Barzona NWR Champ – 3 Wildcats Advance to Hershey
ALTOONA — It was eight rounds of slam-bang wrestling jammed into a day and a half at the Altoona Field House and when the Northwestern Regional tourney ended Saturday night, Central Mountain had battled its way to three qualifiers for next weekend’s PIAA state championships in Hershey.
Junior, Geo Barzona led the Wildcat qualifiers, earning the title at 106 pounds with a dominating performance. Now 31-2 on the year, Barzona went 3-0 at regionals, the District 6 champ finishing off with a 6-0 win over District 10 champ Jeffery Boyd of Erie McDowell. Barzona, undefeated since his only two losses at December’s King of the Mountain tourney, goes back to Hershey for a second year, placing sixth a year ago.
He will be joined by Colton Weaver at 138 pounds and Hunter Weaver at 220 pounds. Both battled their way to third place finishes. Colton Weaver did it the hard way, forced to pick up four consolation wins on Saturday, 5-and-1 overall for the two days of wrestling, pushing his seasonal record to 31-9. Weaver earned his third place with a 5-3 overtime win over District 4-9 champ Brock Adams of DuBois.
Hunter Weaver negotiated an evenly balanced 220 pound weight class for his third. After a heart-breaking 3-2 overtime loss to Phil Selker of Erie Prep in the semifinals, Weaver had to turn around for a consolation semifinal against Jersey Shore’s hard-nosed Max Mason. Weaver broke that bout open with a late 5-point move for a 9-2 win and a consolation final rematch with Noah Worley of Hollidaysburg. Weaver had edged Worley 4-3 in their dual meet and he had to record an overtime takedown for a 3-1 win in the consi final. Weaver is now 34-5 on the year.
Team-mate Isaac Porter fell one win short of advancing to the states. Knocked into the wrestle-backs after a second round loss on Friday, Porter battled back with three consolation wins before falling to Erie Prep’s Ian Malesiewski by a 3-1 score in the third place bout; it was Malesiewski who had downed Porter by a 5-2 score on Friday. Porter ended an outstanding senior campaign with a 29-8 record.
Two other Wildcats fell in their consolation semifinal matches, one win short of placing and two wins short of earning a trip to Hershey. They were sophomore Logan Long who finished at 23-16 at 132 pounds and Caleb Turner who ended his junior season with a 19-10 record at 170 pounds.
Jersey Shore qualified two wrestlers for the state tourney with thirds from Hunter Zondory at 120 pounds and Haydn Swartwood at 160 pounds. Bald Eagle Area advanced heavyweight champion Josh Fye and third place finisher Seth Koleno at 132 pounds. Bellefonte had a champion in Brock Port at 145 pounds and a runner-up in Chase Gardner at 152 pounds.
Erie Prep took the team title with 147.5 points, Mifflin County second with 138.5, followed by McDowell with 106, Bellefonte with 85 and Central Mountain with 80.5. Jersey Shore finished in 15th place with 42.5 points, BEA eighth with 52 points.
| Championship Finals |
|---|
| 106 – Geo Barzona, Central Mountain, dec. Jeffery Boyd, McDowell, 6-0. |
| 113 – Dalton Woodrow, DuBois, dec. Adam Stover, State College, 3-2. |
| 120 – Noah Myers, Mifflin County, dec. Leno Ciotti, McDowell, 3-2. |
| 126 – Cole Manley, Altoona, tech fall Nick Gittens, Shikellamy, 4:12 (17-2) |
| 132 – TaNauz Gregory, Cathedral Prep, dec. Carmen Ciotti, McDowell, 5-2. |
| 138 – Carter Starocci, Cathedral Prep, dec. Dalton Long, Hollidaysburg, 7-1. |
| 145 – Brock Port, Bellefonte, dec. Kyle Luben, Meadville, 5-0. |
| 152 – Hayden Hidlay, Mifflin County, received a forfeit. |
| 160 – Kaleb Young, Punxy, dec. Trent Hidlay, Mifflin County, 2-1 TB |
| 170 – Noah Stewart, Mifflin County, major dec. Ethan Laird, Gen McLane, 10-0. |
| 182 – Brinton Simington, Altoona, dec. Brandon Wilson, Mifflin County, 8-2. |
| 195 – Trey Hartsock, Mifflin County, dec. Travis Ogden, Clearfield, 6-2. |
| 220 – Drew Boob Selinsgrove, dec. Phil Selker, Cathedral Prep, 3-1. |
| 285 – Josh Fye, BEA, dec. Kawaun DeBoe, Cathedral Prep, 3-1. |
| Consolation Championship Finals |
|---|
| 106 – Brady Sittinger, Cathedral Prep, dec. Tyler Dilley, St Marys, 3-0. |
| 113 – Tyler McKinney, Cathedral Prep, pinned Shafiq Blake, Bellefonte, 4:19. |
| 120 – Hunter Zondory, Jersey Shore, major dec. Matt Johnson, P-O, 12-0. |
| 126 – Bryce Bennett, P-O, major dec. Garrett Rigg, BEA, 9-0. |
| 132 – Seth Koleno, BEA, dec. Aaron Witherite, Bellefonte, 3-1 SV. |
| 138 – Colton Weaver, Central Mountain, dec. Brock Adams, DuBois, 5-3 SV. |
| 145 – Dakota Weitoish, P-O, dec. Briggs Twitchell, Gen McLane, 6-5 TB. |
| 152 – Dazjon Casto, McDowell, major dec. Carson Hanna, DuBois, 12-2. |
| 160 – Hadyn Swartwood, Jersey Shore, pined Ilyaz Vesylav, McDowell, 3:20. |
| 170 – Luke McGonigal, Clearfield, dec. Ryan Daily, McDowell, 3-2. |
| 182 – Jake Paulson, McDowell, dec. Dillon Kephart, Bellefonte, 8-2. |
| 195 – Ian Malesiewski, Cathedral Prep, dec. Isaac Porter, Central Mountain, 3-1. |
| 220 – Hunter Weaver, Central Mountain, dec. Noah Worley, Hollidaysburg, 3-1 SV. |
| 285 – Hunter Gill, Hollidaysburg, dec. Drew Innes, State College, 5-1 |
Top 10 Teams
| Place | Team | Score | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cathedral Prep | 147.5 | 2 | 2 | 3 | - |
| 2 | Mifflin County | 138.5 | 4 | 2 | - | - |
| 3 | McDowell | 106.0 | - | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | Bellefonte | 85.0 | 1 | 1 | - | 3 |
| 5 | Central Mountain | 80.5 | 1 | - | 2 | 1 |
| 6 | Gen McLane | 68.5 | - | 1 | - | 1 |
| 7 | Altoona | 59.0 | 2 | - | - | - |
| 8 | BEA | 52.0 | 1 | - | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Philipsburg-Osceola | 51.0 | - | - | 2 | 1 |
| 9 | Shikellamy | 51 | - | 1 | - | - |
