Six Centre County wrestlers earn PIAA regional championships crowns. See all results
The high school wrestling season ends next weekend in Hershey.
On Saturday, six Centre County wrestlers came away with PIAA regional crowns with eight others joining them for the trip to Chocolatetown.
Bald Eagle Area, Penns Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola all competed in the Class 2A Southwest Regional in Altoona. State College and Bellefonte traveled to Canon-McMillan High School in Canonsburg for the newly formed Class 3A Western Regional.
The Lady Eagles, Lady Red Raiders and Lady Mounties went to Milton High School for the Central Regional.
Here’s a look at how they all finished:
BOYS CLASS 2A
BALD EAGLE AREA
Team score: 4th, 98.5 points
Champions: Tanner Guenot (121 pounds), Caleb Close (189)
Other placewinners: Caden Judice (2nd, 133), Dawson Lomison (3rd, 139)
Eliminated: Liam Purcell (0-2, 114), Alex Surovec (0-2, 152)
Recap: Guenot and Close each had to go through some familiar faces in order to get their regional titles.
Close took on Tyrone’s Kyle Scott for a fourth time this season. All of their matches occurred in the finals of tournaments they competed in.
Each time Close’s margin of victory got larger. On Saturday night, the American University commit was on his way toward a technical fall after leading 14-1 after two periods.
With 38 seconds left in the bout, Scott threw Close to his back for a takedown and nearfall. While Close said he was nervous, he still managed to collect a 14-9 victory for his third and final regional crown.
“That was a good push. I feel like every time I’ve wrestled him, my improvement is showing more and more,” Close said. “I just feel good where I’m at. I’m excited for next weekend.”
Guenot didn’t have quite the same familiarity as Close did, but it was still an opponent he faced off with in last year’s regional finals.
After pinning Avonworth’s Auston Kosanovic in the semifinals, the BEA wrestler took on Chestnut Ridge’s Dominic Deputy, who is a North Carolina State commit.
The pair had a scoreless first period, with Deputy scoring with a reversal midway through the second period.
Guenot decided to start the third period on their feet. It was a choice that paid off late.
With 24 seconds left, Guenot shot in on Deputy and was able to finish it off for a single leg takedown in a 3-2 victory. It avenged Guenot’s 1-0 loss to Deputy in last year’s final.
“It’s something I’ve been working for. It feels really nice, but the job is not finished yet. States is this Thursday, so that’s what I’m looking forward to now,” Guenot said. “It’s definitely a nice win. I have a lot of respect for Dom. He’s a very good opponent. To beat him, I got to wrestle my absolute best, and that’s what happened today.”
PENNS VALLEY
Team score: 6th, 75 points
Champions: Max Dinges (114 pounds), Erik Carlile (127)
Other placewinners: Conner Myers (8th, 121), Brayden Lisowski (8th, 160)
Eliminated: Evan Lisowski (1-2, 107)
Recap: A year ago, the Rams saw their first freshman make the PIAA Championships.
On Saturday, Penns Valley saw some more history for its program.
Dinges became the first freshman regional champion, and the Rams crowned two regional champs for the first time.
“Max and Eric, day in and day out, live it, breathe it and sleep it. They are hard workers in the room and stay after,” Penns Valley coach Joel Brinker said. “They’re reaping the rewards for what they put in. Having two underclassmen being regional champs is really special. I know they’re not satisfied. This is definitely on their list, but I know next week they want more.”
Dinges got his title first, and got some revenge in the process when he took on Bishop McCort’s Eli Herring.
The pair squared off in the District 6 finals two weeks ago with Herring coming out with a 4-3 win in ultimate tiebreakers.
On Saturday, Dinges came out attacking and secured a takedown in the first period for a 3-1 lead. He tacked on a reversal late in the second to lead 5-1.
In the third period, Dinges tacked on one more takedown for good measure in an 8-3 victory.
