State College, Philipsburg (NJ) lead KOM after day one; depleted Wildcats fifth
BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – After a full day of wrestling at the Central Mountain High School gym Friday, the team race for the King of the Mountain championship is as tight as it could be. And despite the absence of six starters, the host Wildcats are more than holding their own.
State College and Philipsburg, NJ sit atop the team standings with 75 points each, Council Rock South next with 68.5, followed by Chestnut Ridge with 66 and the Wildcats rounding out the top five with 65 points.
Central Mountain coach Biff Walizer expressed overall satisfaction with his team’s performance into Saturday action, this despite the absence of half his expected starters due to injury and/or health-related issues. He said the showing was similar to the Wildcat dual meet win over Montoursville earlier in the week, when his team was down four starters. For the KOM, two more were lost to injury or illness. Once again, Walizer said, it was all about overcoming adversity. Even with a depleted squad, Central Mountain will advance seven wrestlers to the next day.
Four Wildcats are in the Saturday morning quarterfinals: Dalton Perry with two first period falls at 126, Braylen Corter (filling in for the ailing Taylor Weaver) with a fall and a decision at 132, Luke Simcox with two falls at 138 and Griffin Walizer with two falls at 152.
Coach Walizer particularly noted the performance by Corter who opened with a first round fall, and then used a late five-point move to knock off #6 seed Aidan O’Shea of Bellefonte by a 6-3 score to reach the quarterfinals.
Other Wildcats still alive in the Saturday morning consolation round four are Jacob Weaver at 160, Micah Walizer at 215 and Brayden Blackwell at 285.
The Saturday schedule begins with the quarterfinals at 10 a.m., the semi-finals are 12:45 p.m., and the championship and consolation finals scheduled for 4:15 p.m. with three rounds of consolations sandwiched in between.
After the top five in the team score, Mifflin County and Williamsport are tied for sixth with 63.5 points. Nearby Bald Eagle Area is tenth with 57.5 in the well balanced tourney.
Complete Saturday coverage will be provided again on therecord-online, viewership available through a $35 donation to the tourney sponsoring Central Mountain Wrestling Booster Club. Details can be found at the Record streaming site therecord.live.
