PERRY CLAIMS TITLE, KUNES SECOND IN ULTIMATE WARRIOR

By Joe Walker

ALLPORT-Senior Dalton Perry captured his fourth Ultimate Warrior Tournament crown, while the Central Mountain Wildcats finished a very close second place to tournament champions Derry Township out of the District 7 WPIAL. 

While Perry won his title, the Wildcats also had a second place finisher in sophomore Aiden Kunes (127). Sophomore Gavin Heverly (114) took fourth place and sophomore Patrick Tarantella was sixth at 133 pounds. The Wildcats had a pair of senior seventh place finishers in seniors Luke Ananea (152) and Bryce Brungard (189). 

Perry posted a 5-0 mark in the tournament with five falls, the final one coming in to finals against Josef Garshnick of United, just outside of Johnstown. Garshnick is a two-time state AA placewinner, winning 5th place last season and was 113-18 coming into the bout with Perry. 

The Wildcat senior showed off his big credentials by building up a 12-2 lead before pinning Garshnick in 1:33 of the second period. Perry is now 28-2 on the season and 147-14 with 92 falls for his career. He was also awarded the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler Award, as he is the only wrestler to win four titles in the tournament thus far. 

Kunes dropped his championship finals bout by a12-8 score to Logan Stewart (29-5) of Reynolds. Stewart led 9-2 after two periods before Kunes recorded a couple takedowns late in the third period to try to rally back but could never close the gap. Stewart placed fourth in the state class AA states last year and with the loss Kunes is now 27-6 on the season. 

Third seeded Heverly lost in Saturday’s championship semifinals to second seeded Claeb Hummel of Philipsburg-Osceola, but then came back and posted a win in the consolation semifinals to earn a berth in the consolation finals. In the battle for third place, Heverly (now 24-7) dropped a tough 3-2 decision to fifth seeded Angelo Lemonte (10-5) of Reynolds, who is heading to Clarion University next season after a 40-11 record as a junior record last season. 

Tarantella won his first two consolation bouts on Saturday to get to the consolation semifinals, where he fell to Hickoeys’ Brody Bishop 9-4. In the fifth place bout, Tarantella dropped a close 5-3 decision to Aiden Beimel of St. Marys to finish in sixth place. Biemel is a two-time state qualifier and 121-29 for his career, while the young Wildcat sophomore is currently 25-12 on the season. 

After winning earlier consolation bouts, Ananea and Brungard both fell in the consolation quarterfinals, which put them both into the seventh place bouts. Ananea (25-8) posted a solid 11-6 decision over Ryles Sluyter of Towanda at 152 pounds, while Brungard (26-12) pinned Paxton Hunt of Garnet Valley to earn their seventh place finishes. 

Sophomore Luke Garman (127, 16-12), junior Dalton McDermott (160, 16-10) and freshman Hayes Henry (285, 11-14) all dropped their first consolation bouts on Saturday and thus eliminated the trio.

Derry Township won the team title with 166.5 points, while the Wildcats finished a very close second with 165 points. The two battled throughout the tournament and the Wildcats held the edge throughout, but Derry rallied and went 4 for 4 in the 3rd thru 7th place bouts to jump ahead of the Wildcats. Both teams were 1-1 in the championship finals, but the point difference could have been made-up anywhere in the tournament. 

The rest of the top seven teams found Hickory in third with 146 points, while Reynolds took fourth place with 144 points. Mifflin County placed fifth with 142.5 points, with Towanda in sixth with 136.5 and Bald Eagle Area placed seventh with 131.5 points and two champs in Tanner Guenot (121) and Caleb Close (189). 

In the Junior Varsity tournament, junior Hunter Donley made his return to the mat this season by taking the title at 172 pounds, but he had to do it by recording a fall over teammate freshman Tanner McCall. Two other Wildcats were in the JV tournament, as Hayes Miller was 1-2 at 160 pounds and Brennan Rice was 0-2 at 127 pounds. 