“It’s pretty great. I prayed for this and worked for this. It’s really fulfilling to see it finally pay off,” Dinges said. “It feels great to get it on a bigger stage. You’d like to get all of them, but it doesn’t swing that way. It just makes you better.”
Carlile had a dominant regional tournament on his way to his title.
He made the semifinals by coming out on top in a 17-11 scorefest. In the semifinals, Carlile pinned Northern Bedford’s Wyatt Clouse in 2:28.
The finals saw Carlile tally the first points on District 7 champion Antonio Boni of Central Valley with a takedown midway through the first period. In the second period, Carlile got another takedown and some nearfall points to hold an 8-3 lead.
The Rams wrestler got one last takedown in an 11-4 victory.
“It just feels good. I’ve been believing in my coaches and the training that I’ve done,” Carlile said. “I’m believing that God can help me through anything and give me strength.”
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
Team score: T-27th, 26 points
Champions: None
Other placewinners: Caleb Hummel (6th, 114 pounds), Averi Gable (8th, 127)
Eliminated: Conner Guenot (0-2, 139), Ace Foster (1-2, 133)
Recap: The Mounties had a pair of state qualifiers a year ago, with Hummel being one of those.
He didn’t place, but it was his second straight trip. Now, the Bloomsburg commit has his third trip in place to stay perfect in his high school career.
“It’s definitely exciting and fun to be there. I definitely want to place this year,” Hummel said. “I didn’t wrestle how I wanted to this weekend, but I’ll be ready on Thursday.”
Hummel began his day with a 12-0 major decision over North Catholic’s Victor Wagner, and then secured his spot in Hershey with an injury default victory against Quaker Valley’s Bruce Anderchak.
Hummel fell into the fifth-place match by suffering a 12-4 loss to Elizabeth Forward’s Preston Bubash. The P-O wrestler saw his tournament come to a close with a tough 5-4 loss in sudden victory to McGuffey’s Clayton Ealy.
“Caleb had a good tournament. At 114, you’re looking at quite a few top 10 guys in this tournament. I thought he wrestled well all around,” Mounties coach Justin Fye said. “I know our consolation semifinals match didn’t go the way we wanted. Even in fifth and six (match), I thought we wrestled well. We just gave up a couple points there that we didn’t need to give up, but the goal at the end of the year is to place in Hershey.”
There was a scary sight for P-O earlier in the day as Gable laid on his back in the middle of the mat during his consolation quarterfinals match with Central Cambria’s Burke Niebauer.
With one minute remaining in the second period, the official stopped the match as Gable was unconscious. However, after a few seconds, he was responsive. According to Fye, Gable had movement in all his extremities, and trainers felt that maybe a pinched nerve caused him to lose consciousness.
Gable was stretchered out of the gym and taken to nearby hospital as a precaution.
“Averi had a tremendous season. Last year, he didn’t make it to regionals. He came back this year, had a really good district tournament,” Fye said. “He’s put in a lot of work in this offseason. He saw that pay off a little bit. Next year, it’s going to be working on just fine tuning some of his wrestling skills. A lot of people have been asking about him and everything, he seems to be doing well. I heard from his parents. It seems like the tests have come back with positive results, so looking in a good way that way.”
BOYS CLASS 3A
BELLEFONTE
Team score: 10th, 51 points
Champions: none
Other placewinners: Wyatt Long (6th, 127), Andrew Gall (6th, 145 pounds), Ezra Swisher (5th, 152), Noah Weaver (6th, 160), Jackson Long (6th, 172)
Eliminated: Cameron Garcia (139), Jack McHail (215)
Recap: Swisher, a junior, opened his regional tournament appearance with an 11-0 win by technical fall in 2:39 against Cranberry’s Alex McLaughlin. Swisher registered a takedown and a nearfall in the first period. He added another escape and a takedown in the second period before earning the technical fall.
