Wildcats pull out D6 dual title win over State College, 36-34

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – The Central Mountain High School gym was rocking about 6 p.m. on Saturday as the host Wildcats battled underdog State College for the District 6 AAA team dual title and a berth in next Thursday’s start of the PIAA Dual Meet Championships in Hershey.

The Wildcat – Little Lion match-up came down to the evening’s final bout. Central Mountain’s Giovanni Tarantella took the mat against State’s Lucas Anderson at 215 pounds. State held a 34-30 lead at that point and Central Mountain needed a technical fall or a fall to pull out the win.

Early on Tarantella was aggressive but Anderson picked up the initial takedown, Tarantella escaping and trailing 2-1 after one period. Period two saw the Wildcat junior escape to tie the score at 2-2 but Anderson caught Tarantella off balance at the edge of the mat and secured a takedown for a 4-2 lead. But Tarantella (12-13), who has shown continual improvement throughout the year, picked up a tying reversal and seconds later, hooked up a reverse nelson and pinned his Little Lion opponent at the 3:38 mark and send the CM bench into delirium.

The Wildcat junior said he “started panicking a little bit” when he fell behind, but said he had to stay calm. Asked what he felt when the referee pounded the mat for his match-winning fall Tarantella said, “Nothing but joy…to see my teammates jumping up and down…it’s been a long season.”

Coach Biff Walizer lauded Tarantella, noting that he and Rocco Serafini (who had preceded Tarantella with a first period fall at 189) “are the two hardest workers in the room; they bust their butts.” He said Tarantella kept the pressure on his foe and wore him down.

The coach also had words of praise for Gino Serafini who picked up the meet’s fastest fall in 13 seconds. He said, “Not many people know of Gino’s health issues he’s dealing with, but he works hard every day and my hat’s off to him.”

The Tarantella fall capped off six pins in all for Central Mountain, enough to produce the 36 points, enough for the 36-34 win even though State took seven of the 13 bouts; had the score ended at 34-34, the visitors would have won on criteria, most bouts won.

There were heroes up and down the Wildcat lineup. With four bouts to go, State led 31-18 and the Wildcats had little margin for error. But Coach Walizer’s team picked up three falls in those four bouts to pull out the win. They came from Gino Serafini, bumped up to 160 pounds, younger brother Rocco Serafini at 189 and then Tarantella’s match-deciding fall at 215.

Earlier falls came from CM’s Collin Bauman at 107, Luke Simcox at 133 and Dalton Perry at 139. The six pins provided enough to offset State’s four falls, a major and two regular decision wins.

For fans looking for head-to-head matches between the two teams’ outstanding middleweights, only one took place, due to weight shifting by the coaches. The one head-to-head contest was the tightest of the dual, where State’s Asher Cunningham held off the Wildcats’ Griffin Walizer, 1-0, despite Walizer’s efforts to secure a reversal in the final period. It was Cunningham’s third one-point win over his Wildcat foe this season. At that point the Little Lions led, 31-18 but then came the exciting finish for the hometown crowd.

The win put CM at 8-0 on the year, the Little Lions dropping to 2-8 with yet another nail-biting loss. For the Wildcats, it was their first D-6 dual title since 2017, something Coach Walizer said “they’ll remember for the rest of their lives.”

The Wildcats will open PIAA AAA action in the Giant Center Thursday at 6 p.m. against District 3 runner-up Cumberland Valley. CV holds a 40-29 win over State earlier in the season.

Central Mountain 36, State College 34
285: Nick Pavlechko, SC, fall 3:56 over Brayden Blackwell
107: Collin Bauman, CM, fall 0:42 over Mason Sanderson
114: Nick Berrena, SC, 18-9 decision over Jaggar Pardoe
121: Jonathon Coates, SC, fall 1:30 over Caden Stoner
127: Hayden Cunningham, SC, fall 0:27 over Carnell Noone
133: Luke Simcox, CM, fall 2:42 over Eric Weaver
139: Dalton Perry, CM, fall 2:33 over Jacob Campbell
145: Pierson Manville, SC, fall 0:57 over Luke Ananea
152: Asher Cunningham, SC, 1-0 decision over Griffin Walizer
160: Gino Serafini, CM, fall 0:13 over Rudi Skucek
172: Carter Weaverling, SC, 6-1 decision over Jacob Weaver
189: Rocco Serafini, CM, fall 0:36 over Adam Bell
215: Giovanni Tarantella, CM, fall 3:39 over Lucas Andereson