Wrestling News & Views 12/5/24 By Tom Elling

by Tom Elling

This is an era of historical change. Last year, the PIAA sanctioned girls’ wrestling and held the inaugural PIAA Girls’ Championships. The girls drew a huge crowd, perhaps spiking the dwindling attendance. They were awarded the center mat (of three).

This year, the PIAA adopted some drastic rule changes, which align more with college rules. The traditional two-point takedown is now THREE points. It will take time for fans and broadcasters to adapt from shouting or recording the familiar “Two.” Furthermore, high school near-falls have also aligned with collegiate standards. There will now be hand swipes of 2, 3, or 4 points. There is no longer a ‘five-swipe.’ The swipes will indicate the number of points awarded for the near fall. Finally, the out-of-bounds rule is similar to NCAA standards, but there will be no ‘cylinder.’ In simpler terms, wrestling will continue as long as even the smallest portion of either wrestler is in bounds. For example, if Wrestler A has a toe in bounds (and on the mat) while Wrestler B is completely off, wrestling will continue. However, if Wrestler A lifts their toe off the mat surface, the referee will blow the whistle and rule them out of bounds. (In conditions such as tournaments where there is no auxiliary protective mat, the safety factor will supersede that ruling.)

How long will it be before brick challenges and subsequent video reviews take root in high schools? With the ever-availability of technology, perhaps we will see it in the near future, starting at the PIAAs.

The Record-Online will once again stream (audio and video where Wi-Fi permits) almost all dual meets for Central Mountain, as well as the Top Hat and the King of the Mountain tournaments. December will be a busy month for the Wildcats. Biff Walizer’s team will host Shamokin on Thursday, December 5th, followed by participation in the Tom Best Memorial Top Hat Tournament in Williamsport on December 6th and 7th. Three intense duals follow, all on the road: Wingate to take on the balanced and powerful BEA team of Ron Guenot on December 10th, Shikellamy on December 12th, and Mifflin County on December 18th. As always, in tense dual meets, the match-ups will be crucial, and early on, the ugliest word in wrestling—‘FORFEIT’—could be consequential.

Notes and Observations

Word is that Altoona will be a much-improved and balanced team. They have some newcomers who will energize the talented veterans.

New Coaches: Jersey Shore has named Tony Owens as their head coach, while State College has hired Jason Nickal. If that last name seems familiar, Jason is the father of Bo Nickal. Bellefonte returns to Class AAA this season.

WPIAL Report: Mount Pleasant’s Dylan ‘Pickle’ Pitzer has been ruled ineligible this season by both the WPIAL and the PIAA. Pending appeal, he will not compete after transferring to Derry Area to pursue his academic choice of Agriculture, which Mount Pleasant does not offer. Dylan was a fourth-place finisher at states last season. His brother, Dayton, is the heavyweight for the Pitt Panthers.

West Branch Honorees: Gary Cook, Biff Walizer, and the late Rodger Cook were among the Clinton County inductees. Jersey Shore head football coach Tom Gravish, Bucktail star athlete Maria Morgan, and former LHSC Bald Eagle footballer Bobby Lynn were also selected. Rodger Cook’s award was accepted by his nephew, Trevor Smith. Maria Morgan’s escort was St. Vincent head wrestling coach Dom Nania. Ron Bowes and Rodney Laub were recognized for their volunteer efforts. Congratulations to all.

Special Mentions

Todd Warner and Adam Day will again stream BEA wrestling. They do an excellent job, and few are better than Warner at keeping and producing detailed reports on the Eagles and their opponents.

Tom Justice has produced a classic instructional wrestling book entitled ‘Takedown’. It is 742 pages long with pictorial and step-by-step options for many takedown situations. Luke Simcox, Griffin Walizer, and Dalton Perry served as the primary demonstrators. Contact Coach Justice at 437 West Church Street, Lock Haven, PA, 17745. This book is highly recommended for anyone wanting to learn advanced takedown techniques.

Overtime: Norm Palovcsik is back in the area full-time. The effervescent promoter has sold his place in Florida and taken permanent residence in State College.

Linda Blacksmith (widow of LHSC NCAA Champ Bill Blacksmith) has penned a book entitled Run Your Race. It is uplifting and includes Linda’s journey in dealing with grief after losing her husband of 54 years.

Central Mountain grad Nik Miller is the starting 197-pounder for Hofstra.

During a brief visit with college teammate Bob Larson in Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of reconnecting with Bob Carlson (former AD at Clarion). Carlson recounted coaching Steve Sanderson at Utah State—Steve being the father of Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson.

Congratulations to Chris Albright for receiving the Punxsutawney Sports Hall of Fame 2024 Chuck Daly Lifetime Contributor Award. A BE-N grad, Chris worked the NW AAA Regionals for me during my tenure as tournament director.

Future columns will attempt to cover all of our area wrestling teams—high school and college.

College wrestling fans: In case you wondered, a ‘red-shirt’ can wrestle up to five scheduled events without losing that red shirt.