State College wrestling aiming to change season around

Ian Barr didn’t hesitate Thursday in expressing frustration over his senior season.

The Little Lions’ 170-pounder knew his team’s season wouldn’t be easy with the loss of 11 seniors over the offseason. But he didn’t quite expect a 1-10 overall record or Thursday’s 50-25 loss to Chambersburg.

Still, the team’s lone senior starter and State College junior Cole Urbas are hoping to turn the season, and program, around. They know that change has to start with them.

“It’s up to older guys like me and Cole to at least keep them excited and keep their spirits up,” Barr said, “and let these guys know that in two years this is going to be a really good team with a lot of seniors and a lot of talent.”

Added Urbas: “We are definitely facing adversity this year. ... We have some guys stepping in as first-year wrestlers and doing the best they can. Everyone is just working their hardest to get better, and that’s all you can ask for.”

The potential is easy to see. State College has two freshmen in Lance Urbas and Owen Woolcott that are making immediate impacts. Lance, who competes at 160 pounds, is 12-4 this season and more than half of his wins have come with bonus points. The 120-pound Woolcott is 17-7 and has had his own fair share of bonus-point victories this season.

At sophomore, Clayton Leidy is back after an 18-5 season that included a third-place finish in the District 6 tournament at 106 pounds. This year Leidy is up a weight class and is 11-6. All three of the underclassmen were victorious Thursday — and their performances stood out to head coach Ryan Cummins.

“You see a guy like Lance Urbas putting two shots together, really attacking. He’s come a long way since the first match,” Cummins said. “Owen Woolcott (is) fighting hard and sprawling now. Leidy (is) doing well and working hard, putting shots together.”

State College’s last win came over a month ago on Dec. 14 against Jersey Shore (52-26). However, in that match the Little Lions received five forfeits.

Cummins, though, isn’t fazed with the losses. He’s more focused on things that aren’t reflected on the scoreboard.

“I’m telling them, ‘You got to keep your chin up. It is a process,’” he said. “‘You might not win a match, but I want to see you get a good takedown. I want to see you get a great setup and finish it.’ Little things like that will pay off down the road.”

For Cole Urbas and Barr, they are focused on changing the culture of the program. Barr — who lost 14-3 to the state’s No. 2 wrestler — noted that in his time on varsity, he feels as if the team has always hovered around .500. Urbas feels that commitment is key — and a recent event showed that commitment might not be too far away.

“We just had a ton of kids at Breakfast Club on Sunday morning to get an extra practice in,” Urbas said, referring to wrestling practice at Penn State’s Lorenzo Wrestling Complex. “I’m really proud of the guys that are putting in that extra to help out the team.”

The teams that the Little Lions face in the Mid Penn doesn’t make things any easier for Cummins and Co.

Chambersburg coach Matt Mentzer attested to that after Thursday’s match was over. He said his Trojans (12-2) are similar to State College in that they have eight of their 14 starters are underclassmen.

“We wrestled one senior tonight, so we are in a little bit of that,” he said. “The league we are in, there is a lot of growing pains. When you are wrestling Central Dauphin, Cumberland Valley and Mifflin County, the kids just got to keep plugging along and get better every day.”

That’s what Urbas and Barr are both hoping for. If they lead by example, the team will follow suit. Cummins knows the duo are more than capable of that role.

“They work hard at practice and push themselves; we expect the other guys to emulate that,” Cummins said. “It’s not something that is going to happen overnight and they know that. It just takes a little time. They know that, and they are working on it.”

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 10:38 PM with the headline "State College wrestling aiming to change season around."