Simcox draws Northampton wrestler in first match at state tourney

PublisherMarch 8, 2021Last Updated: March 8, 2021

2 minutes read

HERSHEY, PA – The pairings are out for this Saturday’s PIAA AAA state wrestling tournament at the Giant Center in Hershey and Luke Simcox, first-year pheenom from Central Mountain High School, now knows the path to further greatness in his freshman season.

Coming off a solid second place finish at 126 pounds at last Saturday’s western “Super Regional” in Altoona, Simcox draws a quarterfinal match against the third-place finisher from the eastern super regional, Patrick Snoke, a senior from Northampton with a record of 11-4.

Four wrestlers from each of the super regionals qualified for the state tourney, which means the top eight at each weight will be jockeying for a finish between first and eighth; all eight will be state place-winners. Central Mountain’s last place-winner was Derek Keen in 2020; he finished in eighth place at 113 pounds as a sophomore (Keen elected not to participate this season).

Simcox assured himself of placing between first and eighth place at the states as he knocked off a defending state champ and the current Southcentral champ in his first two matches to clinch his trip to Hershey. In his title match at Altoona, Simcox met former PIAA champ Carter Dibert (32-0) from Franklin Regional. Dibert picked up an early takedown, Simcox reversed and Dibert escaped for a 3-2 lead after one. Simcox was on the bottom in period two and just missed a reversal at the buzzer. He released Dibert at the start of the third period and almost had a tying takedown at the buzzer; final score, 4-2 Dibert.

Both Dibert and another state champ, Ethan Berginc from Hempfield Area, are in the lower half of the state bracket at 126 pounds, away from Simcox. The Central Mountain frosh opened eyes in Altoona last Saturday when, in his first match, he stunned Berginc by an 11-6 score

Simcox will be one of six District 6 wrestlers to advance to Hershey. The lone titlists were Trey Kibe, senior from Mifflin County at 172, and Ethan Rossman, senior from Bellefonte at 189 pounds. Others are Ethan Richner of Bellefonte, runner-up at 160 pounds; Jude Swisher of Bellefonte, third at 132 pounds; and Lance Urbas of State College, fourth at 172 pounds. Williamsport from District 4 also qualified two: Riley Bower, third at 145 pounds, and Cael Nasdeo, fourth at 106 pounds.

PIAA First Round Pairings – 126 pounds:

E-1 Tyler Kasak 10 12-0 Bethlehem Catholic (11) vs.

W-4 Matt Repos 10 24-3 Central Dauphin (3)

W-2 Luke Simcox 9 23-3 Central Mountain (6) vs.

E-3 Patrick Snoke 12 11-4 Northampton (11)

W-3 Ethan Berginc 12 31-5 Hempfield Area (7) vs.

E-2 Dominic Findora 11 12-1 Downingtown West (1)

E-4 Nate Shippey 11 14-4 Interboro (1) vs.

W-1 Carter Dibert 12 33-0 Franklin Regional (7)

Simcox super regional results:

Quarterfinals:

Decisioned Ethan Berginc, Hempfield Area, 11-6;