Wildcats Earn Second Place at Districts; Crown Champs in Keen and Sutliff
ALTOONA – Facing the loss of eight starters from a year ago, the current wrestling season was seen as a rebuilding one in many quarters for Central Mountain High School. But the Wildcats continued to exceed expectations on Saturday, finishing in second place at the 8-team District 6 AAA tournament. In doing so, coach Biff Walizer’s team got wins from all 14 entrants and advanced 12 grapplers to next weekend’s PIAA Northwestern Regional tournament.
Central Mountain had two champions, sophomore Derek Keen at 113 pounds, and junior Gage Sutliff at 220 pounds. Sutliff’s fall over top-seed Hayden Crum from Mifflin County assured the Wildcats their second place finish, holding off a late charge from Bellefonte. Keen earned his title earlier with a first period pin over Aidan O’Shea of Bellefonte.
Mifflin County coasted to the team title with 214 points, dethroning Central Mountain after a 3-year Wildcat run. Central Mountain finished with 182, Bellefonte next with 176.5 and State College fourth with 154.5.
Coach Walizer said, “It was a long, tough day, but I couldn’t be more proud of the effort this young team showed at Districts.”
Two CM defending district champs fell in the finals: sophomore Taylor Weaver losing 15-5 to Jude Swisher from Bellefonte at 126 pounds, and junior Lane Porter dropping a 10-4 final to Ethan Kauffman of Mifflin County. Junior Nik Miller was a hard-luck runner-up for CM, losing a 3-1 overtime match at 195 pounds to Tyler Price of State College.
Three Wildcats earned third place finishes: freshman Gino Serafini at 106, sophomore Damien Galentine at 152, and junior Caleb Porter at 170 pounds. four more ‘Cats finished fourth: Zach Miller, the only senior on the team, at 138, Kaden Falls at 160, Paul Risley at 182, and Cyrus McCarl at 285.
For finishing in the top four, all 12 earned return trips to Altoona for the Feb. 28 and 29 regionals. Freshman Braylen Corter finished fifth at 120 pounds, falling one win short of advancing, and Tristan Probst ended up in sixth place at 132 pounds.
Honors were plentiful for the Clinton County contingent Saturday. Wildcat junior high coach Dylan Caprio was presented the junior high coach of the year award, record-online announcer/wrestling historian Tom Elling was named District 6 Man of the Year, and two former Lock Haven High School wrestlers, Skip Bolin and Don Eichenlaub, were among those inducted into the district wrestling hall of fame. Elling had been Bolin’s coach at LHHS. Two former Bald Eagle-Nittany wrestlers, Joel Brinker and Mark Williams, had been accorded similar hall of fame honors before the district AA tournament last weekend.
Sutliff’s fall in the championship bout earned him the first district crown for a Bucktail student since Demetri Probst took titles in 2014 and 2015. Bucktail maintains a co-op program with Central Mountain.
Below are results for Central Mountain, complete results are available at Flo Wrestling.
| Championship First Round |
|---|
| 106 – Gino Serafini, Central Mountain, pinned Eli Wisor, Altoona, 0:40. |
| 113 – Derek Keen, Central Mountain, received a bye. |
| 120 – Cameron Sweigart, Juniata dec. Braylen Corter, Central Mountain, 7-1. |
| 126 – Taylor Weaver, Central Mountain, pinned Jorge Morales, Greater Johnstown, 0:29. |
| 132 – Owen Woolcott, State College, tech fall Tristan Probst, Central Mountain, 4:55 (15-0). |
| 138 – Zach Miller, Central Mountain, major dec. Tyson Aurand, Juniata, 14-4. |
| 145 – Lane Porter, Central Mountain, pinned Graham Black, Altoona, 0:13. |
| 152 – Damien GAlentine, Central Mountain, dec. Jason Dry, State College, 8-2. |