The win advanced Swisher to the quarterfinals, where he recorded a 13-9 decision against South Fayette’s Luke Dunlap. Swisher netted two first-period escapes and a takedown against Dunlap to trail, 7-5, entering the second period.
He knotted the bout at 8 courtesy of a takedown he recorded at the 1:27 mark in the second period.
Swisher outscored Dunlap, 5-0, in the third period. The junior opened his scoring during the round with an escape before nabbing his third takedow of the bout. Dunlap was penalized for stalling, which gave Swisher his final point of the bout.
Swisher’s undefeated run on Saturday ended with a loss to Thomas Jefferson’s Maddox Shaw in the semifinals. Shaw pinned Swisher in 1:43.
Swisher dropped an 8-7 decision to Darius McMillion in the consolation bracket, which earned him a rematch against Dunlap for fifth place.
Swisher won a 7-0 decision against Dunlap to secure his place at states. He recorded a first-period takedown along with an escape and a takedown in the third period.
“It’s not easy, especially in AAA — there’s no easy match,” Bellefonte coach Mike Maney said. “From the first match on, you need to wrestle really well, and if you come up on the short end of the stick, you have to readjust quickly and put the pieces back together. ... It’s just a credit to (Ezra) and the amount of work in everything he does consistently year round.”
Four of Bellefonte’s representatives at Saturday’s regional tournament finished just shy of securing a trip to states. Of the four, Weaver is the lone senior. Maney said he hopes his three returning wrestlers use the experience as motivation for next season.
“You just have to remember that one tournament or one loss or one win aren’t going to define you as a person,” Maney said. “You have to remember that burning desire and that feel of how the tournament ended, and let it motivate you through next year.”
STATE COLLEGE
Team score: 4th, 80.5 points
Champions: Asher Cunningham (172 pounds)
Other placewinners: Kael Davis (6th, 114), Nicholas Berrena (5th, 133), James Whitbred (2nd, 152)
Eliminated: Xavier Zeruth (160), Michael Troupe (285)
Recap: Cunningham notched two technical falls and a fall against his first three opponents on Saturday to secure his spot in the final at 172 pounds. The senior claimed the crown with an 18-0 technical fall in 6:00 against Thomas Jefferson’s Bode Marlow.
Marlow earned three wins by technical fall to reach the final and face Cunningham.
“Asher had some tough matches along the way,” State College coach Jason Nickal said. “He had a tough opponent in the semifinal — he handled him well. He had a seasoned kid who is a college-bound wrestler that we knew was going to be a formidable opponent in the finals.”
Cunningham tallied his first points of the championship bout by recording a takedown at the 1:08 mark in the first period. He added an escape with 1:57 remaining in the second period before collecting another takedown of Marlow.
Cunningham entered the third period with a 7-0 advantage and added his third takedown of the bout at the 42-second mark. A pair of nearfalls cemented Cunningham’s 18-0 championship win.
“Asher just went out there, business as usual, and he just dominated the match from the start to the finish,” Nickal said. “It was never a question, and he’s done that multiple times this year. It’s really awesome to have somebody like that on a wrestling team who can go out there and take care of business so easily.”
Berrena and Whitbred will join Cunningham at the PIAA Wrestling Championships in Hershey. Davis placed sixth, which earned him accolades as a place winner during the regional tournament and landed him one spot shy of the fifth-place threshold needed to make states. Davis will be an alternate at states.
Whitbred claimed wins by decision against Mount Lebanon’s Cole Gibbons (8-5) and Darius McMillion (9-6) of Peters Township in his first two tournament bouts. He recorded a win by fall in 5:27 against Connellsville’s Evan Petrovich in the semifinals. Maddox Shaw of Thomas Jefferson won a 15-4 decision against Whitbred in the finals.
Berrena won by default in his fifth-place bout against North Alleghany’s Gus Stedeford.
