Philipsburg-Osceola’s Marcus Gable lone Centre County wrestler to secure Laurel Highlands title

Saturday marked a historic day for the Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference.

It was the final day of the conference’s first wrestling tournament, held at Tyrone High School.

Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte, Penns Valley and Philipsburg-Osceola all competed as the Mountain League, which was where the four schools competed before being dissolved into the LHAC.

The four schools combined to send eight wrestlers to the finals. The Eagles had the most finalists, with three.

The Mounties and Rams each had two finalists; the Red Raiders had one.

BEA finished third in the team race with 166 points, trailing Bishop McCort (245.5 points) and Chestnut Ridge (173).

Penns Valley (8th, 122.5 points) and P-O (10th, 104.5) had top-10 finishes. Bellefonte was just outside the top 10 with an 11th- place finish and 80.5 points.

Here’s a look at how each team fared:

Philipsburg-Osceola

Team score: 104.5 points, 10th

Champions: Marcus Gable (145 pounds)

Other placewinners: Averi Gable (107, 4th), Caleb Hummel (114, 2nd), Ace Foster (121, 8th), Nate Fleck (152, 8th), Colton Chapman (160, 7th), Matt Rowles (172, 7th)

Recap: The Mounties entered 12 wrestlers in the tournament and came away with seven placewinners.

Marcus Gable and Hummel had the best tournaments, as each made the finals in their weight classes.

“We knew as a staff coming in this was going to be an extremely tough tournament. We don’t really wrestle a lot of the teams from the other side of the LHAC, but we know our side is really tough,” P-O coach Justin Fye said. “We felt if we could get top 10 and five placewinners, that would be really good. Having those seven placewinners exceeded what we felt as a staff. Our kids wrestle a really tough schedule. We are 0-3 in dual meets, but those teams combined are like 19-1, so our kids have had good competition.”

Marcus Gable was able to come away with a crown, but it wasn’t how he would have liked it.

He took on Bishop McCort’s Sam Herring, who was one of eight finalists for the Crushers. Herring came out and secured the first points, but got his nose banged up in the process, forcing a blood stoppage. He got cleaned up and the match resumed.

Gable was given an escape from Herring to get the action back rolling. Nearly a minute later, Herring secured another takedown, and rode Gable for the remainder of the period.

Near the end, Gable was attempting to get an escape before the period ended, and was tugging on Herring’s right foot, trying to get his leg unhooked. As the buzzer went off, Herring rolled over and grabbed his right ankle.

Herring lay in pain as he was attended to by a trainer and coaches. He was unable to continue and was carried off the mat.

“Marcus put together another really good tournament. We’ve been to three tournaments and he’s been in the finals off all three,” Fye said. “He’s wrestled highly state-ranked guys in all three and has been competitive. Herring is extremely tough, but we wanted a chance to wrestle that good competition to see where we were at.”

Hummel took on Chestnut Ridge’s Easton Mull in his final. Mull is a two-time PIAA qualifier and two-time District 5 champion.

Neither wrestler was able to get anything going until there were about 40 seconds remaining in the first period. Mull came out on top of a scramble situation and turked the legs of Hummel, twisting him around and to his back.

Mull put a headlock on Hummel and flattened him with 15 seconds left in the period.

“We’ve had two competitions before Christmas, but [Hummel] didn’t go with us to Conestoga Valley as he was nursing an injury. He hasn’t practiced for about 2.5 weeks,” Fye said. “He wrestled pretty well. Easton Mull is a tough kid. We put ourselves in a couple of bad positions. Against good kids, you can’t put yourself in a bad position because they are going to capitalize, which is what Mull did. We are happy to get Caleb back out on the mat, and have him progressing toward what he wants to achieve at the end of the season.”

Bald Eagle Area

Team score: 166 points, 3rd

Champions: none

Other placewinners: Tanner Guenot (107, 2nd), Gavin Guenot (121, 7th), Lucas Fye (127, 2nd), Dawson Lomison (133, 5th), Connor Maney (139, 7th), Mason Reese (145, 5th), Shawn Knepp (172, 6th), Caleb Close (189, 2nd), Gage Gardner (215, 4th), Eric Clark (285, 8th)

Recap: Eagles coach Ron Guenot said the tournament was “another stepping stone” toward getting ready for the postseason. He noted that this was just the beginning of seeing the bulk of the schools that went on to compete in duals or district championships, individually and as teams.

“You find out a lot about what you need to work on and what your kids need to improve on. It’s a good guide to show what you need to do in the room for down the road,” he said.

