Central Mountain to host District 6 Team Duals

By Joe Walker

MILL HALL-The post season of wrestling gets started this weekend, as the Central Mountain Wildcats will host the District 6 Class AAA Duals Championships. The Wildcats will face State College on one mat, while Mifflin County will square off against Altoona on the other mat in the semifinals round. The semifinal round action will get underway at 4 pm Saturday. The winners face off at 6 pm to earn the right to head to the PIAA State Duals Championships next week in Hershey. 

The Wildcats enter the District Duals as the top seed with an unbeaten 8-0 record, while the Little Lions of State College come in as the fourth seed with an even 4-4 dual meet record. The two have met in tournament actions this season, but their last dual meet action against each other was in last year’s District 6 Duals championship, in which the Wildcats came away with a narrow 36-34 victory. 

The Wildcats then posted a 2-2 record in the state tournament, as they opened the tournament with wins over Cumberland Valley, 36-29, and then they defeated Hempfield 31-28 in the quarterfinals. The Wildcats then lost to eventual state champions and state powerhouse Bethlehem Catholic 53-3 in the semifinals. The Wildcats dropped down to the consolation Semifinals, where they dropped a 33-23 contest to District 3 champion Central Dauphin. 

The Little Lions, who are a member of the Mid Penn League in the Harrisburg area, come into the event with their 4-4 dual meet record. They are led by three of the state’s best wrestlers in Pierson Manville, Asher Cunningham and Nick Pavlechko. Manville (145/152) is 18-0 on the season, he was a state runner-up last year, after winning states in 2022. Manville is currently ranked number one in the country and has a career record of 222-16, which includes his record of 116-7 in his two seasons wrestling in Minnesota high school competition. Manville is headed to Arizona State for his college wrestling, and also owns close wins over both Simcox and Perry. 

Fellow senior Nick Pavlechko placed third in PIAA stats as a sophomore and then last year was a state runner-up at 285 pounds. He is currently 26-1 on the season and he is headed to Big Ten Indiana University for his college wrestling. Cunningham (160) is a junior and is a two time state place winner, as he was eighth as a freshman and placed fourth place last season. Cunningham is 28-1 on the season and is the son of Penn State assistant wrestling coach Casey Cunningham. 

The Wildcats enter the semifinal match-up with an unbeaten 8-0 record and have three standouts of their own, as Luke Simcox, Dalton Perry and Biff Walizer have all been placed on the podium at the PIAA state tournament. Simcox (139/145) is the returning state champion and a three time state place winner and headed to North Carolina University for his college wrestling. Simcox enters Saturday’s action with a 16-1 record and a career mark of 122-16. 

Perry (139/145) was a state champion as a freshman and then placed third last season, Perry has committed to wrestle at Penn State and enters Saturday with a 20-2 junior season record and a career mark of 105-10. Walizer is a two time state place winner, as the senior Wildcat placed eighth as a sophomore and then fifth place last season. His senior season record thus far is 26-5 and is 109-39 for his career, as he has committed to wrestle at Lock Haven University. 

The Wildcats also counter with five other wrestlers with 20-plus wins on the season, as freshmen Gavin Heverly (23-10) and Aiden Kunes (26-10), along with juniors Jacob Weaver (21-14) and Bryce Brungard (24-13). Senior Rocco Serafini is 26-6 on the season, after being a state qualifier last season.

The line-ups for Saturday could vary for each team, as all four teams will obviously weigh in a lot of wrestlers to look for favorable individual match-ups during their dual meets. But we will list the line-ups they have used the most: Wrestlers names (grade & record) 

STATE COLLEGE: 107 – Noah Young (Fr, 16-11) or Izaiah Vasquez (So, 5-8); 114 – Young or Jon Whitbred (Fr, 3-12); 121 – Jonathan Coates (Jr, 6-12); 127 – Nicholas Barrena (Jr, 3-14); 133 – James Whitbred (Fr, 16-9); 139 – Jacob Campbell (Sr, 7-13); 145 – Pierson Manville (Sr, 18-0) or Brady Bucher (Jr, 1-4); 152 – Manville or Levi Mellott (Jr, 1-4); 160 – Asher Cunningham (Jr, 28-1); 172 – Xavier Zeruth (Jr, 4-13); 189 – Reagan Dillon (Fr, 1-12); 215 – Taylor Sunday (Sr, 1-14); 285 – Nick Pavlechko (Sr, 28-1). 

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN: 107 – Gavin Heverly (Fr, 23-10); 114 – Caden Stoner (Sr, 7-12) or Luke Garman (Fr, 7-4); 121 – Jaggar Pardoe (So. 6-11); 127 – Aiden Kunes (Fr, 26-10); 133 – Patrick Tarantella (Fr, 18-13); 139 – Dalton Perry (Jr, 20-2), Luke Simcox (Sr, 16-1) or Carnell Noone (So, 15-7); 145 – Perry or Simcox; 152 – Griffin Walizer (Sr, 26-5) or Luke Ananea (Jr, 9-10); 160 – Hunter Donley (So, 18-11); 172 – Jacob Weaver (Jr, 21-14) or Jacob Nyman (So 5-6); 189 – Bryce Brungard (Jr, 24-13) or Wyatt Kramer (Sr, 6-6); 215 – Rocco Serafini (Sr, 26-6); 285 – Giovanni Tarantella (Sr, 12-8). 

In the other semifinal match-up the second seeded Huskies of Mifflin County (12-3) will face the third seeded Mountain Lions of Altoona (12-5). They also did not meet each other during this season’s dual meet action. Here are their possible line-up, again subject to coaches juggling their line-ups: 

MIFFLIN COUNTY: 107 – Andrew Alexander (Fr, 23-12); 114 – Paxton Shawver (Fr, 21-10); 121 – Jake Knable (Fr, 17-11); 127 – Blake Aumiller (Sr, 4-3) or Chase Moyer (So, 3-7); 133 – Kamden Everly (Jr, 20-14); 139 – Brian Albert (Fr, 5-14); 145 – Colby Seiler (Jr, 19-12); 152 – Parker Kearns (Sr, 28-4); 160 – Deakon Schaeffer (Jr, 20-6); 172 – Avery Aurand (Jr, 27-6) or Reese Christine (So, 10-8); 189 – Gavin Mickey (Sr, 23-11); 215 – Truitt Davis (So, 19-12); 285 – Dekker Pietzch (So, 3-6) or Levi Marks (Sr, 3-11). 

Note: Kearns and Schaeffer were both state qualifiers last season. 

ALTOONA: 107 – Dom Nardozza (Fr, 20-9) or Nick Irwin (Jr, 7-4); 114 – Braiden Weaver (So, 27-4) or Irwin; 121 – Weaver or Taber Baker (So, 1-4); 127 – Cavin Ciampoli (Fr, 16-5); 133 – Phillip Sarbo (So, 12-8); 139 – Imeen Whitaker (Jr, 6-2) or Luke Geishauser (Fr, 3-6); 145 – Wyatt Young (Sr, 12-10) or Aiden Fox (So, 1-4); 152 – Ty Marks (So, 6-7); 160 – Luke Sipes (Jr, 26-5); 172 – Matt Riccio (Sr, 1-9); 189 – Julian Pringle (So,. 3-7); 215 – Evan Boose (Sr, 10-9); 285 – Hayden Speece (Sr, 11-10). Note: Weaver placed fifth in states last season, while Sipes has placed 7th and 5th place at the state tournament in his career.

TheRecord-Online.com will be lives streaming the Central Mountain action Saturday.