Wildcats Henry Wins Title, Kunes Runner-Up at Top Hat

By Joseph Walker

WILLIAMSPORT – Sophomore Hayes Henry put the cap on a very good Top Best Top Hat Tournament for Central Mountain, as the sophomore captured the 285 pound title and the Wildcats placed eight wrestlers total to finish in fourth place in the 24-team race. 

The third seeded Henry used a takedown with under 10 seconds to go to secure a 4-1 win over Logan Roth of Emmaus to claim the title to go 4-0 in the tournament. Henry got into the finals with a solid 11-5 decision over second seeded Landon Moser of Mifflinburg in the semifinals. 

Wildcat junior Aiden Kunes also made into the finals at 145 where he dropped a 5-2 decision to top seeded Kai Vielma of Connellsville to finish in second place. Vielma used a first period takedown and a second period reverse to one escape for Kunes and the Wildcat got a penalty point for stalling against Vielma. 

Vielma was a West Class AAA Regional champion last season and finished 3rd in the state and was 49-5 as a freshman. Kunes got into the finals with a solid 11-3 major decision semifinal win over Mack Santoro of Saucon Valley, who placed eighth in last season’s Class AA states. 

The Wildcats had six other place finishers, as Patrick Tarantella (133) and Todd Caris (215) both won third place finishes, as Caris went 6-1 and Tarantella was 5-1. The fifth seeded Tarantella posted an 11-2 major decision win over Jackson Smith (Halifax) in the bout for the bronze medal. Caris was ninth seeded, but posted an 8-2 decision over fifth seeded Silas Day of Palisades for his bronze medal. 

Bucktail freshman Angelo Tarantella (brother of Patrick) made his varsity debut with a solid sixth place finish at 114 pounds. The eighth seed Tarantella dropped a 14-5 major decision to Talan Springer of Emmaus in the fifth place match. 

Gavin Heverly (121) took a seventh place finish, while Collin Bauman (127) and Dalton McDermott (172) both finished eighth at their weights. Sophomore Tanner McCall (189) came up one win short of placing in the top eight at his weight. 

Emmaus out of tough District 11 captured the team title with 206 points and two champs, while Connellsville out of equally tough WPIAL (District 7) was close behind with 204 points and three champs. Mifflinburg was third with 176.5 points and 2 champs, while Central Mountain finished fourth with 152 points with one champ and eight total place winners. 

The Wildcats’ Hunter Nace (114), Hayes Donley (139), Luke Garman (152) and Dakoda Packer (160) did not place, but did record some wins to help with team points. Cael Dorman(127), Alton Counsil (145) and Hayes Miller (160) did not place, as they were the wrestlers that could wrestle as extras at their weights, thus did not count towards team points, but got lots of experience. 

The Wildcats will open their 2025-26 dual meet season by having two home dual meets next week, as they will host Mifflin County on Tuesday night and then host Shikallemy on Thursday evening. On the weekend (Dec 12-13) they will travel to Millersville for the big Penn Manor Tournament. 

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN RESULTS: (Day 2) 

CHAMPIONSHIP QUARTERFINALS 

121 – Matthew Rowles (Clearfield) dec Gavin Heverly 12-5; 127 – Brock Rothermel (Line Mountain) tech fall Collin Bauman, 22-5, 2:12; 133 – Bo Aveni (Clearfield) dec. Patrick Tarantella, 4-3; 145 – Aiden Kunes tech fall Cash Diehl (Clearfield), 19-3, 5:14; 172 –Teagan Ruble (Conestoga Valley) maj dec Dalton McDermott, 12-2; 189 – Teagen Carroll (Halifax) dec Tanner McCall, 5-2; 215 – Landon Tucker (Mifflinburg) dec. Todd Caris, 7-4; 285 – Hayes Henry dec. Donovan Keeth (Tri Valley), 5-3. 

CONSOLATION ROUND 3 

107 – Hunter Nace tech fall Rajan Urwan (Cumberland Valley), 18-0, 2:30; 114 – Angelo Tarantella maj dec Miles Ransom-Rennicks (Loyalsock), 13-1; 127 – Paxton Parada (Clearfield) pinned Cael Dorman, :29; 139 – Chase Sparks (Connellsville) dec. Hayes Donley, 7-6; 145 – Jacob Halsted (Hempfield) tech 

fall Alton Counsil, 16-0, 3:19; 152 – Aiden Bayard (Emmaus) dec. Luke Garman, 4-2; 160 – Dominic Magill (Hempfield) dec. Dakoda Packer, 4-0; 

CONSOLATION ROUND 4 

107 – Kamden Schadel (Halifax) pinned Hunter Nace, 1:49; 114 – Angelo Tarantella maj dec Isaac Peiffer (Cumberland Valley), 8-0; 121 – Gavin Heverly dec. Omar Vargas (Conestoga Valley), 5-3; 127 – Collin Bauman maj dec Carson Linker (Central York), 10-2; 133 – Patrick Tarantella tech fall Steven Bolt (Williamsport), 16-0, 3;52; 172 – Dalton McDermott dec. Jonathan Dincher (Jersey Shore), 11-4; 189 – Dalton Knapp (Titusville) dec. Tanner McCall, 4-2; 215 – Todd Caris dec. Pkay KC (Cumberland Valley), 3-0; 

CONSOLATION ROUND 5 

114 – Angelo Tarantella maj dec Cole Franks (South Western), 12-3; 121 – Zachary Franks (Connellsville) dec. Gavin Heverly, 6-2; 127 – Jack Gramly (Mifflinburg) dec. Collin Bauman, 3-1; 133 – Patrick Tarantella dec. Nathaniel Handy (South Western), 11-8; 172 – Hunter Updegrave (Tri-Valley) pinned Dalton McDermott, 1:58; 215 – Todd Caris pinned Silas Wachter (South Western), 2:52. 

CONSOLATION SEMIFINALS: 

114 – Gavin Chunko (Saucon Valley) tech fall Angelo Tarantella, 16-0, 1:46; 133 – Patrick Tarantella dec. Landon Lynn (Connellsville), 8-5; 215 – Todd Caris dec. Ryan Ludwig (Clearfield), 17-11 

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINALS: 

145 – Aiden Kunes maj dec Mack Santoro (Saucon Valley), 11-3 

285 – Hayes Henry dec. Landon Moser (Mifflinburg), 11-5 

CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS 

145 – Kain Vielma (Connellsville) dec. Aiden Kunes, 5-2 

285 – Hayes Henry dec. Logan Roth (Emmaus), 4-1

THIRD PLACE: 

133 – Patrick Tarantella maj mdec. Jackson Smith (Halifax), 11-2 215 – Todd Caris dec Silas Day (Palisades), 8-2 

FIFTH PLACE: 

114 – Talan Springer (Emmaus) maj dec. Angelo Tarantella, 14-5 

SEVENTH PLACE: 

121 – Gavin Heverly dec. Griffin Walls (Mifflinburg), 8-2 127 – Nate Caracciolo (Hempfield) pinned Collin Bauman, 4:19 172 – Cooper Lembo (Connellsville) maj dec Dalton McDermott, 10-2