Bellefonte repeats as PIAA Class 3A NW Regional wrestling champs, county claims 4 titles as 8 move on

The Centre County contingent advanced eight, crowning four champions at the Northwest Regional Class 3A championships on Saturday at the Altoona Fieldhouse.

Bellefonte picked up three champions and pushed four through to the West Super Regionals next weekend. The Red Raiders scored 119 points to capture their second consecutive regional team championship.

Bellefonte coach Mike Maney couldn’t be more happy with the effort.

“This is a special group, a bunch of good kids and they’ve been that way for a long time. They work hard and do the right things,” Maney said. “The coaching staff made some adjustments this week with Swisher and Rossman. I’m proud of the guys and the way they competed. It was a total team effort to win another regional championship. I’m really proud of them.”

State College, last week’s District 6 team champions, scored 110 points to finish in fourth place. The Little Lions advanced four to Super Regionals with one champion.

“I thought the kids wrestled well. We had some setbacks and the guys bounced back fairly well. We are taking four through and we’ll do it all again next weekend,” State College coach Ryan Cummins said. “We are going to treat next week like any other weekend. We have to stay focused, wrestle hard and hopefully we can keep it going.”

The West Super Regional kicks off at 8:30 a.m. Saturday from the Altoona Fieldhouse.

Here’s a look at the results for both teams:

Bellefonte

Champions: Lane Aikey (126), Jude Swisher (132), Ethan Richner (160)

Other super regional qualifiers: Ethan Rossman (2nd, 172)

Other finishers: Aidan O’Shea (3rd, 113), Garrett Choates (4th, 106)

Recap: The Red Raiders pushed four of their six regional qualifiers through to next weekend with Aikey (120), Swisher (132) and Richner (160) earning their third regional titles. Rossman came back and earned a true second place to advance.

Aikey, who didn’t wrestle his first match of the season until last week’s districts, showed zero signs of rust with an 8-0 win over Caleb Fasick of Altoona in the finals. The Red Raider senior had a pin in the quarterfinal round and a technical fall victory in the semis.

“It’s incredible. Honestly, there is no better feeling than coming out on top. I’ve had only seven practices in the past year. I had three practices coming into districts and four this week,” Aikey said. “I’m just trying to take it day by day. The hardest part right now is my conditioning. I consider next week like it’s the first round of states. In my mind, I’ll be at Hershey next week and that’s how I’m approaching it.”

Aikey scored a takedown and three nearfall points in the first, an escape in the second and a takedown in the third for the commanding win.

“COVID presented a lot of obstacles for everybody with the short regular season. Lane had an injury in the offseason and then he came back, but COVID put a monkey wrench in his season,” Maney said. “For him to persevere and mentally stay in it, speaks to his mental toughness. A district championship last week and three regional championships. There aren’t too many of those. We are proud of him.”

Aikey credits his teammates for getting him ready for the postseason.

“I’d like to be more diverse on my feet with different shots. On doing well on top, for the most part, and on bottom I would like to get out of the bottom a little faster,” Aikey said. “My teammates are beating the crap out of me to get me ready and I love them for that.”

Swisher hooked up once again with freshman standout Pierson Manville, of State College, with the Red Raider taking the rubber match 7-6.

“It is so much fun wrestling Pierson. His style is so calculated. I love to wrestle him. He’s a real special kid. The way he grabs you and won’t let go is impressive. I came out on top this time. That’s the way it goes sometimes,” Swisher said. “My coach (Chad Dubin) told me to go out there and wrestle free, to score points and keep going and going. I’m blessed to have a guy like Pierson in my weight class to challenge me and make me better.

“Mentally, I’ve been peaked for 365 days. My goal is to be a PIAA champion this year and next. My mindset is strong and my conditioning is good. It’s a great feeling to win three regional titles. I’m blessed to have my coaches and family who support me and are key to helping me reach my goals.”

Manville opened the scoring with a takedown. Swisher escaped and scored a deuce with eight seconds left in the period to make it 3-2. Pierson chose down and made it 5-3 with an escape and takedown. Swisher returned the favor with his own escape and takedown for 6-5 lead heading into the third. The Red Raider got out to start the third with the match ending on their feet.

“I think we wrestled pretty good. The 132-pound weight class is brutal and Jude Swisher had a great tournament. It was fun to watch two great high school wrestlers going at it and giving it their all,” Maney said. “His engine keeps going, he loves the sport and he’s probably already thinking about ways to get better for next week. Everything he achieved he earned. He’s a great student and a great person. He’s one of the best guys in the state and in the country.”

