Wildcats, Saucon Valley, Line Mountain atop Top Hat after Day One
WILLIAMSPORT – When day one of the annual Tom Best Memorial Top Hat Tournament came to an end Friday night, defending tourney champion Central Mountain was locked in a three-way battle for first place in the 21-team event.
The Wildcats used a mix of veterans and newcomers to advance 13 wrestlers into Saturday action, good for 96 points, half a point behind tourney leader Saucon Valley with 96.5 points. Line Mountain was right behind with 94.5 points. Saucon Valley has eight in the semifinals and three in the wrestle-backs, Line Mountain six and six.
Central Mountain’s overall showing included six into Saturday morning’s semifinal round: ninth grader Derek Keen at 106 pounds, going 2-0 with two pins; senior Johnny Shreffler at 120 likewise 2-0 with two falls; senior Dalton Bechdel at 126 pounds also 2-0 with a pin and a major decision; sophomore Lane Porter at 145, starting the year with a 2-0 mark including a fall and a 4-1 upset win over #2 seed Christian Good of Muncy; Tanner Riggle, 2-0 with two falls at 220; and Jake Edwards, 1-0 with a bye and a fall at heavyweight.
In addition to the six semifinalists, another seven Wildcats will be in the consolations Saturday morning: Taylor Weaver (1-1) at 113, Kayden Busey (1-1) at 132; Cody Coleman (1-1) at 138; Alonzo Henry (1-1) at 152, Noah Yost (1-1) at 170, Austin Confer (1-1) at 182 and Gage Sutliff (1-1) at 195 pounds.
Caleb Porter was the lone CM wrestler eliminated in Friday action, although the sophomore went 2-2 in his varsity debut at 160 pounds, meaning all 14 Central Mountain entrants have contributed team points.
Jersey Shore was well back in the pack with one semifinalist in senior Hunter O’Connor (2-0), the top seed at 170 pounds. Three other Bulldogs remain alive in the consolations.
Wrestling is to resume Saturday at 10 a.m. with a round of consolations, followed by the semifinals. The tourney’s parade of champions is set for 4 p.m., followed by first, third and fifth place bouts at 4:15 p.m.
Listed below are the results from the fist day of wrestling for Central Mountain. Complete results are available at Flo Arena
| Preliminary Round |
|---|
| 160 – Caleb Porter, Central Mountain, dec. Daniel Kelleher, Palisades, 3-2 |
| Round of 16 |
|---|
| 106 – Derek Keen, Central Mountain, pinned Chris Wroblewski, Mechanicsburg, 0:58. |
| 113 – Taylor Weaver, Central Mountain, pinned Liam Goodrich, Jersey Shore, 2:57. |
| 120 – Johnny Shreffler, Central Mountain, pinned Ryan Gilbert, Saucon Valley, 1:20. |
| 126 – Dalton Bechdel, Central Mountain, pinned Lucas Sherwood, Montoursville, 1:26. |
| 132 – Kayden Busey, Central Mountain, dec. Dan Prumheller, Daniel Boone, 6-3. |
| 138 – Ryan Fry, Red Lion, dec. Cody Coleman, Central Mountain, 4-2 SV. |
| 145 – Lane Porter, Central Mountain, pinned Mason Smeland, Palisades, 2:50. |
| 152 – Alonzo Henry, Central Mountain, dec. Dante Mahaffey, Saucan Valley, 3-2. |
| 160 – Anthony Robinson, Williamsport, dec. Caleb Porter, Central Mountain, 8-2. |
| 170 – Jacob Feese, Line Mountain, pinned Noah Yost, Central Mountain, 1:59. |
| 182 – Jason Brielmeier, Hazleton, dec. Austin Confer, Central Mountain, 1-0. |
| 195 – Tim Church, Fort LeBoeuf, dec. Gage Sutliff, Central Mountain, 5-4. |
| 220 – Tanner Riggle, pinned Joe Jacobson, Titusville, 2:42. |
| 285 – Jacob Edwards, received a bye. |
| Consolation First Round |
|---|
| 138 – Cody Coleman, Central Mountain, dec. Jon Denato, Palisades, 8-2. |
| 160 – Caleb Porter, Central Mountain, dec. Caleb Moser, Montoursville, 8-2. |
| 170 – Noah Yost, Central Mountain, pinned Beau Drapper, Hughesville, 2:51. |
| 182 – Austin Confer, Central Mountain, pinned Nathan Hawkins, South Western, 2:04. |
| 195 – Gage Sutliff, Central Mountain, pinned Hunter Knorr, Tri-Valley, 3:57. |
| Quarterfinal Round |
|---|
| 106 – Derek Keen, Central Mountain, pinned Austin Stugert, Williamsport, 1:32. |
| 113 – Seth Donovan, Titusville, dec. Taylor Weaver, Central Mountain, 11-7. |
| 120 – Johnny Shreffler, Central Mountain, pinned Mason Leshock, Line Mountain, 3:20. |
| 126 – Dalton Bechdel, Central Mountain, major dec. Ben Heinrich, Hughesville, 16-4 |
| 132 – Jacob Cornelius, Fort LeBoeuf, dec. Kayden Busey, Central Mountain, 9-2. |
| 145 – Lane Porter, Central Mountain, dec. Christian Good, Muncy, 4-1. |
| 152 – Ben Haubert, Palisades, dec. Alonzo Henry, Central Mountain, 4-1. |
| 220 – Tanner Riggle, Central Mountain, pinned Aiden Sheely, Mechanicsburg, 0:47. |
| 285 – Jake Edwards, Central Mountain, pinned Thomas Morris, South Western, 1:00. |
