High School Sports

Here are Centre County’s high school wrestling leaders through Feb. 9

It was quite the week of wrestling for Centre County’s teams.

For the first time in 13 years, a Centre County school competed in the PIAA Dual Championships in Hershey. State College went 1-2.

Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte and Penns Valley had perfect weeks, each going 2-for-2.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy, Philipsburg-Osceola, the Eagles and the Rams all have postseason tournaments to look forward to this week. State College and the Red Raiders will have a week to prepare for their postseason, but Bellefonte has one last dual on Tuesday with Shikellamy.

Let’s take a look at this week’s leaders.

Wins

Another week has come and gone, and the Wolves’ Caleb Dowling and Tyler Stoltzfus still remain No. 1 and No. 2, respectively.

The pair were joined on the 30-plus win club this week by the Little Lions’ Hayden Cunningham. The freshman has exactly 30 wins after collecting three in State College’s PIAA duals.

Cunningham received a forfeit against Seneca Valley in the first round. His other two wins took just under two minutes to get as both were pins.

Cunningham’s teammate Lance Urbas also went 3-0 for the Little Lions. He is tied with former teammate Jude Swisher, of Bellefonte, for 29 on the season. They are alone in fourth.

Urbas had three bonus-point victories. He earned a 16-1 technical fall against Seneca Valley, pinned Garnet Valley’s David Dorf in 28 seconds in the first round of consolations and received a forfeit against Cathedral Prep in the second round of consolations.

Swisher had multiple bonus-point wins too. He pinned Clearfield’s Peyton Smay on Tuesday and pinned the Mounties’ Scott Frantz on Thursday.

Five wrestlers are tied for sixth with 28 victories in Bald Eagle Area’s Coen Bainey, Cooper Gilham and Gage McClenahan, and Bellefonte’s Alex Coppolo and State College’s Owen Woolcott. Bainey, Gilham and Woolcott each added two wins this week to get to 28.

Bainey had a fall against Huntingdon on Tuesday, and received a forfeit against Shikellamy on Saturday. Gilham had a pair of falls. Woolcott had a technical fall against Garnet Valley and earned a pin against Cathedral Prep.

In all, the county has 18 wrestlers that have 25-plus wins on the season. There are a total of 26 wrestlers with 20-plus wins with three collecting No. 20 this week. There are four others needing just one more win for 20 on the season.

Here’s who joined the 20-plus win club this week:

Bellefonte: Tyler Benner (20 wins) might not have gotten his 20th win in the way he would’ve liked. Benner received a forfeit win against P-O on Thursday.

Philipsburg-Osceola: The Mounties had a pair in Nick Coudriet (21) and Gabe Dunkelberger (20) collect No. 20 this week. Coudriet’s came first with a forfeit against Penns Valley on Tuesday. Dunkelberger topped Coppolo 1-0 on Thursday.

Bellefonte’s Tyler Benner was able to secure his 20th win of the season this week, which was a forfeit against Philipsburg-Osecola.
Bellefonte’s Tyler Benner was able to secure his 20th win of the season this week, which was a forfeit against Philipsburg-Osecola. Abby Drey Centre Daily Times, file

Pins

Leader Malachi DuVall had been rather silent as of late, not being able to collect any falls. It changed this week.

The junior had two pins this week to get to 22 on the year. He stuck the Mounties’ Luke Hughes on Tuesday in 1:31. On Thursday, DuVall pinned West Branch’s William Herring in 3:43.

McClenahan picked up pin No. 19 on Tuesday against Huntingdon. The Cornell commit pinned Thomas McDivitt in 34 seconds. His 19 falls are tied for second with Bellefonte’s Ethan Richner.

As previously mentioned, Swisher had two falls this week, which gives him 18 on the year. He is alone in fourth place.

Cunningham, who had two more falls this week, moved up the leaderboard as he has 17 this season. Both pins came on Friday during the Little Lions’ consolation round duals. He is tied with Stoltzfus for fifth.

The Red Raiders’ Aidan O’Shea collected his 15th pin of the season this week. He stuck Clearfield’s Evan Davis in 1:45 to climb into a tie for seventh with the Wolves’ Keegan Rothrock and Woolcott, who earned his 15th pin of the season on Friday.

Bainey and Urbas are part of a trio that includes Coppolo that have 14 falls on the season. They are tied for 10th in the county. Bainey and Urbas were able to earn one pin a piece this week.

Here’s who earned their 10th fall this week:

Bald Eagle Area: The Eagles had a duo in Drew Koleno (11 falls) and Jeffre Piffer (10) get their 10th this week. They each came in the same dual. Piffer’s was the quickest in 2:30 over Huntingdon’s Devin Grubb. Koleno stuck the Bearcats’ Chandler Lavuer in 4:28.

Bellefonte: Max Barrier (10) became the eighth Red Raiders’ wrestler to have 10-plus pins. Barrier’s victory came with 14 seconds remaining with Clearfield’s Jon Doran.

Bald Eagle Area’s Drew Koleno had two pins this week. His pin on Tuesday against Huntingdon was his 10th of the year.
Bald Eagle Area’s Drew Koleno had two pins this week. His pin on Tuesday against Huntingdon was his 10th of the year. Abby Drey Centre Daily Times, file

Technical Falls

The top three remained the same with Dowling and Penns Valley’s Clayton Royer holding down the top spot with 10 technical falls. Neither added one this week and neither did the third-place wrestler in St. Joseph’s Zack Witmer, who has seven on the season.

