State College, Bellefonte wrestling teams eagerly await Thursday dual at Lock Haven

Twelve years ago, State College coach Ryan Cummins experienced what the Little Lions and Red Raiders will soon be a part of themselves: Wrestling in a college facility, in front of a college crowd.

Back in 1996, Cummins wrestled for Warwick High School — ironically — against State College at the Bryce Jordan Center. The high school dual came before the BJC hosted a match between Penn State and Iowa. It was a unique day, something Cummins will never forget.

Cummins and Red Raiders coach Mike Maney are thrilled that their guys will have the same memory.

State College and Bellefonte are ready to soak in Thursday night when they square off at Lock Haven’s Thomas Fieldhouse prior to the Bald Eagles’ matchup with Edinboro. Both junior high teams will wrestle, followed by the varsity squads. The No. 23 Bald Eagles and Fighting Scots are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

“You’re in front of a college crowd,” the Little Lions coach said. “A lot of people will be there early to watch. There’ll be more numbers than you’re used to, a bigger crowd than we’re accustomed to. Hopefully, our guys use that and rise to the occasion.”

Added Maney: “It’s nice to have that pipeline and that exposure where you can compete right in your backyard in Division I.”

The opportunity to wrestle in a college atmosphere doesn’t come around often. Cummins can’t recall a time the Little Lions wrestled in a Division I setting, and while the Red Raiders performed at Edinboro five years ago, it isn’t something Maney and the program take for granted.

Maney, Cummins and Lock Haven coach Scott Moore — all longtime friends — helped make Thursday night happen.

Maney, a Lock Haven wrestling alumnus, takes the Red Raiders to the Bald Eagles’ facility in the offseason for team camp. As a Lock Haven graduate, he knows Moore well, and when they caught up in the summer, ideas were flying.

“I know he threw it out to a few other schools, but we seized the opportunity right away,” Maney recalled. “We said we want in.”

Added Cummins: “That probably got the wheels rolling.”

Bellefonte’s coach reached out to Cummins, who wrestled at Penn State from 1998 to 2003 and had Moore as a teammate in Happy Valley.

The two former Nittany Lions chatted, Cummins touched base with State College administrators, and by November — when the programs were solidifying their schedules — the thought became reality.

When Maney and Cummins told their wrestlers, they were ecstatic. As recently as Wednesday afternoon, following State College’s final pre-match practice, the Little Lions were buzzing leaving the North Building.

As they should be.

Cummins — who remembers pinning his State College opponent at 189 pounds at the Bryce Jordan Center — said it was something he had never experienced before.

On Thursday night, the Red Raiders and Little Lions will be in the same boat.

“Most of these guys have wrestled their whole lives,” Lock Haven’s coach said. “But an opportunity to wrestle in an event like this; this is something that these kids are going to remember about the sport and remember about whether they win or lose. Just the opportunity they had.

“That’s something they’ll carry with them the rest of their lives. They’ll always have a story to tell about where they competed.”

This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 9:40 PM with the headline "State College, Bellefonte wrestling teams eagerly await Thursday dual at Lock Haven."