Centre County wrestlers on the hunt for crowns at the District 6 Championships. What to know
The individual postseason portion of the high school wrestling season has arrived, with wrestlers from all five Centre County schools competing in this weekend’s District 6 Championships.
Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte, Penns Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola kick things off at 10 a.m. Friday inside Altoona’s Fieldhouse for the District 6 Class 2A Championships. State College will join those four starting at 9 a.m. Saturday as the Class 3A Championships will run simultaneously with the second part of Class 2A.
Everything will culminate with the finals and consolation finals for both classifications getting underway at roughly 6 p.m. Saturday.
The top six in Class 2A move onto the Southwest Regional, which will be March 1-2 in Altoona. The top three in Class 3A move onto the Northwest Regional, which will be next weekend in Altoona.
Here’s a look at how each team stacks up:
CLASS 2A
Bald Eagle Area
Top seed(s): Tanner Guenot (107 pounds), Caden Judice (114)
Other seeds: Liam Purcell (No. 15, 121 pounds), Lucas Fye (No. 2, 127), Dawson Lomison (No. 5, 133), Kayson Tice (No. 15, 139), Mason Reese (No. 3, 145), Gavin Bennett (No. 10, 152), Shawn Knepp (No. 7, 160), Cameron Dubbs (No. 3, 172), Caleb Close (No. 2, 189), Gage Gardner (No. 6, 215), Eric Clark (No. 7, 285)
Outlook: When seeding was finalized on Tuesday night, the Eagles were one of just two teams to have multiple No. 1 seeds. Bishop McCort has the most top seeded wrestlers with three.
The remainder of BEA’s wrestlers fell right where coach Ron Guenot thought they’d be.
“I guess to be as expected. The guys are where they are. At the end of the day, you have to go wrestle one match at a time,” Guenot said, “and not get too concerned with where you’re seeded at. Our guys that have done well all season in tournaments and things are right up top.”
Tanner Guenot and Judice have been solid all season for the Eagles, so it came as no surprise to see the underclassmen at the top of their weight classes.
Tanner Guenot is just a freshman and may remind BEA fans of former great Coen Bainey, who went on to win four district titles. Judice came to the team this year after winning a Louisiana state title last year as a freshman.
“They’ve earned those No. 1 seeds. Now, they just have to go out and take it one match at a time, and prove that they are No. 1,” coach Guenot said. “Hopefully, they’ll be up to the task.”
If seeds hold true, the Eagles would get eight to the Southwest Regional. But BEA also has some wrestlers who are capable of upsets.
Knepp and Clark are just on the outside as No. 7 seeds, so they need to get past one guy in front of them to secure a regional spot. Should those two pull that off or even two others, it would give BEA 10 regional qualifiers, which coach Guenot believes would be a first.
“I believe last year we had nine that we took. If you take 10 to regionals, you had an outstanding tournament,” he said. “At the end of the day, it is a mindset. You have to want it and move on. It’s a long grueling season. Some times there are situations where a guy is just ready to be done.”
Bellefonte
Top seed(s): Noah Weaver (145 pounds)
Other seeds: Wyatt Long (No. 3, 107 pounds), Nolan Weaver (No. 13, 121), Cameron Garcia (No. 4, 127), Gavin Lucas (No. 14, 133), Ezra Swisher (No. 3, 139), Jackson Long (No. 5, 152), Jack McHail (No. 10, 160), Quinn Park (No. 13, 172), Luke Hockenberry (No. 6, 189), Logan Rarrick (No. 12, 215), Ian Valimont (No. 11, 285)
Outlook: The Red Raiders had an up and down season due to their youth and the lack of experience on the varsity level.
Reflecting on the lineup, coach Mike Maney said only five of his 12 wrestlers have postseason experience. They have tournament experience, but the postseason tournament is a different animal.
“It’s probably the smallest group I’ve had. We’re going to rely on the guys that have been there before to establish a routine,” he said. “It’s also why we go to certain tournaments. We just preach to approach every competition the same way, so when the postseason comes around it’s just like any other event.”
Even though Bellefonte is young, it was still able to see one of its wrestlers gain the No. 1 seed in Noah Weaver. He has 32 wins on the season, which is tied for second on the team with Wyatt Long — Swisher leads with 33.
He’s been dominate all year long to the tune of 12 technical falls as part of those 32 victories. Maney has the utmost confidence in his senior.
“Throughout the course of the season, he’s becoming more confident, but we’d still like to see him open up more,” Maney said. “The Southern Tier tournament was a solidification that he can beat some really good guys when he opens up and wrestles hard. The No. 1 seed is well deserved, but you got to go out and perform. If he believes in himself, there is no reason why he can’t finish No. 1 on Saturday night.”