Richner has some company in fourth this week as teammate Ethan Rossman, Urbas and Woolcott joined him with four technical falls on the season.

Rossman collected a 17-1 win over Clearfield’s Hayden Kavolick in 4:50 on Tuesday. Urbas’ first match in the PIAA duals was a 16-1 defeat of Seneca Valley’s Marshall Anderson in 4:56 on Thursday.

Woolcott’s came on Friday morning over Garnet Valley’s Daniel Husain in 4:55. Woolcott shut out Husain 15-0.

Bellefonte’s Lane Aikey earned his third technical fall this week. He shut out the Mounties’ Nick Bryan 15-0 on Thursday. Aikey went from a tie for 10th to a tie for eighth with Stoltzfus and State College’s Clayton Leidy.

Fastest Falls & Major Decisions

There was a new time added this week on the fastest falls list. It came from Cunningham in the PIAA Dual Championships.

Cunningham threw a three-quarter nelson on Garnet Valley’s Francis Reagan for the fall in 14 seconds, which ties him for 10th with St. Joseph’s Amonn Ohl. Cunningham and McClenahan are the only wrestlers in the top 10 who aren’t from either St. Joseph’s or Bellefonte.

The leader remained the same for major decisions with P-O’s Chase Chapman, who has six major decisions.

However, Coppolo and Dunkelberger climbed closer to Chapman as they each earned their fifth major decision this week. Coppolo had a 15-4 win over Clearfield’s Justin Hand on Tuesday. Dunkelberger topped the Rams’ Malachi Thompson 13-2 on Tuesday.

Aikey and Penns Valley’s Cole Felker and Nate Long, climbed into a 19-wrestler tie for ninth with two major decisions on the season. They each got their victories on Tuesday.

Aikey had a 16-4 win over Clearfield’s Nolan Barr. Felker, who just returned to the mat at the beginning of January, topped P-O’s Dominick Shaw 9-1. Long used a 13-1 win over Bryan in the same dual.

Philipsburg-Osceola’s Gabe Dunkelberger earned his fifth major decision this week when he topped Penns Valley’s Malachi Thompson (not pictured) 13-2 on Tuesday.
Philipsburg-Osceola’s Gabe Dunkelberger earned his fifth major decision this week when he topped Penns Valley’s Malachi Thompson (not pictured) 13-2 on Tuesday. Abby Drey Centre Daily Times, file

Wins

NameSchoolTotal
1. Caleb DowlingSt. Joseph’s32
2. Tyler StoltzfusSt. Joseph’s31
3. Hayden CunninghamState College30
T4. Jude SwisherBellefonte29
T4. Lance UrbasState College29
T6. Coen BaineyBald Eagle Area28
T6. Cooper GilhamBald Eagle Area28
T6. Gage McClenahanBald Eagle Area28
T6. Alex CoppoloBellefonte28
T6. Owen WoolcottState College28

Falls

NameSchoolTotal
1. Malachi DuVallPenns Valley22
T2. Gage McClenahanBald Eagle Area19
T2. Ethan RichnerBellefonte19
4. Jude SwisherBellefonte18
T5. Tyler StoltzfusSt. Joseph’s17
T5. Hayden CunninghamState College17
T7. Aidan O’SheaBellefonte15
T7. Keegan RothrockSt. Joseph’s15
T7. Owen WoolcottState College15
T10. 3 wrestlers

14

Fastest Fall

NameSchoolTime
1. Amonn OhlSt. Joseph’s:05
2. Caleb DowlingSt. Joseph’s:07
T3. Tyler BennerBellefonte:08
T3. Caleb DowlingSt. Joseph’s:08
T5. Gage McClenahanBald Eagle Area:11
T5. Stephen IvicicBellefonte:11
T5. Amonn OhlSt. Joseph’s:11
T8. Caleb DowlingSt. Joseph’s:12
T8. Tyler StoltzfusSt. Joseph’s:12
T10. Amonn OhlSt. Joseph’s:14
T10. Hayden CunninghamState College:14

Technical Falls

NameSchoolTotal
T1. Clayton RoyerPenns Valley10
T1. Caleb DowlingSt. Joseph’s10
3. Zack WitmerSt. Joseph’s7
T4. Ethan RichnerBellefonte4
T4. Ethan RossmanBellefonte4
T4. Lance UrbasState College4
T4. Owen WoolcottState College4
T8. Lane AikeyBellefonte3
T8. Tyler StoltzfusSt. Joseph’s3
T8. Clayton LeidyState College3

Major Decisions

NameSchoolTotal
1. Chase ChapmanPhilipsburg-Osceola6
T2. Alex CoppoloBellefonte5
T2. Gabe DunkelbergerPhilipsburg-Osceola5
4. Lance UrbasState College4
T5. Coen BaineyBald Eagle Area3
T5. Cooper GilhamBald Eagle Area3
T5. Ethan RossmanBellefonte3
T5. Clayton LeidyState College3
T9. 19 wrestlers

2
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Nate Cobler
Centre Daily Times
Nate Cobler is a part-time reporter covering all things wrestling, either Penn State or Centre County’s high schools, for the Centre Daily Times. He’ll also cover other sports too. When he isn’t writing about sports, he is working for a local mortgage broker, Providence Mortgage Group.
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