| 160 – Kaden Falls, Central Mountain, dec. Harrison Hoopes, State College, 3-1. |
| 170 – Caleb Porter, Central Mountain, pinned Anthony Wyant, Hollidaysburg, 3:33. |
| 182 – Paul Risley, Central Mountain, pinned Phaustyn Houtz, Juniata, 2:43. |
| 195 – Nik Miller, Central Mountain, received a bye. |
| 220 – Gage Sutliff, Central Mountain, pinned Nick Beebe, State College, 2:23. |
| 285 – Cyrus McCarl, Central Mountain, pinned Tristan Winegardner, Hollidaysburg, 2:46. |
| Championship Quarterfinal Round |
|---|
| 106 – Hayden Cunningham, State College, dec. Gino Serafini, Central Mountain, 5-1. |
| 113 – Derek Keen, Central Mountain, dec. Hunter Johnson, Mifflin County, 6-3. |
| 126 – Taylor Weaver, Central Mountain, dec. Damion Finnegan, Altoona, 5-4. |
| 138 – Kyler Everly, Mifflin County, pinned Zach Miller, Central Mountain, 2:55. |
| 145 – Lane Porter, Central Mountain, pinned Nicholas Burkey, Hollidaysburg, 1:45. |
| 152 – Anson Wagner, Mifflin County, major dec. Damien Galentine, Central Mountain, 12-4. |
| 160 – Ethan Richner, Bellefonte, pinned Kaden Falls, Central Mountain, 0:53. |
| 170 – Lance Urbas, Central Mountain, dec. Caleb Porter, Central Mountain, 9-2. |
| 182 – Ethan Rossman, Bellefonte, pinned Paul Risley, Central Mountain, 1:53. |
| 195 – Nik Miller, Central Mountain, dec. Jacob Krepps, Mifflin County, 3-2. |
| 220 – Gage Sutliff, Central Mountain, dec. Max Barrier, Bellefonte, 7-4. |
| 285 – Harrison Schoen, State College, dec. Cyrus McCarl, Central Mountain, 3-2. |
| Consolation First Round |
|---|
| 120 – Braylen Corter, Central Mountain, received a bye. |
| 132 – Tristan Probst, Central Mountain, pinned Ty Jabs, Juniata, 1:00. |
| Consolation Semi-Final Round |
|---|
| 106 – Gino Serafini, Central Mountain, pinned Mykal Jobes, Greater Johnstown, 0:25. |
| 120 – Eric Weaver, State College, dec. Braylen Corter, Central Mountain, 7-1. |
| 132 – Zack Moore, Greater Johnstown, dec. Tristan Probst, Central Mountain, 7-5. |
| 138 – Zach Miller, Central Mountain, pinned Brady Martin, Bellefonte, 2:57. |
| 152 – Damien Galentne, Central Mountain, pinned Andrew McChesney, Bellefonte, 4:57. |
| 160 – Kaden Falls, Central Mountain, pinned Aaron Carothers, Altoona, 1:28. |
| 170 – Caleb Porter, Central Mountain, dec. Chase Willis, Juniata, 5-0. |
| 182 – Paul Risley, Central Mountain, dec. Braden Newby, State College, 5-2. |
| 285 – Cyrus McCarl, Central Mountain, pinned Hunter Lucas, Juniata, 3:20. |
| Championship Final Round First Place |
|---|
| 113 – Derek Keen, Central Mountain, pinned Aiden O'Shea, Bellefonte, 3:02. |
| 126 – Jude Swisher, Bellefonte, major dec. Taylor Weaver, Central Mountain, 15-5. |
| 145 – Ethan Kauffman, Mifflin County, dec. Lane Porter, Central Mountain, 10-4. |
| 195 – Tyler Price, State College, dec. Nik Miller, Central Mountain, 3-1. |
| 220 – Gage Sutliff, Central Mountain, pinned Hayden Crum, Mifflin County, 3:04. |
| Consolation Final Third Place |
|---|
| 106 – Gino Serafini, Central Mountain, pinned Casey Smith, Juniata, 0:59. |
| 138 – Kasir Malcolm, Greater Johnstown, tech fall, Zach Miller, Central Mountain, 4:01 (18-3). |
| 152 – Damien Galentine, Central Mountain, dec. Adam Zerbe, Altoona, 7-2. |
| 160 – Trey Shoemaker, Mifflin County, dec. Kaden Falls, Central Mountain, 7-0. |
| 170 – Caleb Porter, Central Mountain, dec. Stephen Ivicic, Bellefonte, 2-0. |
| 182 – Brycen Hassinger, Mifflin County, pinned Paul Risley, Central Mountain, 2:16. |
| 285 – Trevor Manley, Altoona, dec. Cyrus McCarl, Central Mountain, 6-1 SV. |
| Consolation Final Fifth Place |
|---|
| 120 – Braylen Corter, Central Mountain, pinned Caleb Fasick, Altoona, 4:44. |
| 132 – Gardian Bridenbaugh, Hollidaysburg, major dec. Tristan Probst, Central Mountain, 10-2. |