Maney felt all of his wrestlers’ seeds were “pretty much” how he thought they would turn out. He’s looking forward to seeing those seven wrestlers get their first taste of the postseason, but ultimately they have to believe in themselves.
“The message has been one match at a time. It is talked to the whole team that there are probably 300 guys competing this weekend,” he said. “And every year there is a couple that become the talk of the postseason. It’s just believing that regardless of your seed, you are capable of competing and beating anyone. We see it every year, someone catches fire and that comes from proper preparation all year long.”
Penns Valley
Top seed(s): Colten Shunk (133 pounds)
Other seeds: Conner Myers (No. 7, 107 pounds), Erik Carlile (No. 7, 114), Jack Darlington (No. 4, 121), Tripp Watson (No. 8, 127), Zach Rummel (No. 12, 139), Brayden Lisowski (No. 7, 145), Ty Watson (No. 3, 152), Ethan Fetterolf (No. 6, 160), Robert Martin (No. 16, 172), Shane Rimmey (No. 20, 189), Brandon Corl (No. 11, 215), Landen Hess (No. 9, 285)
Outlook: A year ago, the Rams had four wrestlers that were seeded in the top-six of their weight, but they pushed six into the Southwest Regional tournament.
This year, Penns Valley again has four wrestlers seeded in the top-six, which if the seeds held true would make it through. Coach Joel Brinker feels his squad will push those four plus more through.
“If we just lined up and took the top six, why wrestle? They are going to be battling. I have faith that they are going to give their best this weekend,” he said. “We are excited. I know the guys are ready to go. We’ve had a good two weeks, coming off the district duals that didn’t go the way we obviously wanted.”
Brinker went on to say — just like any coach — that it doesn’t matter what number is beside a wrestler’s name, they have to go out and perform.
Shunk has performed well all year for the Rams, which is what earned him the No. 1 seed. Older brother Baylor was also a No. 1 seed in his junior season, but Colten will look to do something that Baylor didn’t do — win a district crown.
“Penns Valley is very fortunate to have Colten and Baylor for what they’ve done within our program. Colten) leads by example, and to see his senior year and be the No. 1 seed,” Brinker said, “the elephant in the room is there are some studs in there, but he put himself in a good position by getting the points that he did. We’re excited for him and I know he’s excited.”
Ty Watson was going to be the No. 1 seed at his weight, but he had some losses to the No. 1 seed in Bishop McCort’s Melvin Miller and the No. 2 seed in Penn Cambria’s Trent Hoover, which dropped him down to the No. 3 seed.
He’ll have his work cut out for him if he plans on defending his two-time district titles.
“We knew that’s where that would fall. They both are high-level kids in Hoover and Miller. He lost close matches to both,” Brinker said. “Nothing is going to be easy here in the postseason. They are the type of guys you’ll have to beat to fulfill your ultimate goal.”
One other Rams wrestler was rewarded for his season performance too. Hess finished with a 17-10 record, which would’ve had him listed as the No. 12 seed. However, he beat the three other wrestlers in front of him during the season, which allowed him to leapfrog up to his No. 9 seed.
“He’s right in the hunt there with some of those top guys. The first two are pretty solid kids, but after that it’s a little bit of a mix,” Brinker said. “He can go with quite a few of those guys. He’s the ‘Little Engine that Could,’ so we’ll see what he can do here.”
Philipsburg-Osceola
Top seed(s): Marcus Gable (139 pounds)
Other seeds: Caleb Hummel (No. 2, 107 pounds), Averi Gable (No. 6, 114), Ace Foster (No. 6, 121), Conner Guenot (No. 7, 127), Hunter Kephart (No. 10, 133), Nate Fleck (No. 4, 145), Haydn Kephart (No. 12, 152), Colton Chapman (No. 5, 160), Matthew Rowles (No. 11, 172), Connor Eichenlaub (No. 15, 189), Evan Eichenlaub (No. 17, 215)
Outlook: When Centre County wrestling fans take a deep look at 107 pounds, they’ll see that all four county wrestlers are seeded in the top-seven of the class, with the top three seeds being county wrestlers.
The Mounties’ Hummel is No. 2 in front of Bellefonte’s Wyatt Long, but behind BEA’s Tanner Guenot. Penns Valley’s Conner Myers is No. 7.
“There are going to be some good matches there. We didn’t get a chance to wrestle Guenot in a dual meet this year, so hopefully we get that opportunity on Saturday evening,” P-O coach Justin Fye said. “We have to do our part on Friday and Saturday morning in order to get that opportunity. Caleb has been wrestling pretty well at the end of the year. We’re excited to see how he’s doing against these kind of guys.”
