Here’s a look at the 25 Centre County wrestlers set to make a run toward PIAA gold
Centre County is having one of the best years it’s had in high school wrestling in a long time.
State College claimed its first District 6 Class 3A dual team title since 2003, and Bellefonte just claimed its first PIAA Class 3A Northwest Regional team title since 2000.
However, one thing that the county hasn’t had in quite some time is a PIAA individual champion.
The last time Centre County had a state champ was in 2013, when Jacob Taylor did it for Bald Eagle Area. The county came close two years ago when St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s Caleb Dowling, Bald Eagle Area’s Gage McClenahan and Seth Koleno and State College’s Cole Urbas all made the finals, but they all lost.
There are 25 wrestlers headed to the Giant Center in Hershey this weekend looking to try break the curse. The Red Raiders have the most PIAA qualifiers with six. The Wolves have the next most with five.
The Little Lions and Eagles each have four apiece. Penns Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola have three apiece.
Here’s a look at each wrestler for each school:
Bellefonte
(Class 3A)
Aidan O’Shea, Soph., 113 pounds
Record: 34-8
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 2nd
First opponent: Dominic Findora, Downingtown West, Soph., 34-7, second round
Outlook: A year ago, O’Shea didn’t even qualify for regionals, now he’s headed to states for the first time. The sophomore was considered an underdog at last week’s Northwest Regional, but turned up his intensity level, wrestling to a second-place finish. If he stays on the path he’s on, O’Shea could win a couple matches at states.
Lane Aikey, Jr., 120 pounds
Record: 21-4
District finish: 1st
Regional finish: 1st
First opponent: Winner of Jimmy King, West Chester Rustin, Jr., 29-11 and Luis Vargas, Freedom, Sr., 39-5, second round
Outlook: Aikey will be appearing in his second straight PIAA Championships. He went 1-2 last year and mentioned recently that he came in “too cocky.” Nothing can prep a wrestler more for the PIAA Championships than experience, and Aikey has it. He has what it takes to make a run to the semifinals and earn his first state medal.
Jude Swisher, Soph., 126 pounds
Record: 36-3
District finish: 1st
Regional finish: 1st
First opponent: Winner of Eamonn Logue, Father Judge, Sr., 31-5 and Chance Babb, Boyertown, Soph., 25-10, second round
Outlook: Swisher will be appearing in his second straight PIAA Championship, but with a different team. Last year, the sophomore made it with State College at 113 pounds. He looks like he is peaking at the right time, dominating the regional tournament. His run toward gold could get derailed in the quarterfinals if he gets Waynesburg’s Rocco Welsh, who was winning high school tournaments as an eighth grader.
Ethan Richner, Jr., 160 pounds
Record: 32-2
District finish: 1st
Regional finish: 1st
First opponent: Winner of Matt Kidwell, Father Judge, Sr., 43-7 and Colby Romjue, Susquehannock, Sr., 29-2, second round
Outlook: Richner looks confident as ever in his wrestling. He finished seventh in the state last year at 152 pounds, and looks primed to finish even higher on the podium this year. Some might not have expected him to be where he is after suffering a knee injury at the beginning of February during the District 6 team dual semifinals. But he’s here and looking to make even more noise after earning a major decision over a tough opponent in Selinsgrove’s Coy Bastian in the regional finals.
Ethan Rossman, Jr., 182 pounds
Record: 33-2
District finish: 1st
Regional finish: 1st
First opponent: Winner of Caden Wright, Emmaus, Sr., 33-6 and Matt Hamilton, Conestoga, Sr., 33-6, second round
Outlook: Rossman had a smile from ear to ear as he had a gold regional medal around his neck. He is a very dangerous wrestler because of his length. Coach Mike Maney said it’s going to take a really good wrestler to beat him. He’s considered the No. 3 seed and in prime position to medal in his second straight PIAA Championships.