The next action for the Wildcats will be next Saturday in the District 6 Class AAA Duals Championships. Central Mountain is top seeded and will host the four team event, as the Wildcats will face fourth seeded State College and second seeded Altoona will face third seeded Mifflin County. Action is set to start on Saturday, Feb. 1st at 12 noon. 

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN RESULTS: 

CONSOLATION ROUND 4: 

127 – Connor Knight (Central York) tech fall Luke Garman (CM), 15-0, 1:34; … 133 – Patrick Tarantella (CM) tech fall Jacob Brua (Hollidaysburg), 16-1, 2:48; … 152 – Luke Ananea (CM) dec. Rowan McClain-Hartman (Mt. Union), 7-2; … 160 – Marshall Eckenrode (Cambria Hts) dec. Dalton McDermott (CM), 4-2; … 189 – Bryce Brungard (CM) pinned Taye Bradshaw (Armstrong), 4:58; … 285 – Ryvan Audi (Richland) pinned Hayes Henry (CM), 2:54. 

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS: 

107 – Caleb Hummel (Philipsburg-Osceola) dec. Gavin Heverly (CM), 9-3; … 127 – Aiden Kunes (CM) dec. Brady Slicker (Hickory), 5-0; … 145 – Dalton Perry (CM) pinned Grayden Gustas (Reynolds), 1:46. 

CONSOLATION QUARTERFINALS: 

133 – Patrick Tarantella (CM) pinned Brady Kostick (Richland), 2:36; … 152 – Rocco Allegretto (Johnsonburg) maj dec Luke Ananea (CM), 13-4; … 189 – Emery Johnson (Reynolds) dec. Bryce Brungard (CM), 10-3.

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS: 

114 – Gavin Heverly (CM) dec. Andrew Kapec (Sullivan Co.) 3-0 

133 – Brody Bishop (Hickory) dec. Patrick Tarantella (CM), 9-4 

CONSOLATION PLACE FINALS: 

3rd PLACE: 114 – Angelo Lemonte (Reynolds) dec. Gavin Heverly (CM), 3-2; 

5th PLACE: 133 – Aiden Beimet (St. Marys) dec. Patrick Tarantella (CM), 5-3; 7th PLACE: 152 – Luke Ananea (CM) dec. Ryles Sluyter (Towanda), 11-6; …189 – Bryce Brungard (CM) pinned Paxton Hunt (Garnet Valley), 2:17. 

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS: 

107 – Andrew Alexander (Mifflin Co) dec. Harris Keares (Central York) 4-1; ,,, 114 – Mateo Gallegos (DuBois) dec. Caleb Hummel (Philipsburg-Osceola), 1-0; …121 – Tanner Guenot (Bald Eagle Area) dec Elijah Scriven (Hickory), 7-0; …127 – Logan Stewart (Reynolds) dec. Aiden Kunes (CM) 12-8; 133 – Nico Fanella (Indiana) maj dec Anthony Mucci (Derry) 11-3; … 139 – Gideon Bracken (United) maj dec Dylan O’Brien (Hickory), 10-0; …145 – Dalton Perry (CM) pinned Josef Garshnick (United), 3:33; 152 – Mason Horwat (Derry) dec. Jordan Thompson (Bradford), 7-2; …160 – Owen Ivcic (Bentworth) dec. Jaden Wehler (St. Marys), 14-8; …172 – Mason Gourley (Central Clarion) dec. Kaleb Kinzey (Armstrong), 4-1; …189 – Caleb Close (Bald Eagle Area) dec. Kyle Scott (Tyrone), 8-1; …. 215 – Austin Johnson (Muncy) tech fall Sawyer Robinson (Towanda), 16-1, 2:02; … 285 – Mason Higley (Towanda) maj dec Jonah McCoy (Westmont-Hilltop), 11-3.