MILL HALL — The State College wrestling team had won eight of its last nine dual meets, but the Little Lions entered the Jan. 31 District 6 Class 3A Duals at Central Mountain as the fourth seed.
As it turned out, the 8-1 record since Jan. 13 was a better indicator of what the Little Lions could do than their seed was.
The now 16-4 Little Lions knocked off top-seeded and previously unbeaten Central Mountain, 35-31, in the semifinals. Then they avenged their only loss in their second half surge by beating third-seeded Altoona, 34-33, in the finals to claim the District 6 title. Altoona reached the finals with a 42-18 win over Bellefonte (14-4).
“I’m really happy,” State College coach Jason Nickal said. “We’ve just been wrestling really well the back half of the season. We have nine new starters this year from last year’s team. With that being said, you’re going to gain a lot of experience throughout the season.
“We set up our schedule this season to be a little bit more prepared for the dual season. I think getting all of those matches has really helped to develop this team.”
While State College was able to claim its first District 6 title since the 2019-2020 season and fifth in program history, Penns Valley had to settle for second place in the District 6 Class 2A Duals for the second straight year.
The Rams suffered their first loss of the season in the finals to state and national power Bishop McCort, 55-13, but they did qualify for the first round of the PIAA Duals. We’ll look more into the Rams’ performance later in this report.
The Little Lions were to wrestle at District 4 champion Selinsgrove (9-3) on Feb. 3. All winners from Feb. 3 advanced to the Feb. 6 quarterfinals at 1st Summit Arena at the Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown.
BEATING UNBEATEN WILDCATS
State College fell into a sizable hole at the start against 11-0 Central Mountain. The dual meet began at 139, where State College’s Jon Whitbred jumped out to an early lead on Hayes Donley, but the Wildcat turned the tables and won by fall in 3:23.
The Wildcats picked up a major decision and fall at 145 and 152, respectively, to take a 16-0 lead. But then James Whitbred won by technical fall at 160 and Teag Sanderson recorded a pin in 1:19. State College’s Noah Williams won by fall in 5:03 to give his team a 17-16 lead.
A Central Mountain fall at 215 and decision at 285 erased the State College lead, but then the Little Lions ran off four straight wins.
Camden Fletcher earned a 12-0 major decision over Hunter Nace at 107. Noah Young gave the Little Lions the lead for good with a pin in 19 seconds at 114. Luke Young rang up a technical fall at 121, and Kael Davis earned an 8-0 major decision over Gavin Heverly at 127 to secure the team win.
“Kael stepped up on the big stage knowing the dual was on the line and got a big 8-0 major decision,” Nickal said.
The Little Lions, who avenged a 32-27 loss to Altoona in the Bison Duals, won the pre-match flip and both team shifted their lineups up. State College won pivotal bouts at 152 and 285, allowing it to forfeit to Altoona stars Deklan Barr (127) and Braiden Weaver (133), as well as Brandt Hit (139) to close out the meet.
At 152, State College’s Nico Diaz moved up and earned a 5-0 decision over Brayden Wible.
“He came through with a big win for us,” Nickal said.”
At 285, Altoona’s Khamden Thompkins was losing 5-4 to Quillan Phillips when Phillips got the fall in 3:05. Thompkins and Phillips had split their first two bouts this season.
“I think those are the two big matches that kind of cost us a little bit,” Altoona coach Joel Gilbert said. “152 and 285 took us out of an opportunity to win that match. That was the difference between that match and the previous one. We were hoping to get those two and it didn’t work out. That’s just the way it goes.”
James Whitbred (160) and Sanderson (189) won by technical fall, while Williams (215) came through with a fall. Noah Young earned a 3-0 win over Dominic Nardozza at 114 and Luke Young won by fall at 121.
State College also won at Mifflin County, 49-18, on Jan. 28.
RAMS HOLD OFF PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
Penns Valley (14-1) advanced to the final four of the District 6 Duals with a 58-18 win over Glendale at home. The Rams then reached the championship finals with a 35-26 win over Philipsburg-Osceola in the semifinals.
“I couldn’t be more proud of how these guys competed overall,” Penns Valley coach Joel Brinker said. “They wrestled like they have all year, giving their best, and that’s all we can ask for.”
The Rams trailed P-O 21-12 going into the last five bouts, but they went 4-1 in those bouts. Max Dinges (133), Tripp Watson (145) and Sawyer Fetterolf (160) won by fall, while Erik Carlile (139) won by technical fall.
The pivotal bout was at 145, where P-O’s Averi Gable held a 5-0 lead on Watson in the third period. Watson became the hero when he hit an elevator and pinned Gable in 4:32.
Penns Valley’s Seth Fetterolf (172) recorded a pin, while Robert Martin earned a 6-1 decision over Conner Eichenlaub at 285 and Evan Lisowski edged Jacob Dugan, 3-0, at 114.
Devin Long (121) had P-O’s only fall. Colton Chapman (189) and Connor Guenot (152) won by technical fall. P-O’s Hayden Koptchak (107) earned a major decision, and Caleb Hummel (127) avenged a loss to PV’s Conner Myers, 8-4.
In the finals, the Rams got back-to-back wins from Dinges (127) and Carlile (133). Dinges earned a major decision, while Carlile edged Austin Carfley, 3-2. Evan Lisowski (114) won by forfeit.
“It’s no secret how good McCort is,” Brinker sad. “I was very pleased with our guys’ effort. Max and Erik beat two solid opponents.”
In the true second match, the Rams beat Huntingdon, 36-30. In the third place match, P-O lost to Huntingdon, 38-27. Koptchak (107), Hummel (127), Guenot (145) and Gable (152) had pins.
The Mounties advanced to the District 6 final four with a 40-21 win over West Branch in the quarterfinals on Jan. 28 at home. The next night, they hammered Richland, 51-19, at home.
BALD EAGLE AREA’S RALLY FALLS SHORT
Bald Eagle Area lost its Duals first round match to Central, 35-31, on Jan. 27 at Huntingdon. BEA trailed by 19 points going into the last four bouts, but Tanner Guenot (139), Dawson Lomison (145) and Caden Judice (152) had pins to get the Eagles to within one point, 32-21.
Central’s Kaden Horn beat Kayson Tice, 12-6, in the final bout at 160 to end BEA’s threat.
Huntingdon then beat Central, 53-24, to advance to the semifinals.
BELLEFONTE GIRLS PLACE
Bellefonte’s Bailee Scott finished second at 155 in the Williamsport Showcase on Jan. 31 at Williamsport High School.
Scott reeled off three pins to get to the finals, but she was pinned by Jersey Shore’s Isabella Gottschall in 1:10 in the finals.
Teammates Ella Johnsonbaugh (148) was third, while Carly Bair (124) was sixth.
SCHEDULE FOR WEEK OF FEB. 5
BOYS
FEB. 6
Penns Valley and State College in PIAA Duals at 1st Summit Arena at Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown if they win in first round
West Branch at Philipsburg-Osceola
FEB. 7
Penns Valley and State College in PIAA Duals at 1st Summit Arena at Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown if necessary.