Tyler Benner, Sr., 195 pounds
Record: 27-11
District finish: 4th
Regional finish: 2nd
First opponent: Louis Carbajal, Spring Ford, Sr., 28-12, second round
Outlook: What more can be said about Benner? After just making it to the regional tournament by finishing fourth in the district, he went on an incredible run to finish second. One moment that sticks out is Benner’s semifinal match. Benner was trailing 6-1, and he threw a lateral drop and pinned his opponent with 17 seconds remaining. Not many expected Benner to be here but he and his coaches. However, now that he’s here, anything can happen.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy
(Class 2A)
Amonn Ohl, Jr., 132 pounds
Record: 28-10
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 5th
First opponent: Brandon Breidegan, Northern Lebanon, Sr., 37-10, first round
Outlook: Ohl has been dealing with a high ankle sprain since the end of January that he suffered at the Ultimate Warrior tournament at West Branch High School. Despite the injury, he managed to get a second-place finish in the District 6 tournament. The ankle seemed to bother him a little bit in the regional tournament, but an illegal slam call sent him to the fifth-place match, which he won. He’ll have a tough draw because if he wins his first match, he’ll get Brockway’s Anthony Glasl, who is 35-1 this season.
Zack Witmer, Jr., 138 pounds
Record: 32-5
District finish: 1st
Regional finish: 2nd
First opponent: Patrick Demark, Trinity, Sr., 20-2, second round
Outlook: Witmer has qualified for the PIAA Championships each year he has wrestled on the varsity level. He finished fifth as a freshman. He took one more step up last year and finished fourth. Witmer has a good shot of taking another step forward this year, but he will potentially have a tough quarterfinals match with Southern Columbia’s Patrick Edmondson. Witmer didn’t have the greatest ending to his regional tournament, so he probably can’t wait to get back on the mat.
Caleb Dowling, Sr., 152 pounds
Record: 40-4
District finish: 1st
Regional finish: 1st
First opponent: Winner of Trenton Harder, Bermudian Springs, Sr., 35-7 and Matty Coller, Line Mountain, Sr., 30-11, second round
Outlook: Dowling has been in the PIAA Championships all four years of his high school career. He’s finished in the top four each time, but one spot has always slipped out of his grasp — first. He hasn’t lost since Dec. 28, when he suffered two losses on that same day in the Powerade Tournament. Dowling is the top seed and with the way he is wrestling, he is poised to be back in the finals for the second time in his career.
Keegan Rothrock, Sr., 160 pounds
Record: 33-6
District finish: 1st
Regional finish: 2nd
First opponent: Daiveon Say, Grove City, Sr., 33-7, second round
Outlook: Rothrock, who is committed to continuing his wrestling career at Brown University, finished third in the state last year after having to wrestle his way back through the consolations. He’s in a lot better shape this year after his second-place finish at regionals. He might even get a rematch with Benton’s Nolan Lear in the quarterfinals. Rothrock beat Lear to open his tournament last year.
Tyler Stoltzfus, Sr., 170 pounds
Record: 38-1
District finish: 1st
Regional finish: 1st
First opponent: Winner of Shane Weidner, Mount Carmel, Sr., 20-8 and Jacob Scheib, Tri Valley, Fr., 37-9, second round
Outlook: The Lock Haven commit will be making his fourth and final trip to the PIAA Championships. He is poised to be on top of that podium on Saturday, after finishing fourth last year. Stoltzfus has been dominant: Only nine of his 38 wins came without bonus points. His lone loss came to Mifflin County’s Trey Kibe, who is a Penn State commit and a reigning Class 3A state champ. Stoltzfus has a great shot of reaching the finals as he is listed as the No. 2 seed.
Bald Eagle Area
(Class 2A)
Coen Bainey, Fr., 106 pounds
Record: 34-6
District finish: 1st
Regional finish: 2nd
First opponent: Jaryn Hartranft, Catasauqua, Soph., 36-5, second round
Outlook: Bainey has been stellar all season long for the Eagles. He cruised to a District 6 title and to the regional finals, where he suffered a 6-4 loss to the top seed in his weight class in Chestnut Ridge’s Calan Bollman. Bainey needs just five more wins to reach BEA’s freshman wins record of 39, set by eventual Penn State NCAA champ Quentin Wright.
