Three Wildcats, Barzona, Turner and Thompson Head to Hershey for State Tourney

ALTOONA — It was a day and a half of jam-packed, nail-biting wrestling action at the PIAA Northwestern Regional tournament in the Altoona Field House Friday and Saturday. And when the tourney ended Saturday night, 42 wrestlers had earned their way to the PIAA state tourney starting Thursday of next week at the Giant Center in Hershey. Among the 42 are three Central Mountain seniors who did what was needed to extend their season one more week.

They are two-time state place-winner Geo Barzona (37-3) at 113 pounds; Caleb Turner (34-9) at 182 pounds and Richie Thompson (33-12) at heavyweight. Pairings for first round matches at states are likely to be announced on Sunday.

Their effort and support from the rest of the 10 Wildcats at regionals were enough to lift the Wildcats to a fourth place finish in the team race, tops among all District 6 squads. Erie Prep used its team balance to run away with the regional title, putting up 140 points, DuBois was second with 118, General McLane third with 93, the Wildcats next at 89.

Barzona, a defending regional champ, lost a heartbreaking 6-5 bout in the finals to finish second. He had a 4-1 lead over DuBois freshman phenom Ed Scott (35-1) but Scott came back with two late takedowns and a borderline late stalling point to rally for the win.

Turner earned his trip to Hershey the hard way, through a 4-0 run through the Saturday wrestle-backs, culminating in a 2-1 win over Mason McCready (24-12) of Hollidaysburg in the third place bout. A second period penalty point for interlocked hands against McCready proved to be the difference.

Thompson, a first year starter for the Wildcats, continued his improbable senior year with his third place finish. After losing in the semifinals to ultimate champion Kawaun DeBoe of Erie Prep, Thompson picked up an overtime fall in his consolation semifinal over Jacob Lenhardt of General McLane. He secured his trip to states with a hard-earned 6-2 over Drew Linnes (21-4) of State College in the consolation final.

The Wildcats brought 10 wrestlers to Altoona and nine of them contributed team points. Coach Biff Walizer lauded the effort of his team and called the Saturday ups-and-downs “gut wrenching.” He also lauded the effort of Colton Weaver, a four-year starter and the fourth senior in competition at regionals.

Full brackets and results are available at FLOARENA

Consolation First Round
145 – Colton Weaver, Central Mountain, pinned Owen Balas, Warren, 0:52.
220 – Mahlik Houtz, Central Mountain, pinned Dyheir Norman, Cathedral Prep, 1:50.

Consolation Second Round
138 – Justice Jones, Carrick, pinned Logan Long, Central Mountain, 0:32.
145 – Colton Weaver, Central Mountain, major dec. Nick Rinella, Meadville, 10-2.
152 – Asher Corl, Central Mountain, pinned Lance Hemminger, DuBois, 1:23.
160 – Tanner Weaver, Central Mountain, dec. Pierson White Shikellamy, 9-6.
182 – Caleb Turner, Central Mountain, pinned Nate Powley, Williamsport, 0:59.
195 – Tanner Riggle, Central Mountain, pinned Sabivuma Wilson, Brashear, 5:36 OT.
220 – Mahlik Houtz, Central Mountain, dec. Jamon Miyares, Westinghouse, 3-1.

Semi-Final Round
113 – Geo Barzona, Central Mountain, dec. Cade Balestrini, Shikellamy, 7-2.
126 – Garrett Rigg, BEA, dec. Seth Andrus, Central Mountain, 7-1.
285 – Kawaun DeBoe, Cathedral Prep, dec. Richie Thompson, Central Mountain, 6-0.

Consolation Quarterfinal Round
145 – Albert Taylor, Cathedral Prep, dec. Colton Weaver, Central Mountain, 3-2.
152 – Asher Corl, Central Mountain, pinned Haden Boutiller, Altoona, 4:59.
160 – Ian Barr, State College, dec. Tanner Weaver, Central Mountain, 3-1.
182 – Caleb Turner, Central Mountain, pinned Josh Hubler, P-O, 2:07.
195 – Dave Henninger, DuBois, dec. Tanner Riggle, Central Mountain, 11-6.
220 – Nate Simmers, Altoona, dec. Mahlik Houtz, Central Mountain, 6-4.

Consolation SemiFinal Round
126 – Jeffery Boyd, McDowell, pinned Seth Andrus, Central Mountain, 2:56.
152 – Austin Hemminger, Somerset, major dec. Asher Corl Central Mountain, 14-1.
182 – Caleb Turner, Central Mountain, major dec. Jordan Hepler, Shikellamy, 12-4.
285 – Richie Thompson, Central Mountain, pinned Jacob Lenhardt, Gen McLane, 5:45 OT.

Championship Final Round
113 – Ed Scott, DuBois, dec. Geo Barzona, Central Mountain, 6-5.

Consolation Finals for Third Place
182 – Caleb Turner, Central Mountain, dec. Mason McCready, Hollidaysburg, 2-1.
285 – Richie Thompson, Central Mountain, dec. Drew Linnes, State College, 6-2.