26 Centre County wrestlers looking to get one step closer to PIAA Championships on Saturday
All six of Centre County’s high school wrestling teams will be in action this Saturday.
There will be a total of 26 wrestlers across the six programs aiming to reach the super regional tournament, which was added for this season only — for now — due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to limit the amount of people at the PIAA Championships in Hershey.
In a normal year, Bellefonte and State College would be just kicking off their postseasons with the District 6 Class 3A Championships this weekend.
However, this is not a normal year.
The Red Raiders and Little Lions will be competing in the PIAA Northwest Regional at Altoona’s Fieldhouse, which typically wouldn’t have taken place until next weekend. The top two of each weight will advance to the PIAA Western Super Regional next week in Altoona.
For Bald Eagle Area, Penns Valley, Philipsburg-Osceola and Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy, their postseasons are back on track after having to compete in a sectional tournament last week to reach the district tournament.
Step No. 3 for the Eagles, Rams, Mounties and Wolves is the PIAA Southwest Regional tournament at Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex in Indiana. The top five of each weight will advance to the PIAA Class 2A Western Super Regional back in Indiana.
Here’s a look at each wrestler looking to take another step further in the postseason, as well as the coach’s outlook:
Class 2A
BALD EAGLE AREA
Coach Ron Guenot’s outlook: Guenot’s team had to compete in the sectional and district tournaments without him as he’s been dealing with COVID-19. He joked that he feels rather out of the loop because of the forced absence, but the Eagles advanced three to the regional tournament, and qualified for the District 6 Class 2A team duals.
Guenot said his team plans to compete in those duals, but right now they are focused on their three wrestlers still alive in the postseason.
He’s feeling good about the draws for those three wrestlers.
“We’re in a good position to win our first matches. There is no doubt about it,” Guenot said Wednesday. “I feel confident those guys know they are going to do well their first matches. The goal is at the end of the day on Saturday to advance to the super regionals.”
While BEA is used to having more than three wrestlers competing at the regional tournament, Guenot is still concerned about not having enough coaches available. The PIAA is limiting the number of coaches this year to comply with COVID-19 regulations, and all three Eagles wrestlers are close together in weight classes.
As of now, Guenot is only expecting to be able to have one other coach with him during the wrestling.
“We have kids in three of the first four weights,” he said. “We are concerned about having a couple of kids on the mat at the same time and spreading us out and having one coach in a corner. There is a good possibility that could happen. It’s a lot of pressure for a coach because it’s high stakes right now.”
Lucas Fye, 106 pounds
Class: Freshman
Record: 13-4
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Tristen Hawkins, Fr., Conemaugh Township, 8-1, District 5 champ
Coen Bainey, 113 pounds
Class: Sophomore
Record: 16-0
District finish: 1st
Quarterfinals opponent: Colin Bartley, Soph., Laurel, 21-8, District 7 3rd
Cooper Gilham, 126 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 14-4
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Camden Koontz, Sr., Bedford, 5-2, District 5 2nd
PENNS VALLEY
Coach Joel Brinker’s outlook: When it comes to the postseason, Brinker stresses to his guys that everyone is 0-0.
A couple of the Rams wrestlers drew some pretty tough opening tournament opponents. However, Brinker feels that if his guys wrestle their matches, good things could happen.
“You’ve seen so many things play out in this postseason tournaments,” Brinker said Wednesday. “You have your front-runners, but there are upsets every year. You are going into every single match, that you’ve got to wrestle your match. There is no tomorrow-type thing. You just go and rip, and let it fly.”
Although the draws might be tough, Brinker said now is not the time to make major changes. He said his wrestlers just need to stick to what they know best.
Brinker believes his guys are in as good of shape as they can be at this point in the year. It also doesn’t hurt that there wasn’t a full-season grind like usual. But Brinker knows things can be over done, too.
“The guys look good. Right now, it’s just about staying fresh,” he said. “You want to feel good. You don’t want to over do it. The workouts are very short and sweet. We are not in there very long. We work on a few things that they have to work on and some common scenarios you see at these levels. (We are) focused on executing.”
Even though the top five of the eight wrestlers advance this week, Brinker knows it isn’t going to be easy. He even said that if a guy loses early on, they have to “regroup” right away to rally back through the consolation bracket.
“The competition is pretty tough. Yeah, as coaches, we see road maps that each kid can get through,” Brinker said. “I think they all can (advance). They have to believe it, execute and make it happen. You get five and starting with eight, but it is a high-quality concentration of kids you are going against.”
Justin Darlington, 126 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 7-4
District finish: 3rd
Quarterfinals opponent: Joey Fischer, Sr., South Park, 15-0, District 7 champ
Ty Watson, 132 pounds
Class: Freshman
Record: 8-3
District finish: 3rd
Quarterfinals opponent: Hunter Horton, Sr., Tussey Mountain, 13-1, District 5 champ
Malachi DuVall, 172 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 10-0
District finish: 1st
Quarterfinals opponent: Noah Gnibus, Jr., Mount Pleasant Area, 27-9, District 7 3rd
Ben Sharer, 285 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 7-2
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Ian Fasano, Sr., Mount Pleasant Area, 31-10, District 7 2nd
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
Coach Brad Pataky’s outlook: The Mounties were tied with Penns Valley for the most regional class 2A qualifiers in the county with four.