Cooper Gilham, Jr., 120 pounds
Record: 34-11
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 4th
First opponent: Ashton Campbell, Palisades, Fr., 29-15, first round
Outlook: Gilham will have a long road to go in order to claim a PIAA gold medal. He’ll have a first-round match, which means he’d have to win five matches. It’s also going to take the best wrestling in Gilham’s career in order to pull that off. He’s got a tough draw with the likes of Benton’s Gabe Strickland, Reynolds’ Cole Bayless, Southern Columbia’s Kole Biscoe and Elizabeth Forward’s Ryan Michaels on his side of the bracket.
Gage McClenahan, Sr., 145 pounds
Record: 35-2
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 1st
First opponent: Winner of Josh Bonomo, Lake Lehman, Jr., 27-15 and Mike Trainor, Octorara, Soph., 37-14, second round
Outlook: McClenahan is back in the PIAAs for the first time since finishing as a runner-up two years ago. He missed all of last season after suffering a knee injury during football. He’s been dominant all season long, but his two losses came within a week of each other to two stellar opponents in Forest Hills’ Erik Gibson and Shikellamy’s Cade Balestrini. Gibson beat McClenahan for the District 6 title, but the Eagles senior got revenge in the regional final. It’s possible those two could square off for gold on Saturday.
David Close, Sr., 220 pounds
Record: 31-11
District finish: 3rd
Regional finish: 4th
First opponent: Joe Tinari, North Schuylkill, Sr., 27-17, first round
Outlook: Close was able to reach his first PIAA Championships in his final high school season. He made it to the regional tournament the past two seasons, but just could never get over the hump. The senior should be able to get a win right away, but he’ll have a tough second-round matchup against Wilson Area’s Kolby Flank, who is 40-1.
State College
(Class 3A)
Hayden Cunningham, Fr., 106 pounds
Record: 36-4
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 3rd
First opponent: Josh Jasionowicz, Stroudsburg, Jr., 27-13, first round
Outlook: It’s not always easy wrestling varsity as a freshman. It’s a grind, as some coaches would say. But since the Little Lions competed at the PIAA team dual championships in February, Cunningham was able to get a few more matches under his belt. That should help Cunningham in his first trip for the individual championships.
Owen Woolcott, Jr., 132 pounds
Record: 34-7
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 3rd
First opponent: Zachary Martin, Neshaminy, Jr., 32-2, second round
Outlook: Woolcott had to claw his way to making the PIAA Championships. A year ago, he finished second in the Northwest Regional tournament and didn’t have to worry. This year, Woolcott needed a 1-0 win over Bellefonte’s Alex Coppolo in the third-place match. Woolcott also got some valuable experience in the dual championship series. He wrestled Seneca Valley’s Alejandro Herrera-Rondon, who is the top seed of the class, and lost to him 5-0.
Clayton Leidy, Sr., 138 pounds
Record: 30-10
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 3rd
First opponent: Evan Gleason, Bethlehem Catholic, Jr., 35-10, second round
Outlook: Making it to the PIAA Championships has been four years in the making for Leidy. He’s always been on the brink of making it to the tournament, but was just never able to break through. To do it this year, he had to first beat Mifflin County’s Kyler Everly. Everly beat Leidy two weeks ago in the District 6 finals, but it was Leidy, who topped Everly in last week’s third-place match in the regional tournament.
Lance Urbas, Jr., 170 pounds
Record: 33-5
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 2nd
First opponent: Eli Brinsky, South Fayette, Sr., 35-4, second round
Outlook: A year ago, Urbas wasn’t even able to wrestle, as he was recovering from a football injury. Instead, he was in the stands at the Giant Center rooting on older brother Cole. Now, it’s time for Lance to get his shot on the mats in Hershey. He said it’s great seeing that all the hard work he put in last year trying to recover is paying off with his first trip to the PIAAs as a competitor.
