18 county wrestlers earn regional spots by making semifinals of District 6 Class 2A Championships
At the beginning of the season, Centre County’s programs were set up to have a special postseason.
Friday was the beginning of the District 6 Class 2A championships. If things continue like they started, the postseason will live up to expectations.
Bald Eagle Area, Penns Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola and St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy combined to have 18 semifinalists. The Rams (6) and Wolves (7) have 13 of those regional qualifiers with the Eagles (3) and Mounties (2) making up the rest.
The Rams lead the 27-team race with 102 points after the first day of the two-day tournament to outpace the Wolves, who are tied with Forest Hills for second, with 84.5 points.
There are 18 wrestlers still alive in the consolations needing at least two more wins to have a shot at making the Southwest Regional Tournament next weekend in Indiana, Pa., at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Here’s a look at how each team finished the first day:
Bald Eagle Area
Semifinalists: Cooper Gilham (113 pounds), Dylan Bisel (182) and David Close (195)
Others alive: Brady Proctor (160), Drake Holderman (126), Drew Koleno (145), Garrett Giedroc (120), Noah Foltz (138) and Richard Taylor (152)
Eliminated: Alex Holt (0-2, 132), Benjamin Yetsko (0-2, 170) and Chandler Burns (0-2, 220)
Team score: 60 points, 8th overall
Recap: Both Gilham and Close had to win two matches apiece to get to the semifinals. Close had two bonus-point victories to Gilham’s one.
Close pinned Juniata Valley’s TJ Wilson in 34 seconds to open his day. He followed that with 12-1 major decision over Philipsburg-Osceola’s Dylan Yastro.
Gilham opened with a fall of Juniata Valley’s Collin Sparr in 3 minutes, 35 seconds, and then topped the Mounties’ Nick Coudriet 9-2.
Bisel has very few in his weight class. He didn’t have to wrestle until the night session, but he didn’t take long. Bisel, who is the top seed, pinned Central’s Michael Fowkes in 1:14.
“It is a fun tournament. A lot of good, competitive wrestling,” BEA coach Ron Guenot said. “Overall, I think we are doing OK as a team. We beat some guys, who were seeded higher than us, and that’s what you like to see as a coach.”
Holderman and Koleno both picked up upset wins. Holderman was the 11th seed and pinned No. 6 Matt Himes of Marion Center in 3:21 to begin the tournament. Holderman, ultimately, fell in the quarterfinals to Penn Cambria’s Chase Proudfit in a 17-2 loss.
Koleno, who was the 13th seed, pinned Huntingdon’s Briar Deline, who was the fourth seed, in 3:01. He also fell in the quarterfinals with a 9-0 loss to Central’s Logan Marko.
Giedroc was the only other Eagles wrestler to record a win in the winner’s bracket before falling into the consolations.
“I was pretty pleased with things. I thought we did well,” Guenot added. “A couple of places there we had a chance to knock off a higher seed than us, but we did get some to go our way. I think our kids are wrestling well. Hopefully, it carries into (Saturday).”
Penns Valley
Semifinalists: Baylor Shunk (120), Clayton Royer (132), Malachi DuVall (138), Abraham Allebach (160), Carter Felker (195) and Dillon Covalt (220)
Others alive: Cole Felker (145), Dristen Wolfe (152) and Zach Royer (170)
Eliminated: Hadden Yearick (0-2, 106), Justin Darlington (2-2, 113) and Nate Long (2-2, 126)
Team score: 102 points, 1st overall
Recap: The Rams have the second-highest number of semifinalists to St. Joseph’s seven.
Shunk, Royer, DuValll, Allebach, Carter Felker and Covalt have been crucial to Penns Valley’s success all year long. It was no surprise to see them leading the way again.
“These guys know the game. The seniors know this is their last at it,” Penns Valley coach Joel Brinker said. “We’re not putting pressure (on them). This year, this is what they’ve done. They show up each and every match. I’m going to really miss them.”
All six have scored bonus points in some fashion with DuVall, Covalt, Royer and Shunk earning multiple such wins. DuVall and Covalt pinned their two opponents. Royer and Shunk tallied a pin and tech fall apiece. Allebach and Carter Felker opened their days with pins.
