ALTOONA — It is no surprise that State College’s Asher Cunningham and Nick Pavlechko captured their respective third Northwest Regional Class 3A tournament titles on Saturday, Feb. 24, at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
One surprise win came from freshman James Whitbred, who won a regional title at 133 pounds after suffering nine losses during the regular season.
Whitbred followed up his District 6 title by going 4-0 in the regional, including a 9-3 win over Punxsutawney’s Jordan Rutan in the championship finals.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Whitbred said. “I had hoped to win the tournament. I expected to perform the best I could do. I think I improved since the last time I wrestled, and I definitely performed pretty well.”
“He’s fun to watch,” State College coach Ryan Cummins said. “I think he’s peaking at the right time. I think he’ll have a nice tournament in Hershey. As a freshman doing as well as he is, I can’t imagine what he’ll be like as a junior and senior.”
Cunningham (33-1) erupted for a 27-11 technical fall over Mifflin County’s Deakon Schaeffer in the 160-pound final and Pavlechko pinned his way through the tournament, including a fall in 59 seconds over Hollidaysburg’s Wyatt Maines in the finals.
Teammate Pierson Manville (23-1) was denied his third regional title by Central Mountain’s returning state champion, Luke Simcox, in a classic finals bout at 145. Simcox escaped from Manville in the ultimate tiebreaker to win, 3-2.
State College’s Noah Young also finished second at 107 when Central Mountain’s Gavin Heverly pinned him in 4:40 in the finals in a rematch of the District 5 tournament final.
Two other Little Lions placed but didn’t qualify for the March 7-9 PIAA championships in Hershey. Jon Whitbred (114) and Jacob Campbell (139) finished in fifth place.
The Little Lions finished in fourth place in the team standings with 151 points. Central Mountain titled by 22 points, 177-155, over Mifflin County, while Shikellamy (153) came in third.
“You always want to finish higher as a team, but we’ll take what we can get,” Cummins said. “We had five in the finals. I’m happy about that.”
James Whitbred, who beat Hickory’s Dylan O’Brien, 3-0, in the semifinals, was up 4-3 in the third period against Rutan when he scored a takedown with 56 seconds remaining. Whitbred added a 3-point nearfall with 32 seconds left to extend his lead.
Asked what the key was in the finals, Whitbred said, “Maintaining control, staying calm in the match and not freaking out if I was in a sticky position.”
Cunningham came out firing on all cylinders in the finals, taking Schaeffer down five times in the first period. He added seven more takedowns in the third for a 24-11 lead. Cunningham escaped and got his 13th takedown to wrap up the technical fall.
“He’s a different kid than he was last year,” Cummins said. “He scored a ton of points. He deserves all of his success. I think he’ll be ready to wrestle in a week and a half in Hershey.”
Pavlechko (32-1) was up 6-2 on Maines when he put the Golden Tiger on his back and pinned him.
“He’s worked really hard to get where he’s at as well,” Cummins said. “He’s another one I’m ready to watch at Hershey.”
Manville and Simcox spent much of the bout on their feet, trading escapes in regulation and going scoreless in overtime. They both escaped in their 30-second tiebreaker periods.
Simcox, who scored first in regulation, had the choice for the ultimate tiebreaker. He chose bottom and escaped 4 seconds into the period to win.
“It doesn’t get any closer than that,” Cummins said. “I think we’ll see the matchup again. Now that gives him some motivation, probably more than it did before. That’s good. Simcox is a returning state champ. He’s good.”
Philipsburg-Osceola’s DuVall and Bald Eagle Area’s Grieb make history
Two Centre County girls made history by capturing titles at the first ever PIAA-sanctioned District 5-6-9 Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 24 at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Sports Center.
Philipsburg-Osceola senior Isabella DuVall won at 124 pounds, while Bald Eagle Area senior Angelina Grieb captured a title at 148.
Grieb had a pin and a 19-6 major decision over Curwensville’s Gabrielle Bambarger in the finals. DuVall recorded two falls, including pinning Curwensville’s Savannah Carfley in 3:29 in the finals.
“It was a historic moment to be a part of the first District 5-6-9 tournament,” said Bald Eagle Area boys coach Ron Guenot, who assisted girls coach Eddie Hockenberry. “For her to be the first girl in Bald Eagle history (to win a district title) is exciting. I’m sure people will look back years from now and say the first champion in Bald Eagle history was Angie Grieb. That’s exciting.”
“I thought Bella wrestled really well,” said Philipsburg-Osceola boys coach Justin Fye, who assisted girls coach Chris McCully. “She’s the only senior on our roster this year. So to have that opportunity in her last year is really exciting. She knows wrestling very well, and she just enjoys going out and competing.”
Bald Eagle Area’s Grace Crestani finished second at 190, getting pinned by Bishop McCort’s Alyssa Favara in 41 seconds in the finals. State College’s Anna Lackey was a runner-up at 106 after she was pinned by Northern Bedford’s Kaylee Ebersole in 51 seconds.
Thirteen Centre County girls qualified for the Saturday, March 2, Central Regional at Milton High School by placing in the top six in their weights. They will be joined by qualifiers from District 2 and District 4. The tournament begins at 9 a.m. The top four at every weight advance to the PIAA championships in Hershey.
Philipsburg-Osceola advanced six to the regional, including fourth-placers Marleana DuVall (130), Charli Hunt (136) and Daisy Glessner (170) and sixth-placers Veda Kephart (118) and Annabella Hunt (142).
Philipsburg-Osceola finished in fourth place in the team standings with 69 points. Bishop McCort won the team title by 24 points, 121-97, over Curwensville.
State College had four qualifiers, including three fifth-placers in Sophia Fomichev (100), Christine Armstrong (124) and Starlynn Emel-Rash (170). Bald Eagle Area also qualified third-placer Eden Eveleth (106).
SOUTHWEST REGIONAL THIS WEEKEND
Bald Eagle Area is looking to ride a wave of momentum into this weekend’s rugged Southwest Regional tournament at the Altoona Fieldhouse.
Caleb Close is riding a huge wave of momentum.
Returning regional champ Close was named the Outstanding Wrestler of the District 6 tournament after avenging a loss to Huntingdon’s Andrew McMonagle, 5-2, in the 189-pound championship finals.
Bald Eagle Area’s Tanner Guenot (107) and sophomore Caden Judice (114) enter the tournament on a roll after winning respective district titles.
Returning regional champ Lucas Fye is coming off a third-place finish at 127 at the district tournament.
“It’s always something you look forward to, something you work for all year-long,” Guenot said of the regional tournament. “It’s up to the kids to let it fly Friday night. We’re really excited about it.”
Penns Valley’s Ty Watson will be looking to win his third Southwest Regional Class 2A tournament this weekend after finishing third at a deep 152 at the District 6 tournament.
Philipsburg-Osceola’s Caleb Hummel (107) and Marcus Gable (139), Penns Valley’s Colten Shunk (133) and Bellefonte’s Noah Weaver (145) were runners-up at the district tournament.
A total of 23 Centre County wrestlers — seven from District 6 runner-up BEA, nine from Penns Valley, four from Bellefonte and three from Philipsburg-Osceola — will look to finish in the top six of their weights to qualify for the PIAA championships.
The tournament begins at 4 p.m., Friday, March 1, with the pigtail round. A preliminary round and a 7:15 p.m. quarterfinal round will follow. Saturday’s wrestling starts at 9 a.m. with a consolation round. The semifinals are set for 12:30 p.m. Championship finals, third place, fifth place and seventh place bouts are at 5:15 p.m.