BEA had 10 of its 13 wrestlers place. Three of those 10 were in the finals — Tanner Guenot, Lucas Fye and Caleb Close. But all three came up short.

Guenot was the first to hit the mat against Chestnut Ridge’s Dominic Deputy, who was a PIAA runner-up last year as a freshman. Guenot held his own against Deputy.

The pair got into a scramble situation early in the first period that lasted for well over a minute. Deputy came out on top with a takedown with 39 seconds left, and rode Guenot for the remainder of the period.

The second period saw Deputy escape 17 seconds in, but that was all the action for the period. Guenot was unable to escape from Deputy in the third period to suffer a 3-0 loss.

“Tanner knows what he needs to do and what he’s going to need to work on. Deputy is a really tough kid,” Ron Guenot said. “We’re hoping to get better and close the gap. We’ll see what happens in the future.”

Fye had his hands full with Bishop McCort’s Jax Forrest, who won a collegiate open tournament in November at Millersville University.

Forrest tallied four takedowns with ease and added nearfall points to hold an 11-4 lead after one period over Fye. In the second period, Forrest collected a reversal six seconds into the period.

Forrest then put Fye on his back twice for nearfall points in the 19-4 technical fall in 2:41.

“Forrest is one of the best kids in the country. I thought Lucas went out and competed, that’s what you can do,” Ron Guenot said. “He showed that he can hit some things of his own.”

Close got to face off with what could become a familiar foe in Huntingdon’s Andrew McMonagle. The two were training partners at M2 Training Center, but Saturday was the first time they squared off with something on the line.

No one was able to score in the first period, but the second period saw McMonagle get a reversal and put Close on his back. McMonagle had a rather tight headlock on Close, but Close fought off the pin attempt.

In the third period, Close opened with an escape, and got a takedown, was it was a little too late to complete the rally in a 6-3 loss.

Penns Valley

Team score: 122.5 points, 8th

Champions: none

Other placewinners: Jack Darlington (121, 2nd), Colten Shunk (133, 2nd), Ty Watson (152, 3rd), Ethan Fetterolf (160, 4th), Ty Steiger (189, 8th), Brandon Corl (215, 8th), Landen Hess (285, 7th)

Recap: The Rams tied P-O for the second-most placewinners of the county schools with seven.

Jack Darlington and Colten Shunk made the finals, with Ty Watson and Ethan Fetterolf working their way back into the consolation finals.

“We were a little rusty coming off the layoff a little bit. It is a good-quality league with good competition from top to bottom,” Penns Valley coach Joel Brinker said. “You always want to do better. I thought yesterday there was a lot of situations we beat ourselves. We’ll get back on track the second half of the season here.”

Darlington and Shunk ran into absolute hammers in their finals matches, and both were from Bishop McCort.

Darlington took on Lincoln Sledzianowski, who immediately came out and put the Rams wrestler on his back. Darlington fought his way off, but trailed 7-0 after one period.

In the second period, Sledzianowski ripped off four takedowns and had an escape to extend his lead to 16-3. Darlington was forced to start neutral in the third period in such a deficit. Sledzianowski earned a takedown 21 seconds in for the 18-3 technical fall in 4:21.

Shunk faced off with Penn State commit Mason Gibson, who showed he’s everything the Nittany Lions want in their wrestlers.

Gibson recorded eight takedowns and had two sets of nearfall points to secure a 22-7 technical fall in 1:48.

“Obviously, [Sledzianowski and Gibson] are some of the best kids in the state and possibly beyond, so we keep things in perspective. It’s not going to hurt [Darlington and Shunk],” Brinker said. “They got to see really good competition, so learn what you can from it and move on.”

Outside of the PIAA Championships, one would have to wonder the last time Ty Watson didn’t make the finals of a tournament. Watson lost 11-9 to Bishop McCort’s Melvin Miller, who went on to win the title of the weight, in a back-and-forth contest.

Watson rebounded by pinning Forest Hills’ Nick Noon to make the consolation finals, where he shut out Clearfield’s Ty Aveni, 5-0.

“He was frustrated. He’s a competitor, and wants to beat everybody, but that’s what makes him the kid he is,” Brinker said. “He believes he can beat anybody. He believes he can still win and beat [Miller]. He wasn’t down on himself.”

Fetterolf had quite the showing in his first and only Laurel Highlands tournament. He made it to the quarterfinals, where he was pinned by Somerset’s Logan Baker, and sent into the consolation bracket.

Fetterolf stayed alive by beating Chestnut Ridge’s Maddux Sipe 10-4. The senior then secured himself a podium finish by sticking Central Cambria’s Deklan Estep in 2:00. Fetterolf made the consolation finals by taking care of Huntingdon’s Grady Clark, 7-2.

