Who is this week’s Centre Daily Times high school athlete of the week? Vote here
Editor’s note: The Centre Daily Times will publish a weekly poll on Monday mornings for readers to choose the Athlete of the Week for the previous week of competition. Please go to CentreDaily.com and click on this story to cast your vote.
Here are this week’s nominees for the Centre Daily Times’ high school Athlete of the Week presented in alphabetical order. They were selected by the Centre Daily Times sports staff via stats compiled by the CDT or sent to cdtscores@centredaily.com. Vote for your favorite.
If you’d like to nominate a player’s performance for future weeks, or believe a deserving nominee is missing from this week’s poll, please contact the CDT via email at cdtscores@centredaily.com.
The poll closes at noon Friday, and a short profile of the winner will appear in Sunday’s paper.
Malachi DuVall, Penns Valley
DuVall was the only Centre County wrestler to reach the finals of the PIAA Wrestling Championships this season. The senior — who is committed to wrestle at Navy — advanced to the 172-pound finals with a 4-2 win over Southern Columbia’s Gavin Garcia in sudden victory. He fell in the finals by a narrow 9-7 decision. It appeared he may have secured a pin during the match, but it went uncalled. This was the highest PIAA finish for the senior.
Jude Swisher, Bellefonte
Swisher was one of three county wrestlers to earn third place at the PIAA Wrestling Championships. He was the lone wrestler of the three to do it in Class 3A, earning the highest finish of his young career. After a scramble didn’t go his way in the 132-pound semifinals, Swisher battled back in the consolation bracket and defeated Coatesville’s Nathan Lucier 5-0 to finish his season and earn his second state medal.
Amonn Ohl, Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy
After dealing with injuries the past two years, Ohl again found himself on the podium at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships, finishing third at 138 pounds. His bronze medal was his highest placement at PIAAs, and his second time finishing as a medalist in his four-year high school career, after doing so his freshman year. After a semifinal loss to eventual state champion Brock McMillen, of Glendale, Ohl battled back in the consolation bracket, defeating Faith Christian’s Eric Alderfer by 2-0 decision to earn the third-place finish.
Zack Witmer, Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy
Witmer earned third place at the PIAA Class 2A Wrestling Championships on Friday, becoming the second four-time state medalist in SJCA history. He fell in the semifinals to the eventual champion at 132 pounds, Forest Hills’ Jackson Arrington, but rebounded to win out and finish with a bronze medal with a 4-0 win over Harbor Creek’s Connor Pierce. The bronze medal marked the highest PIAA placement of Witmer’s career.
This story was originally published March 14, 2021 at 12:59 PM.
