Wrestling News & Views – Tom Elling

First, congratulations to Joel Gilbert and his Altoona Mountain Lions for capturing the AAA Team title this past Saturday. His wrestlers performed above and beyond their seeds and won an amazing five out of six championship bouts. Central Mountain had a ten-point lead heading into the finals and third-place bouts. Not even Quentin Tarantino could have fashioned that effort and the dominoes falling for the defending champs. Gilbert was also named AAA Coach of the Year—so richly deserved.

Central Mountain did have two champions in Patrick Tarantella (133) and Dalton Perry (145). The Wildcats will also be sending runners-up Gavin Heverly (114), Aiden Kunes (127), Bryce Brungard (189), and Hayes Henry (285). Collin Bauman (121) wrestled back for third and will also be heading to Canon-McMillan in two weeks for the newly structured SW Regional. That region will send five (5) qualifiers to states. Hayes Donley (139), Luke Ananea (152), and Dalton McDermott (160) all placed fourth.

Bellefonte had a fine tournament. While not crowning any champions, the Red Raiders, back up to AAA this season, did have five second-place finishers: Andrew Gall (145), Ezra Swisher (152), Noah Weaver (160), Jackson Long (172), and Jack McHail (215). Wyatt Long (127) and Cameron Garcia (139) earned a trip to Regionals by placing third.

On the AA side, Bald Eagle Area placed third (145.5) behind juggernaut Bishop McCort (320) and Penns Valley (177.5). Tanner Guenot (121) and Caleb Close (189) claimed titles. Caden Judice (133) was a runner-up, and Dawson Lomison (139) came back for third. Liam Purcell (5th, 114) and Alex Surovec (5th, 152) also earned a trip back to Altoona. The top six qualified to advance to the AA Regionals, to be held at the Altoona HS Field House on February 28 and March 1. Penns Valley coach Joel Brinker was selected as AA Coach of the Year.

The Central Mountain coaching staff (head coach Biff Walizer, Doug Buckwalter, Dylan Caprio, Steve Krouse, and Mike Brown) was selected as the District 6 Class AAA Coaching Staff of the Year.
The Class AA Coaching Staff of the Year award was given to Penns Valley, led by Joel Brinker. The Bald Eagle-Nittany grad was also selected as the Class AA Coach of the Year.

The officials at the D6 Individuals were steady and consistent. It’s not an easy job. Hats off to the outstanding crew. Incidentally, John Lower hung up his whistle after 38 years in the center mat. Great career, John! My former wrestler Randy Brungard just completed his 38th year of refereeing and his 38th consecutive D6 championships. Randy was my first District Champ in 1973.

District 6 Hall of Famers
Locals who were included in the Class of 2025 were Dave Pick (BE-N), Randy Brungard (Lock Haven High), and BEA’s Eddie Hockenberry, Don Peters, and Steve Millward. Wrestling writer Joe Walker provided their credentials and accomplishments in his Record-Online report.

From the Media Table
Notable in the Class AAA tournament: State High’s Asher Cunningham (172) and Altoona’s Luke Sipes (160) captured their fourth D6 AAA titles. They added their names to 32 others—quite a feat in this wrestling-talented area.

York Suburban’s Gehret Gentzyel captured the District 3 Sectional Tournament Championship at 189 lbs. this past weekend. In doing so, he tied the school record for wins in a season with 38. The multi-sport star will head to the District 3 Southeast Regional Tournament at Spring Grove this Friday. His grandparents are Steve Coleman (of the great Coleman wrestling family) and Beth (Gehret) Coleman of Lock Haven. His coach is his father, Brian, a Bucktail grad.

Penn State, with the W at Illinois, captured the Big Ten Team Championship. In doing so, the Nittany Lions also won their 70th straight dual. The monumental victory tied them with modern record holders Oklahoma State (1921–1932, 1996–1999) and Iowa (2007–2011). The Cael Sanderson-led team needs seven more wins to pass all-time leader Oklahoma State, which won 76 straight from 1937 to 1951.

Congrations to Griffin Walizer, the Central Mountain product, who went 3-1 in his first Div I tournament- the LHU Mattown Open II. Griffin was a three-time PIAA placewinner.His father Biff was his coach.

The Conklins
Brothers Ed and George can be seen at every Penn State home dual meet behind the main tables. Ed runs the clock for the duals, while George is employed by the Big Ten to operate the video review. A third brother, Paul, has worked many wrestling events, including the PIAA state tournament and the NW AAA Regionals.

One of my favorite things about working as a broadcaster is the number of former wrestling associates who stop by to chat. This week, I was pleased to see Dick Wood, Larry Guenot, Bernie Chatman, Bruce Haselrig, Luke Sipes, Doug Mihalko, the Browns broadcasting trio, Joel Gilbert, and several more. Oh, to be sure, I also enjoy working with Joe H. Walker and Mike Frank. Thanks to so many of you who tuned in to our stream and to the community-oriented sponsors who make it all possible.

Thoughts and Prayers
Thoughts and prayers for Palmyra wrestling photographer Mick McCurdy. Mick has been valiantly battling cancer. He and former Lock Haven State College basketball player Ron Brehm are close friends.

Also, wrestling lost another great with the passing of Everett’s Jim Droz. Jim was involved in many sports but served Everett High as head wrestling coach for years. He coached Everett’s only PIAA champion, Paul Clark.

A Growing Concern
I’ve been getting more than a few complaints about the dismissal of paper tickets in favor of those secured online. I understand the reasoning behind the technology shift, but there should be another option for older fans who may not have a cell phone or may not know how to use it for this purpose.

There are those who maintain that today’s wrestling stars would dominate those of old. While I concur that technique, year-round participation, and wrestling clubs and/or special training have formulated really talented individuals, I contend that wrestlers of old would adapt and still be atop the sport. Can anyone say Dan Hodge, Gray Simons, Dan Gable, Rick Sanders?

Did You Know?
Finally, I bet you didn’t know that Elliott Hopkins, former associate director at the PIAA, has been a top gun in the NFHS. The Big E is the Director of Sports, Sanctioning, and Student Services and heads the wrestling rules committee.