Wildcats Crown Two Champs, Send Three to States

AdminFebruary 29, 2020Last Updated: February 29, 2020

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ALTOONA – “Pleased and proud” said Central Mountain wrestling coach Biff Walizer after his Wildcat team made another strong showing Saturday at the Altoona Field House. This time it was the PIAA AAA Northwest Regional, a tourney where all 12 Central Mountain entrants earned at least one win and three of them qualified for the PIAA state championships beginning Thursday, Mar. 5 in Hershey.

The three state qualifiers are sophomore Derek Keen, first at 113 pounds, sophomore Taylor Weaver, third at 126, and junior Nik Miller, champion at 195. All three took different paths to achieve their goal.

For Keen (29-7), the top seed at his weight, it was a workmanlike, dominating performance. Friday he had a first round bye and a quarterfinal pin. Saturday it was a semifinal pin and then a solid 7-1 triumph in the title bout over Bellefonte’s Aidan O’Shea. Keen’s trip to Hershey will be his second after finishing third at 106 pounds at regionals a year ago.

Weaver, now 32-8, qualified for states the hard way. He was ahead in his first match Friday night when he was caught and pinned by Williamsport’s Riley Harris. That meant he would have to wrestle and win five times on Saturday to claim third to earn a trip to Hershey; he did. Weaver plowed through the first four of those, including a revenge fall over Harris in 2:18. That put the powerful Weaver into the consolation final against Altoona’s equally strong Damion Finnegan. The Altoona wrestler opened a 3-0 lead but Weaver battled back, getting the winning takedown for a 5-4 victory as the scoreboard clock was in the process of going from 1 second to zero. The two mat officials conferred and determined the two points, off a late Weaver flurry, should be counted.

For Miller (24-10) it was his semifinal bout that gave his coaching staff, teammates and Wildcat fans heart palpitations. Miller initiated a takedown move but was caught and put on his back in the first period by top-seeded Garrett Eddy of Punxsutawney, Eddy up 5-0 at the time. But Miller clawed his way back for an 8-7 win. That victory placed Miller in the finals where he pinned Bellefonte’s Tyler Benner in 2:20.

Miller’s fall allowed the Wildcats to lockup fourth place in the team standings with 118.5 points to edge out fifth place DuBois with 114.5. Bellefonte ran away with the team title, crowning four champs and piling up 184.5 points to easily outdistance second place Erie Prep with 166.5. Mifflin County ended up third in the 28-team field with 146 points.

Coach Walizer again lauded the improvement of his squad from week to week. After a solid showing at the District 6 tourney last week, Walizer said, “We were hoping to build on what we saw last week. Considering the regionals are tougher, to get wins from all 12 entrants continued to show how far the team has come from the beginning of the year.” He also had words of praise for his three state qualifiers, noting that Keen was dominant throughout, that Taylor after his disappointing first round loss, “put it all together,” and Miller’s performance was “something special,” given how close Miller had come in some previous matches this season.

The regional titles for Keen and Miller were Central Mountain’s first since Gino Barzona took a title in 2016. For Bellefonte, which crowned four champs, it was the Red Raiders’ first regional crown since 2000.

Several Wildcats fell one win short of reaching third place matches: Gino Serafini at 106, Lane Porter at 145, and Caleb Porter at 170. Of the Wildcats’ 12 team members to score points at regionals, 11 of them are underclassmen, boding well for the future of the program which saw another solid year for its junior high squad.

Consolation First Round
126 – Taylor Weaver, Central Mountain, tech fall Jelani Alston, Obama Academy, 2:51 (19-3).
138 – Zach Miller, Central Mountain, pinned Garrett Paradise, Selinsgrove, 2:29.
182 – Paul Risley, Central Mountain, dec. Brandon Daugherty, Warren, 5-4.
285 – Cyrus McCarl, Central Mountain, pinned Trey Baney, Selinsgrove, 4:12.

Consolation Second Round
106 – Gino Serafini, Central Mountain, pinned Matt Marrs, Carrick, 1:37.
126 – Taylor Weaver, Central Mountain, pinned Ryan Madigan, Warren, 2:04.
138 – Gregory Tetris, St. Marys, pinned Zach Miller, Central Mountain, 4:54.
145 – Lane Porter, Central Mountain, pinned Nate Lucas, Alderdice, 2:16.
152 – Damien Galentine, Central Mountain, dec. Coltyn Sempko, Shikellamy, 7-4
160 – Eben Wry, Cranberry, pinned Kaden Falls, Central Mountain, 0:55.
182 – Colin Almond, Altoona, pinned Paul Risley, Central Mountain, 0:46.
220 – Gage Sutliff, Central Mountain, pinned Matthew Hoover, Erie, 1:46.
285 – Cyrus McCarl, Central Mountain, dec. Justin Burns, Carrick, 3-2

Championship Semifinal Round
113 – Derek Keen, Central Mountain, pinned Philip Stark, Cathedral Prep, 2:42.
170 – Trey Kobe, Mifflin County, major dec. Caleb Porter, Central Mountain, 17-5.
195 – Nik Miller, Central Mountain, dec. Garrett Eddy, Punxy, 8-7.

Consolation Quarterfinal Round
106 – Gino Serafini, Central Mountain, pinned Casey Smith, Juniata, 4:05.
126 – Taylor Weaver, Central Mountain, dec. Nate Digello, McDowell, 8-1.
145 – Lane Porter, Central Mountain, pinned Austin Mitchell, DuBois, 2:38.
152 – Aaron Sleeth, Hollidaysburg, dec. Damien Galentine, Central Mountain, 5-3.
220 – Alex Lukaschunis, St Marys, dec. Gage Sutliff, Central Mountain, 7-6.
285 – Charles Crews, Williamsport, dec. Cyrus McCarl, Central Mountain, 3-0.

Consolation Semi-Final Round
106 – Cael Nasdeo, Williamsport, dec. Gino Serafini, 3-2.
126 – Taylor Weaver, Central Mountain, pinned Riley Harris, Williamsport, 2:18.
145 – Ethan Kauffman, Mifflin County, pinned Lane Porter, Central Mountain, 2:18.
170 – Hayden Kovalick, Clearfield, dec. Caleb Porter, Central Mountain, 4-3