champion Travis Giedroc of Bald Eagle Area.
Giedroc, a junior, defeated Kauffman 7-1 in last year’s 103-pound district final. Thompson blanked Giedroc 3-0 earlier this month.
Kauffman isn’t easing into the 106-pound class. He wrestled Powerade Tournament runner-up Ricky Cavallo at last weekend’s Red Raider Rumble. Kauffman lost 8-1, but went 4-1 on the weekend.
Kauffman started managing his weight last fall to prepare for the drop. State College coach Chad Dubin said Kauffman made weight by a half-pound last weekend.
“Mike has been working on his diet since September,” Dubin said. “He has been disciplined. He did it the right way. He’s been eating the right way and that’s why we think he has a chance of winning a state title.”
Reversals
Central Mountain improved to 10-0 by defeating Shikellamy 56-11 on Tuesday. The Wildcats have won 63 of 79 contested bouts since 152-pounder Dillon Gavlock returned to the lineup. ... Eighteen of BEA senior James Grieb’s 19 victories are by fall. Grieb has 10 first-period pins.
Guy Cipriano covers wrestling for the Centre Daily Times. He can be reached at 231-4643 or gciprian@centredaily.com. Follow the Centre Daily Times’ wrestling overage @cdtguy on Twitter.
