Wildcat balance earns Big 7 tourney title
ALTOONA, PA – The Central Mountain wrestling team used its balance up and down the line-up to run away with the team title in the Big 7 individual wrestling tournament conducted on Saturday at the Altoona High School Field House.
The Wildcats crowned two champions in Dalton Perry at 126 pounds and Luke Simcox at 132. Five more teammates finished in second place: Luke Ananea at 126, Taylor Weaver at 138, Griffin Walizer at 145, Jake Weaver at 160 and Brayden Blackwell at 285.
Thirds were turned in by Derek Keen at 120, Gino Serafini at 152 and Ashton Intallura at 285. Damien Galentine claimed fourth at 189 and fifths were recorded by Clayton Foster (113) Braylen Corter at 138 and Zane Cooper at 145. Rocco Serafini finished sixth at 172, as did Micah Walizer at 215. Dakota McDermott finished seventh at 215. (Teams were allowed to enter multiple participants if brackets were not filled; back-ups’ team points did not count towards the team score). All 17 Wildcats earned at least one win.
That depth allowed the Wildcats to run away with the team title:
Central Mountain 190
Bald Eagle Area 137.5
Shikellamy 115
State College 110
Bellefonte 94.5
Altoona 69
Jersey Shore 53
Hollidaysburg 42
Head Coach Biff Walizer said final round results were “a little bit sour” but said some of his runners-up ran into exceptional wrestlers in the final round. He called the overall showing “a complete team effort.”
Central Mountain’s two champs pinned their way through the tourney, Perry with three first period deck jobs, Simcox with a bye, a second period pin and a first period pin.
Other champions were Gavin Guenot (106), BEA; Luke Hileman (112), Altoona; Asher Cunningham (120), State College; Pierson Manville (138), State College; Jude Swisher (145), Bellefonte; Luke Sipes (Altoona), 152; Colton Sempko (160), Shikellamy; Caleb Close (172), BEA; Hadyn Packer (189), Jersey Shore; Nicholas Pavlechko (215), State College; Matthew Knepp (285), BEA.
The Wildcats will be back in action next Wednesday, Jan. 26 at a new event added to the schedule in the wake of the loss of the Escape the Rock tournament last weekend. Central Mountain will participate in a quadrangular at Southern Columbia, wrestling beginning at 5 p.m. Other teams participating, in addition to the host Tigers, are Scranton and Blue Mountain High Schools. Therecord-online plans to audio stream the Wildcat matches.