Pataky feels pretty confident that all four of his guys can get through to the super regional.
“All four guys have a really good shot of making it through to the next round,” Pataky said Wednesday. “It’s about taking it one match at a time, and not over analyzing anything. We try to tell our guys, this is just another tournament. Obviously, it’s in the postseason, but you don’t treat it any differently than you would in the regular season. When you do that, you get over excited.”
Pataky couldn’t help but to be excited just about the fact that the season has made it this far. There was a lot of uncertainty earlier about whether a season would happen.
Pataky’s squad has just been grateful for every opportunity to be able to compete. It’s a mindset he tries to instill this into his guys and has ever since learning under Penn State coach Cael Sanderson and becoming a coach himself.
“We are coming into a season that a lot of people didn’t expect a wrestling season to happen,” Pataky said. “Being that we are heading into a regional tournament, it is spectacular. Everybody should be thankful. We are thankful that we are there. We are going to keep firing on all cylinders. Whatever happens, happens. The kids are excited to wrestle, and we are happy to be a part of the journey.”
Most of P-O’s wrestlers will take on a No. 1 or No. 2 seed to open on Saturday. But Pataky knows that anybody is “beatable right now.”
That was proven true in this same tournament last year when the Mounties’ Parker Moore come out of nowhere to claim a regional title. He went on to place sixth in the state.
“There is a couple of draws where are our guys are wrestling guys that are really accomplished,” Pataky said. “Overall, the places that the kids are seeded in provide opportunities to get to the next round. With (Austin) Foster and Moore wrestling the one and two seed right off the bat, regardless of what happens, it sets them up for a good position to make a run in the championship or the consolation bracket.”
Marcus Gable, 120 pounds
Class: Freshman
Record: 8-3
District finish: 3rd
Quarterfinals opponent: Niko Ferra, Soph., Burrell, 21-6, District 7 champ
Austin Foster, 138 pounds
Class: Junior
Record: 9-3
District finish: 3rd
Quarterfinals opponent: Ian Oswalt, Sr., Burrell, 18-0, District 7 champ
Hunter Weitoish, 160 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 10-2
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Trevor Weyandt, Jr., Chestnut Ridge, 18-6, District 5 2nd
Parker Moore, 215 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 8-4
District finish: 3rd
Quarterfinals opponent: Dayton Pitzer, Jr., Mount Pleasant Area, 33-2, District 7 champ
SAINT JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC ACADEMY
Coach Brian Witmer’s outlook: While the whole wrestling season has been unique for everyone, it’s been especially so for Saint Joseph’s.
After COVID-19 wiped out most of their mat opportunities, the Wolves only got to wrestle once before the postseason. That was in a tournament Jan. 15-16.
“We are still trying to peak yet. We are still trying to get fresh legs under us,” Witmer said Wednesday. “We are trying to get stamina and fresh legs under us. In a full season, you can get the lungs in great shape and work on the legs at the end. We are trying to develop both at the same time right now.”
Despite limited mat time, Witmer is still very confident in his pair of regional qualifiers. He said his wrestlers are just excited to get to compete again after getting a sense of normalcy back in the fact of competing every weekend in a tournament.
As is the case with BEA, Saint Joseph’s qualifiers are around the same weight. So with only two coaches, Witmer and assistant J.R. Wert, the team may have no choice but to have one coach in a corner.
“I do wish they were broken up a little bit, a little further apart,” Witmer said. “My preference would be not to be in Zack’s corner, and have JR be there, because I’d rather not. But if I’m not in his corner, as a dad, I’ll miss his match. I’d rather not be in his corner or be in there with JR together. I don’t like the corner by myself, those days are long over, but it’s a necessary evil right now.”
Zack Witmer, 132 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 7-1
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Jamison Poklembo, Fr., Mount Pleasant Area, 24-10, District 7 champ
Amonn Ohl, 138 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 6-2
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Colton Bollman, Jr., Chestnut Ridge, 15-6, District 5 champ
Class 3A
BELLEFONTE
Coach Mike Maney’s outlook: The Red Raiders enter the PIAA Class 3A Northwest Regional as the defending team champions.
That was Bellefonte’s first regional team title since 2000. They accomplished that feat by having four champions out of six finalists.
All four of those champs are back, as well as one of those other finalists. However, Maney knows it won’t be easy to repeat.
“It will be a tall task as Erie Prep is bringing pretty much every weight class and a smaller bracket,” he said Wednesday. “There aren’t as many team points available, so every match is going to be important. If any group can do it, it’s this group.”
Maney wants his guys focusing on their matches rather than the team race, though. He says if they handle their business on the mat, the team race will handle itself.
Maney said that he has a simple message for his wrestlers: “You got to believe in the work that you put in.”
This year’s tournament wont be over a two-day span like usual. Instead, it will have two sessions in one day.