Richner owned the field at 160, getting a fall in 2:33 over Coy Bastian of Selinsgrove in the semifinals and a 15-0 technical fall over Jackson Spires of General McLane in the finals for his third regional title.

“I thought I wrestled well on my feet and on top and bottom. There are some things I need to work on like getting off the bottom quicker and get to my shots better, but I thought I wrestled pretty good,” Richner said. “I feel great. It’s an amazing accomplishment. I don’t know how many times its happened in Bellefonte history, but I’m proud to be a part of it. I’m ready for next week, for that first match, I want to go out and let it fly.”

Richner had two takedowns, a reversal and seven near-fall points in the easy finals win.

“He’s been consistent since he’s been a freshman. This year, he’s wrestling with a lot more confidence. He struggled with injuries last year and came up short at the state tournament,” Maney said. “He’s a three-time regional champ. He puts in the time and energy and he continues to be rewarded for it.”

Rossman dropped a tough match to State College’s Carson Manville by a 2-1 decision in the 189-pound finals. Manville beat Rossman 5-4 in the District 6 finals last week. Rossman battled back to defeat Griffin Buzzell, of Meadville, 7-3 in their true second matchup.

“Next week, everyone is zero and zero. We have to get better and find ways to win,” Maney said. “At this point, they are the top 16 in the state. There are higher prizes than that, but these guys are the best of the best and they’ve earned the right to be here, We are looking forward to getting back to action next week.”

State College

Champions: Carson Manville (189)

Other super regional qualifiers: Owen Woolcott (2nd, 126), Lance Urbas (2nd, 172), Ty Price (2nd, 215)

Other finishers: Pierson Manville (3rd, 132), Carter Weaverling (3rd, 152), Harrison Schoen (DNP, 285)

Recap: The Little Lions had an up-and-down day, but were able to advance four of their seven qualifiers into the Super Regionals.

Senior Carson Manville, ranked third in the state, once again had to battle Rossman to earn his championship and once again, one point decided the match.

“I think I wrestled well. I thought I could have pushed the pace a little more in my first and second match. That’s just something I have to go back in the room and work on,” Manville said. “The harder the competition is the better it makes you. No one comes to a tournament hoping to get an easy win and just slide right through. At least I don’t. I like a fight. I like to be challenged, so I know what I can improve upon.”

After a scoreless first period, Manville escaped for the 1-0 lead. Rossman got off the bottom in the third to make it 1-1 and force sudden victory. The one-minute overtime didn’t settle things and the match went to rideouts. Manville kept Rossman down in the first 30 seconds. Manville escaped with 21 ticks on the clock and made the 2-1 lead stand up for the former Minnesota state champ.

“My re-attacks are doing well. One thing I need to do is get more confidence in my shots. I’m a little hesitant being the smallest guy in the weight class, but if I just pull the trigger on my shots, good things will happen,” Manville said. “My conditioning needs to get better, but a lot of wrestlers are having that problem during this short season. Cardio is important. Pennsylvania wrestling is tough. It’s a harder state folkstyle-wise. It’s a brawl. It’s not just wrestling. It’s a fight.”

In a stunner, younger brother Pierson Manville, one of the top freshmen in the nation, suffered the loss to Swisher and then fell 3-2 to Williamsport’s Braden Bower in the match for true second, ending his season.

On a brighter side for the Little Lions, Ty Price had a stellar tournament to stay alive for another week. Price knocked off top seed Mark McGonigal of Clearfield in the semis before dropping a 5-1 decision to Erie Prep’s John Campbell. Price battled back to defeat District 6 champion Nik Miller of Central Mountain by a 7-4 score.

“He really wrested well. He’s coming on late in the season and seems to be peaking at the right time. I’m proud of him and the effort he put in coming back to get that true second. That is not an easy thing to do,” Cummins said. “You do the very best you can. I’m happy with everything that’s going on. I’m happy we have wrestling and we are able to have the state championships. This is the best time of the year.”

