INDIANA — Bald Eagle Area’s Caleb Close captured the 189-pound title of the 57-team Mid-Winter Mayhem on Jan. 13 at IUP’s Kovalchick Convention Center & Athletic Complex.
Close went 6-0 over two days, racking up three pins and two major decisions to get to the championship finals. Once there, he earned a 2-0 win over Montgomery’s Caden Finck to win the title.
BEA had three other placewinners in third-placer Lucas Fye (121), sixth-placer Caden Judice (114) and eighth-placer Dawson Lomison (127).
Fye went 7-1 in the tournament, with his only loss coming to Bishop McCort’s eventual runner-up Lincoln Sledzianowski, 10-9, in the quarterfinals.
Bishop McCort, which had three champions and three runners-up, won the team title by 105 points, 252.5-147.5, over Central Mountain. Bald Eagle Area (121.5) tied with West Scranton for sixth.
The Eagles’ match with Philipsburg-Osceola on Jan. 9 was postponed due to the winter weather.
Two days later, they edged Penns Valley, 34-29. BEA held a 1-point lead going into the final bout, but Fye closed it out with a 10-2 major decision over Joel Conklin.
BEA’s Mason Reese (145), Shawn Knepp (189) and Close (215) had falls, and Judice (114) won by forfeit. Penns Valley’s Ty Watson (152), Conner Myers (107) and Jack Darlington (121) recorded falls.
The 6-0 Eagles were scheduled to wrestle, weather permitting, on Jan. 16 at Clearfield.
The 7-2 Rams, whose match at Huntingdon on Jan. 9 was postponed, were scheduled to wrestle P-O at home on Jan. 16.
TWO LITTLE LIONS WIN AT ESCAPE THE ROCK
State College’s Asher Cunningham won the 160-pound title, and Nick Pavlechko captured the 285-pound title at the 59-team Escape the Rock on Jan. 14 at Council Rock South High School.
Cunningham completed a 5-0 performance in the two-day tournament by pinning Faith Christian Academy’s Cael Weidemoyer in 1:13 in the championship finals.
Pavlechko went 4-0 in the tournament, including two pins, and won the title with a 3-1 victory over Rocco Dellagatta of St. Joseph Regional, New Jersey.
They were the only two Little Lions who placed. Pierson Manville didn’t wrestle in the tournament. The Little Lions still were able to finish 10th in the team standings with 83 points.
Malvern Prep won the team title by 41 points, 199-158, over Faith Christian Academy.
State College is off until the Jan. 25 home match against Mifflin County.
BELLEFONTE’S WEAVER WINS TITLE
Bellefonte’s Noah Weaver captured the 145-pound title of the 32-team Southern Tier Memorial Tournament on Jan. 13 at First Arena in New York, while teammate Ezra Swisher finished second at 138.
Weaver went 4-0 with two technical falls and two decisions, including a 4-0 win over Deakon Bailey of Tioga, New York.
Swisher went 4-1, with three pins and a major decision. In the championship finals, he dropped a 7-1 decision to Gianni Silvestri of Tioga.
The Red Raiders had five other placewinners in fourth-placers Wyatt Long (108) and Cameron Garcia (124), sixth-placer Luke Hockenberry (190) and seventh-placers Jackson Long (152) and Jack McHail (160).
Bellefonte finished fourth in the team standings with 141.5 points. Tioga won the team title by 83.5 points, 260.5-177.5, over Chambersburg.
The Red Raiders were scheduled to wrestle on Jan. 16 at Huntingdon.
P-O GOES 4-2 AT DUALS; GABLE NAMED OW
Philipsburg-Osceola went 4-2 at its own Mountaineer Duals on Jan. 13 at the P-O gymnasium, and 145-pounder Marcus Gable was named the Outstanding Wrestler.
The Mounties (4-5) beat Punxsutawney, 49-21; Johnstown, 67-6; Midd-West, 46-24; and Greencastle-Antrim, 69-6. P-O lost narrowly to Altoona, 33-31, and Tyrone, 35-34. Altoona won the team title with a 6-0 record.
Marcus Gable, Caleb Hummel and Averi Gable went 6-0.
P-O was scheduled to wrestle on Jan. 16 at Penns Valley before wrestling in the Jan. 20 Juniata Bracketed Duals at Juniata High School.
LADY MOUNTIES’ DUVALL WINS TITLE
Philipsburg-Osceola’s Isabella DuVall won the 130-pound title of the Jan. 6 Curwensville Girls Tournament.
DuVall went 4-0 and won the title with a 6-0 win over Saegertown’s Kacie Mock in the finals.
Three other Lady Mounties finished second: Halee Grubb (112), Charli Hunt (142) and Daisy Glessner (190).
P-O finished fourth in the 22-team tournament with 81 points. Hickory won the team title by 11 points, 122-111, over Saegertown.
The Lady Mounties, whose match against Bald Eagle Area on Jan. 9 was postponed, are off until Jan. 27, when they’ll wrestle in the Bald Eagle Area Tournament.
LADY EAGLE GRIEB TAKES SECOND
Bald Eagle Area’s Angelina Grieb finished second at 148 pounds in the girls division of the Mid-Winter Mayhem on Jan. 13.
Grieb, who went 2-1, was pinned in the finals by Norwin’s Josephine Dollman in 3:40. Eden Eveleth finished fourth at 106.
The BEA girls team is off until Jan. 25, when it wrestles Central Mountain at Lock Haven University.