Fetterolf’s tournament was ended by Baker again, but by a 7-0 score.

“He’s improved. He’s slowly cleaning up some things that held him back a little bit,” Brinker said. “He’s wrestling within himself and eliminating mistakes. He put together a nice tournament.”

Bellefonte

Team score: 80.5 points, 11th

Champions: none

Other placewinners: Wyatt Long (107, 3rd), Ezra Swisher (139, 2nd), Noah Weaver (145, 3rd), Luke Hockenberry (189, 7th)

Recap: It’s no secret the Red Raiders have a young squad.

Coach Mike Maney said the team didn’t have a single senior competing, and had only two juniors on the mat during the tournament. Even with all the youth, Bellefonte still was able to have four placewinners, with three finishing in the top three.

“I’d have to look across the state. I think this is a pretty deep conference with a lot of deep weight classes and state-ranked guys,” Maney said.

Ezra Swisher was the lone finalist for the Red Raiders, but had to put in some extra work to get there. In his semifinals match against Forest Hills’ Hunter Forcellini, Swisher trailed 5-2 after two periods, with Forcellini recording a takedown in each period.

Swisher put on a rally in the third period by snapping off two takedowns of a gassed Forcellini. He got a match-tying takedown with four seconds left. They went to sudden victory, where Swisher recorded a takedown 14 seconds in for the 9-7 victory.

His finals match came against Bishop McCort’s Bo Bassett, who is the No. 1-ranked wrestler in the country. Bassett’s pace is unmatched, and he used that to record an astounding 10 takedowns in a 25-9 technical fall in 1:40.

“His only loss [during the tournament] is to the No. 1-ranked guy in the country. He had a really nice win in the semis,” Maney said of Swisher, “which I think carried through the rest of the day, and I hope carries momentum for us the rest of the season.”

Wyatt Long cruised to the semifinals with a pin in his opener and a major decision. He suffered a 2-0 loss to Tanner Guenot in the semifinals, but rebounded with another pin.

In the consolation finals, Long shut out P-O’s Averi Gable, 3-0.

“His weight class had two of the top three guys in the state. He lost a close match in the semis, and came back to take third, so he got a lot of mat time,” Maney said.

Noah Weaver made the semifinals by topping Westmont Hilltop’s David Ray in rideouts, 2-1, in the quarterfinals. He dropped his semifinals match, 13-3, to P-O’s Marcus Gable.

Weaver responded with a 15-0 technical fall before defeating Ray again, 6-2, in the consolation finals.

“Weaver lost to a highly ranked guy in his weight class. He also beat a really good guy twice,” Maney said, “so that not only helps his confidence but for seeding and things down the road.”

Even though Luke Hockenberry’s finish wasn’t as high as his teammates, Maney was still proud of how he competed.

“Luke is a freshman and an upperweight. You tend to see a lot of upperclassmen there, so it was finally nice to see him break through and place in a varsity tournament,” the coach said.

Laurel Highlands Conference Tournament

Saturday at Tyrone

Team key: Bald Eagle Area (BEA), Bedford (Bed.), Bellefonte (B), Bellwood-Antis (B-A), Bishop McCort (BM), Central (C), Central Cambria (CC), Chestnut Ridge (CR), Clearfield (CF), Forest Hills (FH), Hollidaysburg (H), Huntingdon (HT), Johnstown (J), Penn Cambria (PC), Penns Valley (PV), Philipsburg-Osceola (P-O), Richland (R), Somerset (S), Tyrone (T), Westmont Hilltop (WH)

Team scores: 1. Bishop McCort 245.5, 2. Chestnut Ridge 173, 3. Bald Eagle Area 166, 4. Clearfield 157, 5. Somerset 143.5, 6. Forest Hills 137.5, 7. Huntingdon 124, 8. Penns Valley 122.5, 9. Tyrone 110.5, 10. Philipsburg-Osceola 104.5, 11. Bellefonte 80.5

