Owen Woolcott’s 100th win highlights State College wrestling’s perfect day on mat
Whether it’s in the classroom or in the band room as the first chair oboe player, State College wrestler Owen Woolcott excels at pretty much everything he does.
And that was no different on the wrestling mat Monday night when Woolcott notched his 100th career victory as the Little Lions (6-4) swept a tri-meet with Chambersburg and Cedar Cliff.
“It was funny, last Saturday when I had a chance to get 100 for the first time, coaches and teammates were like it’s not a big deal,” Woolcott said. “At the same time, I’m hearing friends murmur Woolcott, and I’m seeing the athletic directors talking to my dad and stuff. I then see media here, I was like maybe this is a big deal. It was kind of hard to stay tunnel-visioned and stay focused on my match.”
Woolcott was able to tune out the noise and hit the milestone early in the evening in the first of the two duals.
The Little Lions were trailing 24-18 when Woolcott first stepped on the mat Monday night, looking for win No. 100.
Woolcott earned the bout’s first points with a takedown of Luke Mentzer with just over half of the first period left. He earned a second takedown and near-fall points in the second period, but was reversed and an escape had him up 8-2.
Woolcott rolled in the third period to the tune of an escape, a takedown and two sets of near-fall points to secure his 100th win, and a 17-2 technical fall in 5:53.
“We couldn’t be happier for him,” State College coach Ryan Cummins said. “He works hard every single day and does all the right things. He is an example of what a wrestler should be. He has battled day in and day out. He is a great leader in the room by example and works hard in the classroom. He is a musician, so he does a whole lot of things. To be this successful in wrestling too, is impressive. We’ll be sad to see him go here after this year, but we’ve been lucky to have him.”
Woolcott said that Saturday’s loss to Connellsville’s Mason Prinkey stuck in his head. That win marked No. 100 for Prinkey.
“Obviously, I would’ve liked to win the match, but it was a good match either way,” the senior said. “I actually had no idea that was his 100th win. It stung a little bit afterward seeing him with his team and the big banner. I was like that could’ve been me.”
The win was even sweeter for Woolcott considering there was a point where he was afraid that the season would be canceled and he’d never get the chance to hit the milestone. But while he said he did think about the possibility of reaching 100 wins during the offseason, his wrestling practices at M2 helped keep him focused.
“We focus on what you can control,” Woolcott said. “Whether we had a season or not, or reduced matches, it was all out of my control. I just had to focus on getting better in the practice room and weight room.”
Following Woolcott’s victory, Casher McLaughlin, one of two female wrestlers on State College’s roster, earned a forfeit to give the Little Lions a 29-24 lead. Pierson Manville followed with a 15-0 technical fall over Anthony Colangelo to secure a 34-24 win for State College.
The Little Lions started the day by trading wins back and forth through the first seven matches of the dual with the Trojans.
Carter Weaverling had a fall at 152 pounds in the second bout. Lance Urbas edged out Tate Nichter 11-10 using a takedown with 47 seconds left to win at 172 pounds.
Carson Manville came up a point shy of recording a major decision in a 10-3 win at 189 pounds. Harrison Schoen pinned Avery Kuhns in 1:13 at 285 pounds.
After the Trojans (9-9) topped Cedar Cliff, 40-22, State College rolled over the Colts (10-3) 39-25. Cummins was proud to see his team turn things around.
“Last week, was probably a low for us,” Cummins said of his team’s 1-3 week and a dismal performance against Cumberland Valley. “We had a talk and the guys bought into coming back hard. They looked really nice in both matches today. I was really happy.”
Cummins and his staff told their team they needed to show “more grit and toughness.” But it wasn’t that the coaches doubted their wrestlers had that in them, it was that they just hadn’t yet shown it. But that changed in the Cedar Cliff dual.
The Little Lions raced out to a 21-0 lead thanks to pins from Urbas, Braden Newby and Ty Price. Carson Manville added a 7-3 decision.
After the Colts rebounded with four straight wins — a decision, two forfeits and a major decision, the score was 21-19. Woolcott earned win No. 101 with a fall in 2:22, but Cedar Cliff responded with a fall of its own, to keep it a two-point lead.
Pierson Manville picked up a forfeit at 138 pounds. Another new face, William Tennity, earned a 6-1 victory at 145 to lock the dual victory up for State College. Carter Weaverling received a forfeit to setup the final score.
The Little Lions are now done until the postseason begins on Feb. 19. Cummins set the schedule this way just in case any COVID-19 complications popped up, so his wrestlers would have ample time to quarantine and still be ready for the postseason.
However, he feels that his team is ready to go if the postseason were to start this weekend.
“If you would’ve asked me (last) Thursday, I would have given you a different answer,” Cummins said with a laugh. “After tonight, they definitely did a really nice job. Their heads are in the right place for the postseason. We get a couple of good weeks of practice in here and we’ll be ready to go.”
State College 39, Cedar Cliff 25
Monday at State College
160: Braden Newby, SC, pinned Preston Dent, 3:15
172: Lance Urbas, SC, pinned Zach Little, 1:21
189: Carson Manville, SC, dec. Isaiah Auman, 7-3
215: Ty Price, SC, pinned Elijah Ikeda, 3:20
285: Chandler Washington, CC, dec. Harrison Schoen, 6-3
106: Zach Cutshall, CC, won by forfeit
113: Gunner Heffelfinger, CC, won by forfeit
120: Mark Paradine, CC, major dec. Bailey Weaverling, 13-4
126: Owen Woolcott, SC, pinned Ryan Mohar, 2:22
132: Kurt Schaeffer, CC, pinned Casher McLaughlin, 3:46
138: Pierson Manville, SC, won by forfeit
145: William Tennity, SC, dec. Max Haas, 6-1
152: Carter Weaverling, SC, won by forfeit
Takedowns: CC 9, SC 13
Records: Cedar Cliff 10-3, State College 6-4
Next match: State College at District 6 Class 3A Championships, Feb. 19
State College 34, Chambersburg 24
145: Kelby Mixell, C, pinned Owen Barr, 2:35
152: C. Weaverling, SC, pinned Tyler Jones, 3:53
160: Ryder Davenport, C, dec. Newby, 7-3
172: Urbas, SC, dec. Tate Nichter, 11-10
189: C. Manville, SC, dec. Aiden Hight, 10-3
215: Zach Evans, C, dec. Price, 7-6
285: Schoen, SC, pinned Avery Kuhns, 1:13
106: No match
113: Rylan Carter, C, won by forfeit
120: Karl Schindledecker, C, pinned B. Weaverling, 3:09
126: Woolcott, SC, tech. fall Luke Mentzer, 17-2 (5:53)
132: McLaughlin, SC, won by forfeit
138: P. Manville, SC, tech. fall Anthony Colangelo, 15-0 (2:50)
Takedowns: C 9, SC 19
Records: Chambersburg, (8-9), State College (5-4)
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 11:42 PM.