Penns Valley
(Class 2A)
Clayton Royer, Sr., 138 pounds
Record: 34-7
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 3rd
First opponent: Hunter Mays, Conwell Egan, Soph., 37-3, second round
Outlook: While he had come close to making the PIAA Championships in the past, little things here or there kept him from accomplishing the feat. Now that he’s finally made it to Hershey, he won’t have much time to soak it all in, as he’ll get Conwell Egan’s Hunter Mays (37-3) in his first match. An argument could be made that 138 is one of the toughest weight classes in Class 2A, as the most losses any wrestler has is 12.
Malachi DuVall, Jr., 152 pounds
Record: 34-5
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 3rd
First opponent: Matthew Leslie, Western Wayne, Jr., 41-4, second round
Outlook: DuVall is in the PIAA Championships for the second straight season, but this time he brought more teammates along with him. Last year, he and former teammate Baylor Shunk each finished seventh. But DuVall has looked even more impressive this season, boding well for his chances to finish higher on the podium. He has a tough one to start with Leslie; however, if he gets past that and stays focused, he could reach the semifinals.
Andrew Sharer, Sr., 182 pounds
Record: 20-3
District finish: 1st
Regional finish: 4th
First opponent: Travis Colson, Hamburg, Jr., 25-16, first round
Outlook: Sharer has had a trying high school career. He was constantly dealing with injuries. He almost never got to this position because he contemplated not wrestling this season after suffering a knee injury. But because he chose to wrestle, he’s now a District 6 champ and a PIAA qualifier for the first time. He’s got a shot at picking up his first PIAA win, too, against Colson.
Philipsburg-Osceola
(Class 2A)
Chase Chapman, Sr., 138 pounds
Record: 29-12
District finish: 3rd
Regional finish: 6th
First opponent: Blake Showers, Biglerville, Sr., 36-7, first round
Outlook: Chapman has a very tough draw to get through. If he beats Showers, Chapman gets Bedford’s Kaden Cassidy, who is the top seed and a third-place PIAA finisher as a freshman. Cassidy is also undefeated on the season and is heading to George Mason to continue his wrestling career. Chapman will be up for the test. He’s beaten top guys before, including St. Joe’s Witmer last season.
Hunter Weitoish, Jr., 160 pounds
Record: 31-6
District finish: 2nd
Regional finish: 3rd
First opponent: Cole Casilio, Johnsonburg, Jr., 36-4, second round
Outlook: Weitoish is very familiar with his PIAA Championship opening opponent. The pair have wrestled twice against each other this year. Casilio beat Weitoish 3-2 in the Mountaineer Duals at the beginning of January. At the end of January, Weitoish shut out Casilio 5-0 in the Ultimate Warrior quarterfinals. If Weitoish gets past Casilio again, he’ll more than likely face Notre Dame-Green Pond’s Andrew Cerniglia, who is ranked nationally No. 5 by Intermat, in the quarterfinals.
Parker Moore, Jr., 195 pounds
Record: 33-6
District finish: 3rd
Regional finish: 1st
First opponent: Winner of Dominick Bridi, Line Mountain, Jr., 31-8 and Bret Huffman, Southmoreland, Sr., 25-8, second round
Outlook: Moore has really come onto the scene in the postseason. Mounties fans knew what he was capable of all season long, but he surprised the rest of the wrestling world when he went from a third-place finish at districts to winning the Southwest Regional crown a week later. Eyes were opened to Moore’s talent and he has become a fan favorite. The junior is listed as the No. 4 seed and in prime position to make the semifinals.
PIAA Championships
When: Class 2A — 9 a.m. Thursday, 9 a.m. & 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday (placement matches); Class 3A — 4 p.m. Thursday, 2:15 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. & 7 p.m. (placement matches) Saturday
Where: Giant Center, Hershey
Online: FloWrestling.com
This story was originally published March 4, 2020 at 8:00 AM.