However, it wasn’t all about the top six. Cole Felker, Wolfe and Royer have battled their way through the consolations. Cole Felker had two falls, Wolfe had two wins by outscoring his opponents 4-1, and Royer had a fall to remain alive.
“They knew this was going to be tough. They are battling,” Brinker said. “It is a team thing and they know it. You get six in the semis, it’s pretty cool. We’re very happy, and they’re very happy.”
Philipsburg-Osceola
Semifinalists: Chase Chapman (132) and Hunter Weitoish (152)
Others alive: Austin Foster (120), Dylan Yastro (195), Gabe Dunkelberger (126), Jimmy Bryan (285), Matt Shimmel (160), Nick Bryan (106), Nick Coudriet (113), Parker Moore (182), Tristan Beauseigneur (145) and Tyler Anderson (220)
Eliminated: Alex Dunkelberger (0-2, 138) and Cody Beauseigneur (2-2, 170)
Team score: 70.5 points, 5th overall
Recap: The Mounties were one of just two teams to have a full lineup of 14 wrestlers. They have the second-highest remaining wrestlers with 12. Westmont Hilltop and Huntingdon each have 13, which is how many the Hilltoppers entered in the championships.
Coach Brad Pataky said the first day was a real eye opener for his team.
“A lot of our guys came in here thinking that it might be a little easier,” Pataky said with a laugh. “I think they were woken up. In my opinion, this district is tougher than triple-A. It is a grind.”
Chapman and Weitoish had no problems getting to the semifinals. Chapman opened with a fall in 3:03 and followed that with a 12-5 win in the quarterfinals.
Weitoish, who is fighting an ankle injury, also opened with a fall but added another bonus-point victory with an 11-3 major decision in the quarterfinals.
Bryan, Coudriet, Dunkelberger, Beauseigneur, Moore and Yastro all made the quarterfinals before falling into the consolations.
It is safe to say they responded well.
“Absolutely,” Pataky said. “Our guys came in excited to wrestle. I think they enjoyed that challenge. They enjoy overcoming adversity, and I think that showed today in a lot of our bouts.”
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy
Semifinalists: Amonn Ohl (120), Zack Witmer (132), Caleb Dowling (145), Keegan Rothrock (152), Tyler Stoltzfus (160), Zach Rosenberger (170) and Kolby Franklin (195)
Others alive: None
Eliminated: Mike Lavallee (0-2, 138)
Team score: 84.5 points, tied for 2nd overall
Recap: The Wolves had the most No. 1 seeds of any team with six, so it was no surprise that they also have the most semifinalists.
Those No. 1 guys in Ohl, Witmer, Dowling, Rothrock, Stoltzfus and Franklin all showed they were deserving of those marks too.
“All of our top seeds did what they had to do,” St. Joseph’s coach Pat Flynn said. “We got to wrestle a six full minutes. Hopefully, we can get into the finals right off the bat (Saturday).”
Ohl did what he does best, and that’s pin people. He wrestled a total of 77 seconds on Friday. Dowling was the only other wrestler to record two pins on the day. All the others still managed to score bonus points.
Franklin, Stoltzfus and Rothrock all had a pin and technical fall win on the day. Franklin recorded the fastest pin in 11 seconds.
Rosenberger had a pin and a 16-11 win, which at one point he led 16-8. Witmer had two technical falls, outscoring his opponents 37-4.
“We have seven guys going to regionals for us, so I think that is a record,” Flynn said. “I’m real happy with their effort. They prepared well. I’m super proud.”
