Wildcats take Second Consecutive King of the Mountain Team Title

By Joe Walker

MILL HALL- The Central Mountain Wildcats only crowned one individual champion in the King of The Mountain Tournament, but they used a team effort of nine place-winners to run away with their second straight KOM team title. The Wildcats racked up 196 points to outdistance second place Bald Eagle Area who finished with 146.5 points. 

Bald Eagle Area finished with one champion and five place winners, while Montoursville finished in third with 131.5 points and five place-winners, but crowned no champions. The Warrior Run Defenders crowned three champions finished in fourth place with 127 points, while Owen J. Roberts crowned one champion and rounded out the top five teams with 118.5 points. Mifflin County finished in sixth place with 112 points, they had no finalist, but came away with seven place-winners overall. 

Top seeded and defending state champion Luke Simcox (139) was the lone champion for the Wildcats, as he posted a 10-3 decision over second seeded Seamus Mack of Hempfield in the finals. The Wildcats’ second seeded Griffin Walizer took second at 152 pounds, as he dropped a 5-2 decision to top seeded Cameron Milheim of Warrior Run in the finals. 

Top seeded Dalton Perry was the Wildcats third finalist and he like Walizer took a second place finish, as the Wildcats injury defaulted in the finals to Warrior Run’s second seeded Reagen Milheim in the finals. This was Perrys’ first action of the season and with the Wildcats already having the team title wrapped up, they decided to the default in the finals to avoid any further injury. 

The Wildcats had two third place finishers in Gavin Heverly (107) and Rocco Serafini (215), while Giovanni Tarantella (285) and Aiden Kunes (127) came away with fourth place finishes for the Wildcats. Jacob Weaver took a sixth place finish at 172 pounds and Bryce Brungard added a seventh place finish at 189 to round out the Wildcats nine place-winners. Freshman Patrick Tarantella (133) came one win away from placing in the top eight in his weight class. 

The Eagles of Bald Eagle Area used five place winners to earn the second place finish, as Tanner Guenot captured the 107 pound title, while Lucas Fye (127) and Caleb Close (189) both finished as runner-ups in their weight class. Caden Judice (121) took a third place finish, while Shawn Knepp finished eighth at 172 pounds. Judice is a sophomore for the Eagles, as he won a state championship in the state of Louisiana last year. 

“Just like the Top Hat Tournament, it was a team effort. Getting nine place-winners was a real good overall team effort. We told the kids that there was some growing by a lot of the kids in the tournament. Our freshmen Gavin (Heverly) and Aiden (Kunes) both came back strong against kids that already beat them. Gavin split two matches with the kid from Central York in the Top Hat, but then came back tonight and won a 10-3 decision. Aiden lost to a very tough (Dave) Kennedy from Montoursville by major decision in the quarterfinals, but in the rematch in the third place match, he took it into overtime and almost pulled it out,” commented a happy Wildcat head coach Biff Walizer about the team after the tournament. 

State College standout Asher Cunningham was named the tournament’s Outstanding Wrestler, as he captured the 160 pound title. Cunningham was a third place finisher a week earlier in the Walsh Ironman Tournament in Ohio.

CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALS: 

107 – Tanner Guenot (Bald Eagle Area) pinned Aristotel Bobotas (Montoursville), 1:25.

114 – Dominic Deputy (Chestnut Ridge) dec. Braiden Weaver (Altoona), 4-3. 

121 – Luke Willochell (Greater Latrobe) pinned Brock Rothermel (Line Mountain), 1:09.

127 – Andrew Binni (Canon-McMillan) dec. Lucas Fye (Bald Eagle Area), 7-6. 

133 – Max Wirnsberger (Warrior Run) dec. Gavin Sheridan (Boyertown), 2-1. 

139 – Luke Simcox (Central Mountain) dec. Seamus Mack (Hempfield), 10-3 

145 – Reagan Milheim (Warrior Run) won by default Dalton Perry (Central Mtn), :00

152 – Cameron Milheim (Warrior Run) dec. Griffin Walizer (Central Mountain), 5-2.