Finals

107: Dominic Deputy, CR, dec. Tanner Guenot, BEA, 3-0; 114: Easton Mull, CR, pinned Caleb Hummel, P-O, 1:45; 121: Lincoln Sledzianowski, BM, tech. fall Jack Darlington, PV, 18-3 (4:21); 127: Jax Forrest, BM, tech. fall Lucas Fye, BEA, 19-4 (2:41); 133: Mason Gibson, BM, tech. fall Colten Shunk, PV, 22-7 (1:48); 139: Bo Bassett, BM, tech. fall Ezra Swisher, B, 25-9 (1:40); 145: Marcus Gable, P-O, injury def. Sam Herring, BM, 2:00; 152: Melvin Miller, BM, dec. Trent Hoover, PC, 5-2; 160: Devon Magro, BM, dec. Brady Collins, CF, 11-6; 172: Owen McMullen, BM, dec. Kyle Scott, T, 4-3; 189: Andrew McMonagle, HT, dec. Caleb Close, BEA, 6-3; 215: Rowan Holmes, S, pinned Ceaton Hale, Bed., 3:04; 285: Braden Ewing, T, dec. Zane Hagans, S, 8-2

Consolation Finals

107: Wyatt Long, B, dec. Averi Gable, P-O, 3-0; 145: Noah Weaver, B, dec. David Ray, WH, 6-2; 152: Ty Watson, PV, dec. Ty Aveni, CF, 5-0; 160: Logan Baker, S, dec. Ethan Fetterolf, PV, 7-0; 215: Jordan Butler, BM, dec. Gage Gardner, BEA, 6-0

5th-Place Match

133: Dawson Lomison, BEA, dec. Drew Miller, S, 6-1; 145: Mason Reese, BEA, pinned Tucker Lindrose, R, 1:36; 172: Will Domico, CF, tech. fall Shawn Knepp, BEA, 16-1 (3:56)

7th-Place Match

121: Gavin Guenot, BEA, dec. Ace Foster, P-O, 7-2; 139: Connor Maney, BEA, pinned Remington Fleck, T, 3:54; 152: Nate Fleck, P-O, def. Cody Clapper, C; 160: Colton Chapman, P-O, dec. Deklan Estep, CC, 9-4; 172: Matt Rowles, P-O, def. Mitchell Baronner, H; 189: Luke Hockenberry, B, pinned Ty Steiger, PV, 2:41; 215: Lincoln Miller, HT, dec. Brandon Corl, PV, 13-11; 285: Landen Hess, PV, pinned Eric Clark, BEA, 2:07

Consolation Semifinals

107: Long, B, pinned Owen Dluhos, WH, 1:45; Gable, P-O, dec. Logan Moss, FH, 4-0; 133: Mason Weyant, CR, major dec. Lomison, BEA, 8-0; 145: David Ray, WH, dec. Reese, BEA, 6-3; Weaver, B, tech. fall Lindrose, R, 15-0 (2:27); 152: Watson, PV, pinned Nick Noon, FH, 2:37; 160: Fetterolf, PV, dec. Grady Clark, HT, 7-2; 172: Kory Marsalko, FH, pinned Knepp, BEA, 2:01; 215: Gardner, BEA, pinned Jake Yatsky, FH, 2:51

Semifinals

107: Deputy, CR, pinned Gable, P-O, 1:31; Guenot, BEA, dec. Long, B, 2-0; 114: Hummel, P-O, dec. Burke Niebauer, CC, 6-0; 121: Darlington, PV, pinned Layton Munyon, PC, 5:10; 127: Fye, BEA, pinned Deshonn Valentine, S, 3:24; 133: Shunk, PV, dec. Isaiah Shilcosky, FH, 9-3; 139: Swisher, B, dec. Hunter Forcellini, FH, 9-7 (SV); 145: Herring, BM, tech. fall Reese, BEA, 24-6 (3:19); Gable, P-O, major dec. Weaver, B, 13-3; 152: Miller, BM, dec. Watson, PV, 11-9; 189: Close, BEA, def. Carter Freeland, C; 215: Hale, Bed., pinned Gardner, BEA, 4:48

Consolation Quarterfinals

121: Trenden Willey, CR, dec. Guenot, BEA, 11-6; Sam Sheeler, S, dec. Foster, P-O, 10-7; 133: Lomison, BEA, major dec. Adam Rougeux, CF, 10-0; 139: Carter Wharton, CR, major dec. Maney, BEA, 11-0; 152: Jayden Imler, CR, pinned Fleck, P-O, 3:25; 160: Fetterolf, PV, pinned Estep, CC, 2:00; Grayson Mahla, R, dec. Chapman, P-O, 9-4; 172: Knepp, BEA, def. Baronner, H; Uplinger, HT, dec. Rowles, P-O, 13-9; 189: Alex Crist, CR, pinned Hockenberry, B, 2:07; Jesse Horning, PC, pinned Steiger, PV, 4:48; 215: Jordan Butler, BM, pinned Corl, PV, 2:27; 285: Jonah Mccoy, WH, dec. Hess, PV, 1-0; Lucas Deloatch, FH, major dec. Clark, BEA, 9-0