D6 Class 2A Championships
Friday at Altoona
Team key: Bald Eagle Area (BEA), Bellwood-Antis (BA), Bishop McCort (BM), Blairsville (B), Cambria Heights (CH), Central Cambria (CC), Central (C), Claysburg-Kimmel (CK), Forest Hills (FH), Glendale (G), Huntingdon (H), Juniata Valley (JV), Ligonier Valley (LV), Marion Center (MC), Moshannon Valley (MV), Mount Union (MU), Penn Cambria (PC), Penns Valley (PV), Philipsburg-Osceola (P-O), Portage (P), Richland (R), St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy (SJ), Southern Huntingdon (SH), Tyrone (T), United (U), West Branch (WB), Westmont Hilltop (WH)
Team scores: 1. Penns Valley 102, T2. Forest Hills 84.5, T2. St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy 84.5, 4. Westmont Hilltop 81.5, 5. Philipsburg-Osceola 70.5, 6. Huntingdon 70, 7. West Branch 63, 8. Bald Eagle Area 60, 9. Glendale 59.5, T10. Marion Center 56, T10. Penn Cambria 56
Quarterfinals
106: Zachary Brandis, CC, dec. Nick Bryan, P-O, 4-3; 113: Cooper Gilham, BEA, dec. Nick Coudriet, P-O, 9-2; 120: Amonn Ohl, SJ, pinned Ian Crouch, C, :40; Jack Bruce, B, dec. Garrett Giedroc, BEA, 6-2; Baylor Shunk, PV, tech. fall Mason Walls, T, 20-3 (4:18); 126: Brock McMillen, G, tech. fall Gabe Dunkelberger, P-O, 15-0 (3:21); Chase Proudfit, PC, tech. fall Drake Holderman, BEA, 17-2 (4:58) 132: Zack Witmer, SJ, tech. fall Micah Delattre, MV, 20-3 (6:00); Chase Chapman, P-O, dec. Ryan Harbert, LV, 12-5; Clayton Royer, PV, tech. fall Brandon Holsinger, C, 17-1 (3:43) 138: Malachi DuVall, PV, pinned Alex Richner, MV, :34; 145: Caleb Dowling, SJ, pinned Zach Pyle, LV, :40; Logan Marko, C, major dec. Drew Koleno, BEA, 9-0; Tyler Kirkpatrick, CH, major dec. Tristan Beauseigneur, P-O, 11-0; 152: Keegan Rothrock, tech. fall Caleb Morgan, MU, 16-1 (5:45); Hunter Weitoish, P-O, major dec. Clayton Matson, LV, 11-3; 160: Tyler Stoltzfus, SJ, tech. fall Ryan Latshaw, FH, 16-0 (3:14); Abraham Allebach, PV, dec. Ethan Yingling, WB, 4-0; 170: Zach Rosenberger, SJ, dec. Tommy Hicks, T, 16-11; 182: Dylan Bisel, BEA, pinned Michael Fowkes, C, 1:14; JC Smychynsky, PC, pinned Parker Moore, P-O, 3:17; 195: Kolby Franklin, SJ, tech. fall Gage Peters, H, 20-3 (3:39); Carter Felker, PV, dec. Tanner Dluhos, WH, 4-1; David Close, BEA, major dec. Dylan Yastro, P-O, 12-1; 220: Dillon Covalt, PV, pinned Braeden Nevling-Ray, T, 1:46
Consolation Third Round
106: Connor Lamantia, WH, dec. Hadden Yearick, PV, 4-1; 113: Caden Reamer, H, dec. Justin Darlington, PV, 5-3; 120: Austin Foster, P-O, pinned Jestin Poruban, PC, 2:04; 126: Matthew Davis, CH, tech. fall Nate Long, PV, 15-0 (3:44); 132: Adam McCullough, CC, major dec. Alex Holt, BEA, 13-1; 138: Noah Foltz, BEA, dec. Payton Matson, LV, 5-2; 145: Cole Felker, PV, pinned Paul Mullen, PC, 1:37; 152: Dristen Wolfe, PV, dec. Blayde Shawley, CK, 3-1; Richard Taylor, BEA, pinned Wyatt Campbell, SH, 4:44; 160: Brady Proctor, BEA, major dec. Aidan Cattau, MC, 12-3; Matt Shimmel, P-O, pinned Jacob Davis, PC, 2:03; 170: Zach Royer, PV, pinned Corey Miller, FH, 2:19; Kyrie Miller, LV, pinned Cody Beauseigneur, P-O, 2:47; 220: Nathaniel Thompson, WB, pinned Chandler Burns, BEA, 4:57; Tyler Anderson, P-O, dec. Clayton Arnold, MU, 5-2; 285: Jimmy Bryan, P-O, dec. Corey Deist, LV, 3-2