160 – Asher Cunningham (State College) dec. Nick Kunstek (Pottsville), 7-2 

172 – Shawn Taylor (West Allegheny) dec. Terrell McFarland (Pottsville), 6-4. 

189 – Cole Bartram (Northern York) dec. Caleb Close (Bald Eagle Area), 7-2. 

215 – Dillon Bechtold (Owen J. Roberts) pinned Aiden Hight (Chambersburg), 1:46.

285 – Nicholas Pavlechko (State College) pinned Dean Bechtold (Owen J. Roberts), 3:26. 

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN RESULTS: 

Quarterfinals: 

107 – Gavin Heverly dec. Wyatt Long (Bellefonte), 2-1; 127 – David Kennedy (Montoursville) dec. Aiden Kunes, 12-5; 139 – Luke Simcox pinned Beck Babb (Boyertown), 4:53; 145 – Dalton Perry pinned Noah Weaver (Bellefonte), :52; 152 – Griffin Walizer maj dec. Kyle Deisley (Hempfield), 13-5; 172 – Terrell McFarland (Pottsville) dec. Jacob Weaver, 2-1 TB; 189 – Caleb Close (Bald Eagle Area) pinned Bryce Brungard, 3:12; 215 – Rocco Serafini dec. Landon Hartman (Bethel Park), 5-0; 285 – Giovanni Tarantella dec. Frank Barrientos (Chambersburg), 3-0. 

Consi Fourth Round: 

127 – Aiden Kunes pinned Andrew Myslinski (Boyertown), 4:47; 133 – Mason Weyandt (Chestnut Ridge) pinned Patrick Tarantella, 4:32; 172 – Jacob Weaver pinned Jorge Moya (Parkland), 4:49; 189 – Bryce Brungard dec. Matt Caro (General McLane), 4-1. 

Consi Quarterfinals: 

127 – Aiden Kunes dec. Jackson Orrell (Red Lion), 5-1; 172 – Jacob Weaver dec. Reese Christine (Mifflin County), 3-1; 189 – Magnus Lloyd (General McLane) maj dec Bryce Brungard, 9-0. 

Championship Semifinals: 

107 – Tanner Guenot (Bald Eagle Area) dec. Gavin Heverly, 3-1; 139 – Luke Simcox pinned Nolan Baumert (Line Mountain), :49; 145 – Dalton Perry dec. Cole Householder (Brookville), 5-2; 152 – Griffin Walizer dec. Gage Wentzel (Montoursville), 3-1; 215 – Aiden Hight (Chambersburg) dec. Rocco Serafini, 8-4; 285 – Nicholas Pavlechko (State College) pinned Giovanni Tarantella, 1:15. 

Consi Semifinals: 

107 – Gavin Heverly maj dec Ben Hoover (Chambersburg), 11-2; 127 – Aiden Kunes dec. Jacob Braun (Greater Latrobe) 4-2; 172 – Hunter Snyder (Greater Latrobe) dec. Jacob Weaver, 5-1; 215 – Rocco Serafini dec. Gage Gardner (Bald Eagle Area) 9-2; 285 – Giovanni Tarantella dec. Landon Morehart (Montoursville), 3-1. 

THIRD PLACE:

107 – Gavin Heverly dec. Aaden Scheifer (Central York), 10-3; 127 – David Kennedy (Montoursville) dec. Aiden Kunes, 10-8 SV; 215 – Rocco Serafini dec. Cole Yonkin (Montoursville), 5-2; 285 – Michael Gervilesku (Parkland) dec. Giovanni Tarantella, 9-2. 

FIFTH PLACE: 

172 – Avery Aurand (Mifflin County) dec. Jacob Weaver, 6-3. 

SEVENTH PLACE: 

189 – Bryce Brungard pinned Dyson Nell (Owen J. Roberts), 1:37.