Northwest Regional Class 3A Championships

Saturday at Altoona

Team key: Altoona (A), Bellefonte (B), Brashear (BR), Central Mountain (CM), Clearfield (CL), DuBois (D), Erie Cathedral Prep (EP), Erie McDowell (EM), General McLane (GM), Hollidaysburg (H), Juniata (J), Meadville (MD), Mifflin County (MC), Obama Academy (O), Punxsutawney (P), Selinsgrove (S), Saint Marys (SM), State College (SC), Taylor Allderdice (TA), Westinghouse (W), Williamsport (WP)

Team scores: 1. Bellefonte 119, 2. Williamsport 114.5, 3. Erie Prep 111, 4. State College 110, 5. Mifflin County 58.5, 6. Altoona 54, 6. Central Mountain 54, 8. Clearfield 51, T9. DuBois 47.5, T9. Selinsgrove 47.5

Finals

106: Cael Nasdeo, W, dec. Casey Smith, J, 8-4; 113: Jacob VanDee, EP, major dec. Nic Allison, MC, 14-2; 120: Lane Aikey, B, major dec. Caleb Fasick, A, 8-0; 126: Luke Simcox, CM, major dec. Owen Woolcott, SC, 10-2; 132: Jude Swisher, B, dec. Pierson Manville, SC, 7-6; 138: Matt Sarbo, A, dec. Chander Ho, D, 7-2; 145: Riley Bower, W, dec. Steffan Lynch, EP, 6-2; 152: Paniro Johnson, EP, major dec. Roman Marrone, W, 13-3; 160: Ethan Richner, B, tech. fall Jackson Spires, GM, 15-0 (5:24); 172: Trey Kibe, MC, dec. Lance Urbas, SC, 7-1; 189: Carson Manville, SC, dec. Ethan Rossman, B, 2-1 (UTB); 215: John Campbell, EP, dec. Ty Price, SC, 5-1; 285: Nate Schon, S, pinned Oliver Billotte, CL, :50

True Second Place

113: Nic Allison, MC, dec. Aidan O’Shea, B, 4-0; 132: Braden Bower, WP, dec, Pierson Manville, SC, 3-2; 189: Ethan Rossman, B dec. Griffin Buzzell, MD, 7-3; 215: Ty Price, SC dec. Nik Miller, CM, 7-4

Consolation Finals

106: Logan Sallot, GM major dec. Garrett Choates, B, 9-0; 113: Aidan O’Shea, B pinned Luke Segraves, WP, 2:21; 152: Carter Weaverling, SC pinned Brady Smith, P, 3:49

Quarter Finals

106: Garrett Choates, B pinned Cameron Suzensky, O, :31; 113: Aidan O’Shea, B pinned Santiago Bradbury, BR, :34; 120: Lane Aikey, B pinned Ethan Brest, GM, :51; 126: Owen Woolcott, SC pinned Ryan Bernard, BR 1:27; 132: Pierson Manville, SC tech fall Aiden Gaugler, S, 20-3 (3:58); Jude Swisher, SC dec. Braden Bower, WP, 4-0; 152: Paniro Johnson, EP pinned Carter Weaverling, SC; :54; 160: Ethan Richner, B, bye; 172: Lance Urbas, SC major dec. Magnus Lloyd, GM, 18-4; 189: Ethan Rossman, B pinned Bryan Allen, O, 1:14; Carson Manville, SC, bye; 215: Ty Price, SC pinned Bryson James, O, :14; 285: Harrison Schoen, SC pinned Hamadi Muhina, BR, :21

Semifinals

106: Cal Nasdeo, WP pinned Garrett Choates, B, :58; 113: Jacob VanDee, EP major dec. Aidan O’Shea, B, 12-3; 120: Lane Aikey, B tech fall Devin Harris, WP, 15-0 (3:32); 126: Owen Woolcott, SC dec. Carter Weaver, WP, 10-5; 132: Pierson Manville, SC pinned Westin Chess, MD, 2:43; Jude Swisher, B, dec. Kaeman Smith, EP, 8-3; 160: Ethan Richner, B pinned Coy Bastian, S, 2:33; 172: Lance Urbas, SC major dec. Nick Crisp, SM, 9-1; 189: Ethan Rossman, B, pinned Steven Miller, S, 1:25; Carson Manville, SC tech fall Waylon Wehler, SM, 18-3 (5:39); 2!5: Ty Price, SC dec. Mark McGonigal, CL, 3-2; 285: Nate Schon, S tech fall Harrison Schoen, SC, 19-3 (2:10)

Consolation Quarterfinals

152: Carter Weaverling, SC pinned Nate Lucas, TA, 2:00

Consolation Semifinals

106: Garrett Choates, B major dec. Evan Davis, C, 10-2; 113: Aidan O’Shea, B pinned Ben Watkins, GM, :43; 152: Carter Weaverlng, SC dec. Rocco Serafini, CM, 9-5; 285: Wilson Spires, GM dec. Harrison Schoen, SC, 3-2.

This story was originally published February 28, 2021 at 1:19 AM.