Gable got the top seed at 139 pounds, which is astounding with Bishop McCort’s Bo Bassett in that weight class, and he wrestled a bulk of the year at 145 pounds.
Fye said that Gable’s drop down had been in the works since around Christmas. Even with Bassett, who was a World Champion three years ago and holds a 44-0 record, in the weight, Fye and staff felt it was the right spot for Gable to go at to make the podium in Hershey.
“For Marcus being the No. 1 seed, he’s really done it the right way this year. Marcus is a very strong wrestler, physically. He’s been able to keep his strength and also his quickness,” Fye said. “He has some personal goals that he wants to accomplish this year, so wrestling at 139 is going to give him that best opportunity. He’s wrestled some good guys this year, it’s just another challenge to see where he is at.”
When it came to the seeds for Fye’s other wrestlers, he feels they are in good positions to make a run toward the regional tournament.
He said that he and his staff have been telling the team that all the number does it pick a place for them in a bracket. They ultimately have to go out, wrestle and see where the chips fall.
“I feel all our guys are going to have chances to wrestle into the second day, and that’s all you can ask for. You have to be able to wrestle the second day in order to get to regionals,” Fye said. “Whether we have guys that are predicted to make it through, they still have to follow through and wrestle their best every match. Those guys that aren’t predicted to finish in the top six, there are always Cinderellas that come through. I’ve been a part of it with some of our wrestlers, and I’ve had it happen to some of our wrestlers.”
CLASS 3A
State College
Top seed(s): James Whitbred (133 pounds), Asher Cunningham (160), Nick Pavlechko (285)
Other seeds: Noah Young (No. 3, 107 pounds), Jon Whitbred (No. 4, 114), Johnny Coates (No. 4, 121), Nick Berrena (No. 5, 127), Jacob Campbell (No. 2, 139), Pierson Manville (No. 2, 145), Brady Bucher (No. 4, 152), Xavier Zeruth (No. 5, 172), Reagan Dillon (No. 6, 189), Lucas Anderson (No. 4, 215)
Outlook: Last year, the Little Lions looked like a miniature scale of Penn State as they had five wrestlers earn district titles, who then went on to win regional titles too.
Three of those district and regional champs are back in Manville, Cunningham and Pavlechko. It is possible those three repeat as district champs, and could have James Whitbred beside them.
Manville will have the toughest opponent in Central Mountain’s Luke Simcox, who is a North Carolina commit. The pair faced off two years ago in the Powerade consolation finals with Manville winning, 5-2.
State College coach Ryan Cummins feels his wrestler can get it done again.
“He’s as confident as you can be. Since the summer, he’s pretty much been ranked No. 1 and he’s definitely been living up to that,” Cummins said. “He’s the hardest worker in the room. I’m excited to watch the finals match.”
Pavlechko is in his final postseason run, and sits with a 27-1 mark. He’s also only two wins away from getting No. 100, which could come in the district finals.
The Indiana commit looks very poised to make a run for a state title.
“We are taking it a match at a time. He’s done all the right things leading up here,” Cummins said. “I hope by the end he is where he wants to be.”
Cunningham and Whitbred get another shot next year with Whitbred having several more chances since he’s only a freshman.
“(Whitbred) has improved so much since the beginning, just his confidence and coming out on top of funny positions. He is gaining that confidence at the right time of the year,” Cummins said. “(Cunningham) has become so dominant. I’m really excited to watch him here in the postseason. I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. I think that all of his hard work is going to payoff.”
DISTRICT 6 CHAMPIONSHIPS
When: Friday, 1st session (Class 2A Pigtails, First Round, Consolation First Round, Consolation Second Round), 10 a.m.; 2nd session (Class 2A Quarterfinals, Consolation Third Round), 4 p.m.; Saturday, 1st Session (Class 2A Consolation Fourth Round, Class 3A Quarterfinals, 9 a.m.; Class 2A & 3A semifinals, Class 2A & 3A Consolation Quarterfinals, 10:30 a.m.; Class 2A & 3A Consolation Semifinals, Class 2A Seventh Place Matches, Class 2A & 3A Fifth Place Matches, 1:15 p.m.; 2nd Session (Class 2A & 3A Finals, Class 2A & 3A Consolation Finals), 6 p.m.
Where: The Fieldhouse, Altoona
Tickets: Purchased at door (cash only), $10 per session or $18 for all day
Brackets: FloArena
Radio: 98.7 FM, The Fox
Note: Hall of Fame Induction will begin at 5:45 p.m.; All spectators will go through metal detectors and bag checks upon entering. Doors will open 1 hour before session start times.