“We just had a great showing,” Nickal said. “We had a senior, Nick Berrena, a first-time qualifier at states at 133 pounds. He’s worked his tail off since last year and surprised a lot of people and avenged a couple of losses from earlier in the season. He made it happen today. James (Whitbred) had a huge upset win in the semifinals ... James caught his opponent in a cradle and put him on his back and pinned him in the third, which was probably also one of the highlights of the tournament for us.”
GIRLS
There were nine Centre County wrestlers that hit the mat, with three being able to secure spots in Hershey.
P-O’s Charli Hunt was the lone girls wrestler to come away with a title.
BEA’s Grace Crestani and Eden Eveleth were the other county wrestlers that will be heading to the Giant Center next week.
Hunt opened her 136-pound title run with a 5-1 victory over Hughesville’s Abbigale Bowman. After that point, the Lady Mounties’ wrestler was dominant.
In the finals, she racked up a 12-1 major decision over Montgomery’s Briella Walk. Hunt made the finals by collecting another major decision, 9-1 over Selinsgrove’s Karissa Springer.
In the quarterfinals, Hunt pinned Milton’s Adelyn Bush in 2:33.
Crestani, who was the No. 1 seed at 190 pounds, also made the finals.
She faced off with Juniata’s Katelynn Krepps, who led 6-0 after two periods thanks to takedowns in each period.
Crestani got a technical point in the third period, but it wasn’t enough in the 6-1 loss.
The Lady Eagles’ wrestler made the finals by pinning Wilkes Barre’s Taydem Sanchez in 1:33.
Eveleth had to make a run to earn her spot in Hershey.
She dropped her opening match, 10-6, but then caught fire in the consolation bracket. Eveleth pinned Glendale’s Elizabeth Kaufman in 3:21, and then got a forfeit to reach the consolation quarterfinals.
The BEA wrestler trailed Punxsutawney’s Ellie Bodenhorn, 5-1, to start the third period. Eveleth got an escape and takedown to tie the bout, but she then stuck Bodenhorn in 4:04.
Eveleth then edged the No. 1 seed in Western Wayne’s Mia Gifford, 3-2, to secure her spot in the consolation finals and guaranteeing herself a spot in Hershey.
The Lady Eagles’ wrestler was shutout in the consolation finals, 7-0, by Northern Bedford’s Ava Helsel.
PIAA Class 2A Southwest Regional
Saturday at Altoona
Team key: Avella (A), Avonworth (AW), Bald Eagle Area (BEA), Bedford (B), Bentworth (BW), Berlin Brothersvalley (BB), Beth-Center (B-C), Bishop McCort (BM), Burgettstown (BT), Burrell (BR), Cambria Heights (CH), Carlynton (CY), Central (C), Central Cambria (CC), Central Valley (CV), Chartiers-Houston (C-H), Chestnut Ridge (CR), Claysburg-Kimmel (CK), Conemaugh Township (CT), Derry (D), Elizabeth Forward (EF), Ellwood City (EC), Everett (E), Forest Hills (FH), Fort Cherry (FC), Frazier (F), Freedom Area (FA), Glendale (G), Greensburg Salem (GS), Highlands (HL), Huntingdon (H), Jefferson Morgan (JM), Juniata (J), Juniata Valley (JV), Keystone Oaks (KO), Knoch (K), Laurel (L), Marion Center (MC), McGuffey (MG), Meyersdale (MD), Moshannon Valley (MV), Mount Pleasant (MP), Mount Union (MU), Neighborhood Academy (NA), North Catholic (NC), North Star (NS), Northern Bedford (NB), Penn Cambria (PC), Penns Valley (PV), Philipsburg-Osceola (P-O), Quaker Valley (QV), Richland (R), River Valley (RV), Somerset (S), South Park (SP), South Side Beaver (SSB), Southmoreland (SML), Summit Academy (SA), Tussey Mountain (TM), Tyrone (T), United (U), Valley (V), Washington (W), West Greene (WG), Westmont Hilltop (WH)
Team score: 1. Bishop McCort 314, 2. Derry 108.5, 3. Chestnut Ridge 99, 4. Bald Eagle Area 98.5, 5. Burrel 90.5, 6. Penns Valley 75, 7. McGuffey 65.5, 8. Frazier 58, 9. Somerset 56, T10. Huntingdon 53.5, T10. United 53.5, T27. Philipsburg-Osceola 26
Finals
107: Keegan Bassett, BM, major dec. Dakota Santamaria, TM, 10-2; 114: Max Dinges, PV, dec. Eli Herring, BM, 8-3; 121: Tanner Guenot, BEA, dec. Dominic Deputy, CR, 3-2; 127: Erik Carlile, PV, dec. Antonio Boni, CV, 11-4; 133: Jax Forrest, BM, tech. fall Caden Judice, BEA, 23-4 (2:21); 139: Sam Herring, BM, major dec. Gideon Bracken, U, 13-2; 145: Bo Bassett, BM, tech. fall Lucas Boyer, EF, 21-6 (1:25); 152: Devin Magro, BM, dec. Mason Horwat, D, 4-0; 160: Melvin Miller, BM, pinned Owen Ivcic, BW, 1:27; 172: Jayden OFarrill, BM, dec. Isaac Lacinski, BR, 8-6; 189: Caleb Close, BEA, dec. Kyle Scott, T, 14-9; 215: Braedon Welsh, FC, dec. Landon Erdman, H, 4-2; 285: Rowan Holmes, S, dec. Colin Whyte, WG, 7-0
Consolation Finals
139: Dawson Lomison, BEA, major dec. Julian Bertucci, BR, 12-4
5th Place Match
114: Clayton Ealy, MG, dec. Caleb Hummel, P-O, 5-4 (SV)
7th Place Match
121: Dylan Bateman, D, pinned Conner Myers, PV, 1:43; 127: Giovanni Beatrice, D, forfeit Averi Gable, P-O; 160: Ben Catullo, BR, forfeit Brayden Lisowski, PV
Semifinals
114: Dinges, PV, dec. Easton Mull, CR, 10-8; 121: Guenot, BEA, pinned Auston Kosanovic, AW, 1:19; 127: Carlile, PV, pinned Wyatt Clouse, NB, 2:28; 133: Judice, BEA, dec. Anthony Mucci, D, 7-5; 139: Bracken, U, tech. fall Lomison, BEA, 20-5 (4:09); 189: Close, BEA, pinned Zeshawn Williams, FA, 1:22
Consolation Semifinals
114: Preston Bubash, EF, major dec. Hummel, P-O, 12-4; 139: Lomison, BEA, dec. Matthew Danna, QV, 5-2
Consolation Quarterfinals
114: Hummel, P-O, injury def. Bruce Anderchak, QV, :01; 121: Tucker Main, MG, dec. Myers, PV, 4-3; 127: Burke Niebauer, CC, injury def. Gable, P-O, 2:00; 160: Marshall Eckenrode, CH, pinned B. Lisowski, PV, 2:48
Consolation Fourth Round
107: Warren Woleslagle, EF, dec. Evan Lisowski, PV, 7-6; 114: Hummel, P-O, major dec. Victor Wagner, NC, 12-0; 121: Myers, PV, pinned Owen Dluhos, WH, 4:16; 127: Gable, P-O, major dec. Wyatt Taubler, RV, 10-1; 133: Emmett Wolfe, MG, dec. Ace Foster, P-O, 11-7; 160: B. Lisowski, PV, major dec. Stephen Predajna, MP, 16-2
Consolation Third Round
114: Wagner, NC, dec. Liam Purcell, BEA, 8-2; 133: Foster, P-O, pinned Dylan Hovanec, CT, :38; 139: Jahvon Woods, W, dec. Conner Guenot, P-O, 7-5; 152: Cuyler Hale, B, dec. Alex Surovec, BEA, 4-1
