Wildcat wrestlers 8-0 after 41-26 win at Montoursville

MONTOURSVILLE, PA – The Central Mountain wrestling team is back in the dual meet wars, facing a difficult stretch over a matter of days. The Wildcats were equal to challenge number one Thursday night, a hard-earned 41-26 road win over state PIAA Double-A power Montoursville.

The physical Warriors came to wrestle and Central Mountain was equal to the task, moving to 8-0 on the season. The Warriors, who finished one notch ahead of the Wildcats at last weekend’s Powerade tourney, fell to 9-2 with the loss.

Afterwards, Wildcat coach Biff Walizer repeated a refrain he has used before, a complete team effort: “As has been the case so far with our matches against tough teams, it took a total team effort from everyone who stepped on the mat. The coaches are proud of the effort the kids are showing. A benefit of competing against a tough team like Montoursville is that it exposes the areas that we need to improve on.”

Central Mountain won 8 of the 13 bouts, picking up five falls and two major decisions along the way. But it was a key regular decision that stopped a Warrior run in just the fourth bout of the night. With CM trailing 12-6 at the time, Wildcat Madison Packer took the mat at 113 pounds and was almost pinned in the first period, trailing 5-2 after one. But she came back, kept her composure after her opponent was penalized for unsportsmanlike actions, and pulled out a 10-9 win which could have gone the other way.

Once the Wildcats hit their talented middleweights, they were on their way to the win. Down by 15-9 after the 120 pound bout, CM picked up consecutive falls from Luke Simcox, Gino Serafini and Taylor Weaver to jump to a 27-15 lead. Two freshmen, Griffin Walizer and Rocco Serafini, followed and scored major decisions and the Wildcat lead was 35-15 with three bouts to go, ensuring the victory.

Others winners were Caleb Porter and Nick Miller, each with falls.

The task will not get easier for Central Mountain: Saturday the wrestling booster club hosts a quadrangular featuring the Wildcats, DuBois, Milton and another state AA power, Southern Columbia. Wrestling begins at 10 a.m. and will be streamed on therecord-online. The event is a fundraiser for the Wildcat wrestling booster club and fans will be able to make a donation to the booster club through paypal. The link for donations is www.paypal.me/CMHSwrestling Fans may view the event free of charge, but the booster club would appreciate any donations to cover the cost of staging the four-team tourney; it was scheduled after the organization’s annual King of the Mountain fundraising tournament had to be cancelled because of COVID-19.

Central Mountain 41, Montoursville 26
215: Dylan Bennett (M) pinned Gage Sutliff, 1:38
285: Nik Miller (CM) pinned Lane Stutzman, 1:11
106: Brandon Wentzel (M) pinned Clayton Foster, 3:11
113: Madison Packer (CM) decisioned Jackson Watkins, 10-9
120: Cole Johnson (M) decisioned Zane Cooper, 7-4
126: Luke Simcox (CM) pinned Hunter Miller, 2:43
132: Gino Serafini (CM) pinned Luke Steinbacher, 1:40
138: Taylor Weaver (CM) pinned Broc Lutz, 2:41
145: Griffin Walizer (CM) maj dec Kayden Frame, 16-6
152: Rocco Serafini (CM) major dec Justin Schans, 11-3
160: Isaac Cory (M) TF, 3:33, 16-1 over Damien Galentine
172: Caleb Porter (CM) pinned Caleb Moser, 3:56
189: Cael Crebs (M) pinned Brayden Blackwell, 0:23