WRESTLING

Chiseled athletes take stage in 215-pound class

By Guy Cipriano

A retired wrestling writer who can't stay away from this addictive sport made the same comment during the District 6 and Northwest Regional Championships.

For the CDT/Sean Simmers

Bald Eagle Area junior Jon Gingrich, left, finished fourth in a grueling 215-pound weightclass last weekend in the PIAA Class AAA tournament. The class was stacked with chiseled athletes, seven of whom could return to Hershey next season.

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“The 215-pounders are the most put together guys here,” he said.

The younger writer should be scolded.

He heard the words.

But it took a trip to Hershey for the stubborn writer to believe his former boss.

The PIAA Class AAA Championships featured multiple intriguing weight classes, but the athletes at 215 were some of the tournament’s most imposing and best.

The presence of Bald Eagle Area junior Jon Gingrich, who wrestled a wonderful tournament to place fourth, convinced us to watch the weight class intently.

Gingrich — one of those put together wrestlers who impressed the retired wrestling writer — epitomizes why the PIAA’s implementation of the 215-pound class in 2002-03 was good for the sport.

Gingrich plays defensive line and running back for BEA’s football team. He throws the shot put, discus and javelin, and runs the 110 high hurdles for the track and field team.

Forcing him to cut to 189 would be cruel. Forcing him to compete at heavyweight would make him wrestle a different style, one that relies more on strength and positioning and less on athletic ability.

In Hershey, Gingrich received an opportunity to face athletes with similar abilities.

He went 4-2, losing to Great Valley’s Carl Bucholz in his first and final bouts.

Bucholz has committed to wrestle collegiately at Rutgers. He also played offensive guard on his school’s football team.

“That kid’s a junior, right?” Bucholz said of Gingrich. “He’s going to be real tough next year.”

Gingrich said he enjoyed testing himself against athletes such as Bucholz. On his way to the consolation finals, Gingrich defeated St. Marys junior Sean Sadosky, an all-state linebacker.

After defeating Sadosky 5-4, Gingrich edged Warwick’s Antonio Giorgio 8-6. Giorgio entered the tournament undefeated and ranked No. 2 nationally by Amateur Wrestling News.

Giorgio dropped into the consolation bracket after a semifinal loss to Selinsgrove’s Spencer Myers, an all-state defensive lineman. Giorgio and Myers featured physiques that would impress the retired wrestling writer.

Central Mountain’s Glenn Barnes, Bethel Park’s Adam Lazenga and Cumberland Valley’s Travis Friend were other accomplished football players in the weight class. State College football fans, by the way, should remember Barnes, Lazenga and Friend from last fall.

“There were some great athletes at the weight,” Gingrich said.

Attempting shots in flurries helped Gingrich finish this past season 33-8. He never lost by more than two points. He wasn’t shutout, either.

He’s the third BEA 215-pounder in the last four years to reach the podium. Mike Cook won a state title in 2006 and Kevin Struble placed third in 2007. Struble entered “The Hole” throughout the season to train with Gingrich, who replaced Struble in 2007-08.

How does BEA keep producing state-caliber 215-pounders?

“That’s a good question,” said assistant coach Jade Thompson, who works with the program’s upperweights. “It’s just the fact that we have kids that do whatever we tell them to do. You can turn any kid into a good wrestler if they were willing to work hard. We have had those kids the last four years.”

Thompson said differences exist between Gingrich and the two previous standouts at the weight.

“They are completely different athletes,” said Thompson, a 1997 district champion at 171 pounds. “Jon is the best on his feet. Cook and Struble were both mat wrestlers. You have to take what the kid is good at and work with it. Athletic-wise Jon ranks right up there with them. He’s just a different athlete.”

Gingrich said he doesn’t know what weight he will wrestle in 2009-10.

He could see many of the same faces if he remains at 215. Both finalists — Connellsville’s Scott Gaffney and Myers — are juniors. Gaffney won the title with a 5-4 victory over an injured Myers. Giorgio, a second-place finisher at 189 last year, also has another year to capture an elusive state title. Sixth-place finisher Scott Syrek of Owen J. Roberts, Sadosky and Lazenga also return. Sadoksy and Lazenga met in the seventh-place bout.

All seven returning placewinners should add more muscle during the spring, summer and fall.

“What I liked about this year is that 215 pounds is getting to the point where there aren’t a lot of real pudgy kids,” Thompson said. “They looked like they started at 225 and cut to 215. That’s what the physical style of the 215-pounder looks like. You usually had these kids with a little bit of a pot-belly. It’s not there. They are moving around like 125- pounders.”

Medals, medals, medals

Gingrich’s performance helped BEA finish this decade with 23 state placewinners.

That total would lead most counties. But the Eagles must share Centre County honors with State College, which also produced 23 placewinners from 2000-09.

The county compiled 65 placewinners during the decade, an astounding total considering only five wrestling programs exist here.

State College led the county with five champions — three-timer Nathan Galloway, Matt Storniolo and Matt Kocher. BEA produced three champs — two-timer Quentin Wright and Cook. Former P-O heavyweight Jon Condo also captured a title.

State College recorded at least one placewinner every year besides 2009. BEA’s only nonplacewinner season was 2000. At least one Eagle has reached the PIAA awards podium in 27 of the past 28 years.

The next decade should start strong. The county will return four previous placewinners — Bellefonte’s Mitchell Port, Tom Traxler, State College’s Erik Galloway and Gingrich — along with three other state qualifiers.

Guy Cipriano covers wrestling for the Centre Daily Times. He can be reached at 231-4643 or gciprian@centredaily.com.