Consolation Second Round
113: Darlington, PV, major dec. Parker Johnson, WB, 10-0; 120: A. Foster, P-O, pinned Austin Shoff, MV, 2:38; 126: Long, PV, dec. Bjorn Slguedsson, LV, 6-0; 138: Foltz, BEA, pinned Mike Lavallee, SJ, 1:52; Tanner Hall, C, pinned A. Dunkelberger, P-O, 1:25; 145: Co. Felker, PV, pinned Tyce Cantolina, WB, 2:16; 152: Wolfe, PV, dec. Jason Cutuli, R, 1-0; 170: Isaac Watson, P, dec. Benjamin Yetsko, BEA, 7-5; Beauseigneur, P-O, dec. Aaron Kough, SH, 7-0
Second Round
106: N. Bryan, P-O, pinned Eden Wagner, H, 1:21; Bryce Beatty, MU, major dec. Yearick, PV, 17-6; 113: Jackson Arrington, FH, tech. fall Darlington, PV, 21-3 (1:46); Coudriet, P-O, pinned Caden Chilcote, MU, :46; Gilham, BEA, pinned, Collin Sparr, JV, 3:35; 120: Ohl, SJ, pinned Issac Westrick, CH, :37; Giedroc, BEA, major dec. A. Foster, P-O, 15-5; Shunk, PV, pinned Michael Noon, FH, 2:19; 126: G. Dunkelberger, P-O, major dec. Josh Fleck, SH, 17-3; Holderman, BEA, pinned Matt Himes, MC, 3:21; Conner Polacek, WH, pinned Long, PV, 1:40; 132: Witmer, SJ, tech. fall Adam McCullough, CC, 17-1 (4:00); Micah DeLattre, MV, pinned Holt, BEA, 5:19; Chapman, P-O, pinned Zach Claycomb, CK, 3:03; C. Royer, PV, pinned Hayes Jones, WB, 3:04; 138: DuVall, pinned Tanner Hall, C, 1:51; Austin Washic, CC, pinned Foltz, BEA, 5:29; 145: Dowling, SJ, pinned, Co. Felker, PV, 2:31; Koleno, BEA, pinned Briar Deline, H, 3:01; T. Beauseigneur, P-O, dec. Scott Berardinelli, P, 8-6 (8-6); 152: Rothrock, SJ, pinned Lane Kocher, C, :44; Weitoish, P-O, pinned Wyatt Campbell, SH, 4:41; Clayton Matson, LV, pinned Taylor, BEA, 4:42; Hudson Holbay, WH, pinned Wolfe, PV, 1:06; 160: Stoltzfus, SJ, pinned Connor Sieber, MU, :26; Seth Link, CH, pinned Shimmel, P-O, 3:47; Allebach, PV, pinned Aidan Cattau, MC, 1:20; Ethan Yingling, WB, dec. Proctor, BEA, 3-2 (UTB2); 170: Derek Brown, PC, pinned C. Beauseigneur, P-O, :54; Rosenberger, SJ, pinned Isaac Watson, JV, :28; Mason Muto, WH, pinned Z. Royer, PV, 2:32; 182: Moore, P-O, pinned Mason Rodgers, FH, 3:36; 195: Franklin, SJ, pinned Kaileb Ghezzy, R, :11; Ca. Felker, PV, pinned Dominic Davis, P, 1:14; Yastro, P-O, dec. Marcus Wirfel, PC, 12-10 (SV); Close, BEA, pinned TJ Wilson, JV, :34; 220: Noah Gresh, WH, dec. Anderson, P-O, 3-2; Marc McCullough, U, tech. fall Burns, BEA, 16-0 (4:55); Covalt, PV, pinned Dominick Coracciolo, BA, :29; 285: Evan Pellegrine, BA, pinned J. Bryan, P-O, :12
First Round
113: Darlington, PV, pinned Brandt Patterson, PC, 1:28; 126: Long, PV, pinned Zayden Clark, MU, :55; 138: Vinnie Fry, MC, pinned Lavallee, :58; Payton Matson, LV, pinned A. Dunkelberger, P-O, 5:27; 145: Co. Felker, PV, pinned Greg Himes, B, 2:45; Koleno, BEA, pinned Cameron Fyock, G, 4:11; T. Beauseigneur, P-O, tech. fall. Nikolaus Smeal, MV, 15-0 (5:45); 152: Wolfe, PV, pinned Gavin Guillarmod, CC, 1:27; 170: C. Beauseigneur, P-O, pinned Will Harkleroad, MU, 1:59; Keegan Whitfield, MC, pinned Yetsko, BEA, 1:43