The first session will see weights from 106-138 pounds wrestle from start to finish. The second session will be the remaining weights of 145-285.
Maney said all the changes could present some challenges. But his team is ready to roll.
“It’s a different scenario and environment than we are accustomed to,” Maney said. “We stressed to our guys from the start to be prepared, because their first match could very well be their toughest. We’re not really looking past that first match. It’s going to be unique for sure with the eight-man bracket and the staggered start times. Our guys are prepared.”
Garrett Choates, 106 pounds
Class: Junior
Record: 11-8
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Cameron Suzensky, Fr., Obama Academy, 6-0, District 8 champ
Aidan O’Shea, 113 pounds
Class: Junior
Record: 14-3
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Jacob Goldberg, Jr., Allderdice, 6-0, District 8 champ
Lane Aikey, 120 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 2-0
District finish: 1st
Quarterfinals opponent: Ethan Brest, Fr., General McLane, 12-9, District 10 2nd
Jude Swisher, 132 pounds
Class: Junior
Record: 17-1
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Braden Bower, Jr., Williamsport, 17-2, District 4/9 champ
Ethan Richner, 160 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 17-0
District finish: 1st
Quarterfinals opponent: None, bye
Ethan Rossman, 189 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 16-1
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Bryan Allen, Sr., Obama Academy, 5-0, District 8 champ
STATE COLLEGE
Coach Ryan Cummins’ outlook: The Little Lions have seen nothing but continued success during the postseason.
Last year they had eight regional qualifiers, but have been in some past situations where they may have only had half of that.
This season, State College opens the regional tournament with seven wrestlers, which, behind Erie Cathedral Prep, is among one of highest number of qualifiers in the tournament.
“I think it’s an advantage for us. You got all your guys there cheering you on,” Cummins said Wednesday. “I think that is special having all these guys competing in a tournament together. In my mind, kids will fight harder, because they want to advance with all of their friends. It’s tough when you only have a couple, and we’ve been there before.”
Even though having all those wrestlers may be an advantage overall, Cummins knows that they way the tournament is split up could create some challenges.
However, Cummins said he’s confident his wrestlers will handle any adversity the same way they’ve been handling other changes this year like the shortened season and wearing masks.
“The kids are ready. They’ve been working hard this week,” Cummins said. “It stinks they split it, that makes it tough. I think they’ll do their best to get as many through as possible and keep things rolling.”
Cummins said he believes his guys are in prime position to make a lot of noise this weekend, but “they just have to go out and do it.”
Cummins and his staff has been stressing a high sense of urgency due to the low qualifying numbers each round.
However, he pointed out that having a guy like senior Carson Manville, with all of his accolades, has done nothing but fuel the Little Lions.
“He’s had a shorter time to get in shape and he feels great. He should feel like a million bucks at this point,” Cummins said. “He’s skilled and has a tremendous resume. The kids look up to that and they follow along with that. He’s wrestling well, feels good and upbeat in the room, so the kids feed off that.”
Owen Woolcott, 126 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 10-4
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Ryan Barnard, Sr., Brashear, 6-0, District 8 champ
Pierson Manville, 132 pounds
Class: Freshman
Record: 15-1
District finish: 1st
Quarterfinals opponent: Aiden Gaugler, Jr., Selinsgrove, 29-4, District 4/9 2nd
Carter Weaverling, 152 pounds
Class: Sophomore
Record: 9-7
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Paniro Johnson, Sr., Cathedral Prep, 9-0, District 10 champ
Lance Urbas, 172 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 14-1
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Magnus Lloyd, Fr., General McLane, 19-3, District 10 champ
Carson Manville, 189 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 7-0
District finish: 1st
Quarterfinals opponent: None, bye
Ty Price, 215 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 11-6
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Bryson Jones, Sr., Obama Academy, 5-0, District 8 champ
Harrison Schoen, 285 pounds
Class: Senior
Record: 9-7
District finish: 2nd
Quarterfinals opponent: Hamadi Muhina, Jr., Brashear, 6-0, District 8 champ
PIAA Class 2A Southwest Regional
When: Saturday, Session 1 (106-138 pounds: Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolation Quarterfinals), 8 a.m.; Session 2 (145-285 pounds: Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolation Quarterfinals), Noon; Session 3 (106-138 pounds: Consolation Semifinals, Finals, Consolation finals, 5th-place matches), 4 p.m.; Session 4 (145-285 pounds: Consolation Semifinals, Finals, Consolation finals, 5th-place matches), 7:30 p.m.
Where: Kovalchick Convention and Athletic Complex at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in Indiana
Online: Brackets
Twitter: @byncobler
PIAA Class 3A Northwest Regional
When: Saturday, Session 1 (106-138 pounds: Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolation Quarterfinals, Consolation Semifinals, Finals, Consolation Finals, True 2nd-place matches), 8:15 a.m.; Session 2 (145-285 pounds: Quarterfinals, Semifinals, Consolation Quarterfinals, Consolation Semifinals, Finals, Consolation Finals, True 2nd-place matches), 2:15 p.m.
Where: Altoona’s Fieldhouse
Online: Brackets
